First published 1993. Harper Collins, paperback, 1993, pp 253, c.90,000 words. Duncan Kyle’s thrillers involve some high-octane plot which often use Russians as the bad guys and the fate of the world lying in the hands of some everyman. Exit follows this simple formular. It was the last thriller he wrote, and was published some […]
Exit — Duncan Kyle Read More »
First published 1977. Harper paperback, 2009, pp 274, c.65,000 words. Everyone involved with this book should be embarrassed. Maclean usually writes to a much higher standard than this. The New York Times review said MacLean “stumbles badly”; how right. The plot is implausibly ludicrous, the characters a mess of cliches. My guess is that Maclean
Seawitch — Alistair Maclean Read More »
First published 1982. Fontana paperback, 1985, pp 347, c.120,000 words. Usually with Innes novels, there is an underlying theme that connects to a topical news issue of the day in which it was written. In this case it is the threat of oil pollution posed by large tankers in the restricted and busy water between
Black Tide, The — Hammond Innes Read More »
First published 1984. Fontana paperback, 1987, pp 314, c.100,000 words. Perhaps Bagley wanted to use the title Night of Terror, but then someone pointed out that this had been well-used for a couple of films (1933, 1972). It would have been a more appropriate title for this work. The possibility of mining manganese nodules from
Night of Error — Desmond Bagley Read More »
First published 1980. Pan paperback, 1997, pp 442, c.125,000 words. As is often the case with Innes novels, there is some underlying theme connected to a topical issue of the day. In this case it is the insurrection in the Pacific island of Bougainville and the resulting closure of one of the world’s largest copper
Solomans Seal — Hammond Innes Read More »
First published 1974. Fontana paperback, 1977, pp 256, c.95,000 words. As is often the case with Innes novels, there is some underlying theme connected to a topical issue of the day. In this case it is the discovery and exploitation of large reserves of oil in the North Sea, lying between Britain and Norway. There
North Star — Hammond Innes Read More »