Book Review for Where Eagles Dare by Alistair MacLean

ISBN: 0 00 615804 8
Publisher: Harper Collins Publishers
Website: www.harpercollins.co.uk
Copyright © Devoran Trustees Ltd 1967
343 Pages, Paperback

A group of allied soldiers are dropped by parachute into Germany in order to find a way inside Schloss Adler (the castle of the eagle), the combined headquarters of the German Secret Service and the Gestapo. They have to rescue Lieutenant General Carnaby, an American general who is the overall co-ordinator for Operation Overlord, the Second Front, before he talks.

Someone though is sabotaging their efforts; can a member of the six British and one American Special Forces team be a traitor? The commanding officer, Smith, has brought a woman with him too, a fact unknown to the other team members. Added to that are the problems of the elite Alpenkorps being stationed at the foot of the mountain and the Castle, built on the side of the mountain, being only accessible by cable car.

This book was an extremely enjoyable read, with the twists and turns and plot loops, focussing on one then another as the guilty party. With the finale as exciting and explosive as one could wish for.

Although I already knew the story from watching the movie countless times (staring Richard Burton and Clint Eastwood), it was definitely well worth reading the original, especially for the ironic wit of Schaffer and Smith’s exchanges.

All in all, a World War II thriller, action packed and full of suspense, which I have come to expect from MacLean’s writing. I wasn’t disappointed at all.

Book Review for The Shakespeare Secret by J L Carrell

ISBN: 978 0 7515 4035 2
Publisher: Sphere An Imprint of Little Brown Book Group
Website: www.littlebrown.co.uk
Copyright © Jennifer Lee Carrell 2007
Author Website: www.jenniferleecarrell.com
480 Pages, Paperback

Sometimes the wealth of Shakespeare law is a little overpowering. Though the trick Carrell uses of Kate Stanley knowing virtually all there is to know about the Bard and explaining it in layman’s terms to Ben Pearl, the British security expert, is a good plot continuation. It also explains it all to us as we’re running to keep up with the characters when they jump from country to country and back again, trying to keep one step ahead of a serial killer, the FBI and the British Police.

Unfortunately for me though, the characters are not fleshed out enough, their histories, feelings etc., I wish there had been more background on them to compensate for the in-depth information on Shakespeare. Because of this the book felt a little uneven, though it is still a good read. I would describe it as an exciting whodunit with a Shakespeare lecture thrown in.

I learned a lot about Shakespeare that I wasn’t aware of and a little about the old west and how popular Shakespeare was in the mining camps and western towns; definitely something that I’d like to find out more about.

Book Review for San Andreas by Alistair MacLean

ISBN: 0 00 222830 0
Publisher: William Collins Sons & Co Ltd
Website: www.harpercollins.co.uk
Copyright © Alistair MacLean 1984
286 Pages, Hardcover

Set on a hospital ship in Norwegian waters, with a British Merchant Navy crew and a collection of doctors, nurses and orderlies, hunted by German planes and U-boats and not knowing the reason for the pursuit, a saboteur loose, wreaking havoc with the electrical systems, fuel lines, heating and medical supplies.

As soon as I began to read I was hooked. This is a World War II adventure thriller that had me jumping from one crew member to another looking for the bad hat, and being proved wrong, usually when another act of sabotage took place. I wasn’t alone, even the main characters were baffled.

The feeling of suspense was masterly, and the description of a badly damaged ship in hostile weather conditions was enough to have me shivering for real. But to my mind the dialogue between the characters coupled with the understated humour in the face of the towering odds against them is what turned the whole story into a masterpiece.