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Path: utzoo!utcsri!ubc-vision!alberta!mathur
From: mathur@alberta.UUCP (Ambrish Mathur)
Newsgroups: net.books
Subject: Re: thriller?
Message-ID: <759@alberta.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 18-Dec-85 14:16:03 EST
Article-I.D.: alberta.759
Posted: Wed Dec 18 14:16:03 1985
Date-Received: Wed, 18-Dec-85 20:46:40 EST
Distribution: net
Organization: U. of Alberta, Edmonton, AB
Lines: 32

>	- Alastair MacLean eg: Ice Station Zebra - movie was good too,
>	  "Golden Gate", "Bear Island" (loved the scenery in the movie)
>	  Lots of his books are set in WWII (eg: "Partisan", or
>	  "Eye of the Needle" (a "can't put down")), or the 50's, 
>	  or involve details from those periods ("Bear Island").
>-
>Chris Lewis,

	"Eye of the Needle" is a book by Ken Follet. The movie version
was shown a few months back on TV. While Alistair Maclean was a very popular
author in the late 60's and the early 70's, his popularity seems to have
declined since then, after a series of books which were very much a rehash
of his earlier books. I myself notice a decline in the quality of his books
after "Caravan to Vaccares(sp?)". I find much that is common in "Bear Island",
"Ice Station Zebra", and "Night Without End". He seems to enjoy setting his
stories in extreme climates. He really makes one feel the cold in the above
mentioned books. In another book(I forget the name) he switches to extremely
hot conditions faced by characters marooned at sea. I would include 
"HMS Ulysses" among his best. "Caravan..." was also very enjoyable as it
was quite different from his earlier works and also laced with some
humor.
	However, I think Alistair Maclean, Robert Ludlum, Helen McInnes,
etc. all fade against John Le Carre. I think he is way ahead of them
in spy genre writings. One of his "classics" is "The spy who came in from
the cold". The "trilogy": "The Honorable Schoolboy", "Tinker, Tailor,
Soldier, Spy", and "Smiley's People" (I hope I have the order correct)
is totally enthralling. Not so very good was "A Little Drummer Girl".

--Ambrish Mathur
...ihnp4!alberta!mathur