Customer Reviews

The Freedom Trap

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I hadn't heard of Desmond Bagley when I came across this book. What had attracted me to this book was a comment by a critic that this book puts Bagley into Alistair Maclean's category. Personally I think this book far exceeds anything that Maclean ever wrote. An amazing plot that stays with you forever !

It is great that these books are back in print. Freedom Trap, Running Blind, Landslide and Snow Tiger are the best.

It would be nicer if they were available for Kindle. Hint, hint.

Wow, Desmond Bagley is good! This was my first novel by this author, but definitely not the last. "The Freedom Trap" is a taut, unpredictable, totally absorbing story about a top-secret operation to take down an organized crime ring and a Russian spy in one stroke. There are twists and turns, an international chase, intense action scenes and a larger conspiracy as the story unfolds. Bagley was definitely a master of the thriller genre in the British tradition of Ian Fleming and Alistair Maclean, with a very polished and vivid style of writing. His influence on popular writers like DeMille, Ludlum and Follett is clear--but where they might take four or five hundred pages to tell a story, Bagley does it in 250. This makes for a very lean, fast-paced novel, which I found impossible to put down. If you haven't tried this author, do yourself a favor and get some of his books. Absolutely top shelf!

'The Freedom Trap' is a sort-of sequel to Bagley's previous thriller 'Running Blind', and in many ways is a similar book. In fact, the beginnings of both books are almost the same; the hero carrying out a "simple" job which goes wrong, and who may or may not have been sold out by his superior. However, while 'Running Blind' was a fairly straightforward thriller, 'The Freedom Trap' takes a number of twists and turns, tells a more interesting story, and has stronger, more memorable characters. In my view, it is a stronger book than its predecessor.

With a book like this, it's best not to reveal many details about the plot. Suffice to say it continues the story of its predecessor's antagonist, Slade. Although now languishing in prison after being outed as a double agent, there are those who are still very interested in Slade, for different reasons. I was actually quite surprised by Slade in this book; from the ruthless villain of 'Running Blind', Slade cuts a more diminished, almost pathetic figure here. While certainly not a protagonist, there is some sympathy for him and his predicament.

The protagonist of this book is similar to Stewart from 'Running Blind', although they share a similar flaw in that they are a bit too 'cool' for their own good. Mackintosh plays a small but important role in the story, as the superior who has possibly betrayed the hero. However, the best character here is the enigmatic "Mrs Smith"; she is an unbelievably cool and capable thriller heroine. Bagley's heroines tended to be a bit more resourceful than those of Alistair Maclean, say (not that that's saying much), and Smith is the best of them. The true antagonists are only rarely seen, and as individuals are not really that important to the story.

In all, this is a very strong thriller with some clever surprises, although I did think the ending was a bit rushed and abrupt (ok, the boats crashed and......wait, that's it?). While it's not strictly necessary to read 'Running Blind' first, the plot and character of Slade will make a bit more sense if you do.