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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
"Guns" rocks; "Force 10" is weaker but okay,
By
This review is from: The Guns of Navarone/Force 10 from Navarone (Cinema Classics) (Hardcover)
Thriller writer Alistair MacLean hit the big time with "The Guns of Navarone," his second novel, in 1957. It was made into a very successful movie with Gregory Peck, Anthony Quinn, and David Niven in the starring roles. The idea of the secret commando team consisting of a number of specialized operatives (Cpt. Mallory -- rock climber extraordinaire; Andrea -- incredibly strong, lethal fighter; Cpl. Miller -- explosives expert; Petty Ofc. Brown -- engineer and radio expert; Lt. Stevens -- rock climber) with a suicidal mission was duplicated in numerous incarnations ranging from "The Dirty Dozen" to "Mission: Impossible" (the TV series)."The Guns of Navarone" is a fantastic adventure/war novel. It's tight and tense throughout, and there's an edge to it that is missing from a number of MacLean's later works. It comes across as more realistic than the fun to read "Where Eagles Dare." The basic plot of "Guns" is that the, during World War II, the Germans have recaptured from the Allies a number of Greek islands; the last one left will be taken over soon, dooming over 1000 Allied soldiers. The British would evacuate the soliders, except they can't get through a channel covered by the Guns of Navarone. All previous aerial attacks on the guns have failed. So Mallory and company are sent on a mission to approach the island of Navarone by boat, climb a sheer wall face, infiltrate the German fortress, and blow up the guns. "Force 10" is the sequel to "Guns," written eleven years later. It picks up from the ending of the movie, not the novel, so characters who were in the book but not the movie disappear. This time, there's another mission, and Mallory, Andrea, and Miller are paired with three young soldiers who are more eager and less experienced. It too has an edginess to it, but it's not as thrilling as "Guns." Note that the movie version of "Force 10" starring Harrison Ford, Robert Shaw, and Edward Fox is based on the book in name only (well, except for one fight scene, sort of). Andrea isn't even in the movie. So don't expect the book to be anything like the movie. (Which may be good or bad depending on what you thought of the movie.) In sum, these are prime examples of MacLean working at his peak. You can't go wrong here.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
MacLean at his early best - great stuff!,
By
This review is from: The Guns of Navarone/Force 10 from Navarone (Cinema Classics) (Hardcover)
Guns of Navarone was my introduction to Alistair MacLean a couple of decades back and what an introduction it was! A disparate team, each member picked for his particular expertise, united only by their enmity with the Germans, is deployed to attempt a near impossible task. The British sea borne retreat from the Aegean islands is prevented by the gun battery on Navarone that commands the sea route. Assault by air or sea is impossible and the land route to destroy the battery involves climbing a rock face that even the best rock climbers shudder at - but there is no other route! The team assembles, bonds as it approaches the deployment point (despite individual irritants) and makes the attempt. The outcome of course is successful but in spinning the yarn MacLean takes the reader on a roller coaster. From the calm of the Aegean cruise to the split-second timing of the finale, from the crude pettiness of small minded individuals, to the unsung heroism of a dying man, from the stereotyped Nazi villain to an individual's battle to overcome fear, MacLean holds the reader in thrall. Force 10 merits a mixed review. Though billed as a sequel to Guns, it is actually a sequel to the movie version, which added the usual Hollywood froth to the book, and hence is a bit disorienting for the reader who has not seen the movie. Based in what used to be Yugoslavia, our team of heroes, now somewhat abridged, attempts a brilliant feint to fool the Nazis as to the direction of the main Allied attack into Europe. The feint also has a significant local impact of course. Again an excellent thriller (my only real beef is the discontinuity with the Guns novel) and in fact both Guns and Force 10 are MacLean at his early best, when his novels were concise doses of thrilling action. Among his early strengths were high quality dialog and terrific descriptions, especially of events of nature like storms and floods. Excellent suspense for the most part, fast paced action, believable yet wondrous storyline and gripping prose. Good for an air or train journey or even vacation reading.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Outstanding - the 'original' mission impossible!,
By "rayportland" (Portland, OR USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Guns of Navarone/Force 10 from Navarone (Cinema Classics) (Hardcover)
I first read 'Guns' about thirty five years ago. Thought it was great then, but enjoy it even more now. Some people find it simple; to me it is concise and focused. Longer is not necessarily better. Unbelievable? Only if you know nothing about what has actually happened in war. Truth is stranger than fiction. I don't want to give anything away, but I especially like how Alistair Maclean conveyed the feeling of deceptive peace rapidly changing to incredible violence during the boat journey to the island of Navarone. I once would have thought that the characters were somewhat sterotypical and larger than life, but when I served two years as a paratrooper in the 82d Airborne Division I found that some sterotypes are based on fact. What I enjoy even more now are the descriptions and the mental pictures that are conjured up of the islands and natural settings that the action is occurring in. I say this is the original 'Mission Impossible" because the storyline of the small team of highly trained professionals taking on the impossible mission has been done many times since('Dirty Dozen', for example), but I personally don't know of any story that pre-dates 'Guns'. I enjoyed the movie as well, but I find myself wondering why they had to give it the 'Hollywood' treatment and tamper with such an outstanding action tale. As far as 'Force 10', it is also an entertaining read, but not in the same league as 'Guns'. Still, a nice package for the money, well worth it!
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