Juggernaut [Large Print] [Hardcover]

Desmond Bagley (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1986

It is longer than a football pitch, weighs 550 tons, and moves at an average of five miles per hour. Its job - and that of company trouble-shooter, Neil Mannix - is to move a giant transformer across Nyala, an oil-rich African state. When Nyala erupts into civil war, Mannix finds himself, and the juggernaut, at the centre of the conflict. Can Mannix deliver the transformer to its destination or will warring factions finally halt its progress and destroy it?

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This is the last novel left unpublished at the author's death in 1983, and, while it may not be the best of Bagley (The Golden Keel, Night of Error, the old pro's smooth yarn-spinning still works nicely. American narrator Neil Mannix is the corporate troubleshooter for multinational British Electric. Nyala, a former British colony newly rich with oil, hopes to prop up its shaky democracy and economy with a new power station near its oil fields. The Nyalans insist that British Electric must dispatch a 300-ton transformer for display to the populace, and Mannix is sent to supervise the travels of "the rig" on a huge flatbed. Civil war breaks out, and Mannix is bullied by a local doctor and an Irish nun into using the rig as a traveling hospital. He must deal with opposing armies, possibly unsafe roads and bridges, some untrustworthy crew members and Nyalans who trek after the machinery, which has taken on symbolic, even mythic meaning. The logistics are occasionally over-detailed, but the story, like the rig-juggernaut, keeps rolling through colorful West Africa and a lively cast of characters.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

The original juggernaut was a huge idol of the Indian god Krishna. Once a year it was dragged through the streets while sacrificial victims were crushed beneath its weight. This last novel by Bagley (who died in 1983) is a modern action tale set in the West African state of Nyala, and in it the "juggernaut" is a huge 550-ton transformer to be conveyed up-country by a group of British contractors. American troubleshooter Neil Mannix must see that delivery occurs on time despite obstacles including the outbreak of civil war. His plans are further complicated when the giant rig is transformed into a mobile field hospital, which Nyalan victims of the war follow through the bush to safety. Though this novel is too long, it is a fairly diverting adventure yarn that Bagley's devoted readers will enjoy. Recommended for general fiction and YA collections. William C. McCully, Park Ridge P.L., Ill.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 576 pages
• Publisher: Ulverscroft Large Print Books Ltd; Large Print edition edition (August 1986)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0708914977
• ISBN-13: 978-0708914977
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Weak story by a fine author., April 18, 2008

By 

James Yanni (Bellefontaine Neighbors, Mo. USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Juggernaut (Paperback)

Desmond Bagley is a fine author, one of my personal favorites. But every author, no matter how fine, has to have a least-impressive book, and this is Bagley's. It's a perfectly acceptable action story, but the characters and the setting aren't nearly as captivating as any of his other books. And the deus-ex-machina ending was certainly not up to his usual standards.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good book, September 9, 2000

By 

"klikk" (Aurskog, Akershus Norway) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Juggernaut (Hardcover)

Neil Mannix have a mission in a westafrican country. His mission is to drive a trailer to a oilfield, but that is easier said than done. It start with tribe unrest and develop to a civil war. Mannix is in the middle of the problems.

The book is exciting and nice to read if you don't have other things to do. If you like action, this book could be worth a look.