Customer Reviews

The Last Frontier

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

 

 

"The Last Frontier", also published as "The Secret Ways", is Alistair MacLean's well-written novel about a British secret agent on a mission inside Hungary at the height of the Cold War. Many readers have forgotten how hard-fought the Cold War was for the United States and its Western Allies; very few ever knew how much more desperate it was for the inhabitants of Eastern Europe under the thumb of the Soviet Union in the late 1950's.

Michael Reynolds, MacLean's protagonist, is neither a James Bond nor a superman. He doesn't even have any fancy technology. He is well trained and resourceful. His biggest advantages against a cruel and efficient Hungarian Secret Service are an ability to make commonsense decisions under pressure and the heroic help of dedicated friends in the Hungarian underground. The plot has the twists, turns, and betrayals in which MacLean specialized. MacLean's characters are often cynical and without illusion about the causes they serve, yet they are sympathetic and interesting people. The suspense is good to the last page as Reynolds scrambles to complete his mission and escape to the West.

This book is highly recommended to fans of Cold War spy fiction and to fans of Alistair MacLean.

I remember reading an interview where Maclean stated he'd inititally written books with a serious point to them, but one of them wasn't well received, so since then he'd stuck to "pure entertainment". He was probably thinking about 'The Last Frontier' when he said this. The novel is Maclean's most serious book and also his most explicit attempt at a clear political statement.

That's fine as far as it goes, but the attempts to weave the political rhetoric into the narrative fail horribly. Every 50 pages or so, Maclean will stop dead and have a character launch into a long monologue about how governments need to work together, and people like Reynolds (the hero) can make a difference by telling the world what they've seen. These often go on for several pages each (in my copy, a person actually wrote in the margin "what a lecture!" after one of the more extended speeches), and bog the book down.

Apart from that, the book is quite good, and a little different to standard Maclean fare. It's more reflective and philosophical, although there are still some well-written action sequences. Characterisation was never Maclean's strong point, but here he gives some depth to his heroes and, surprisngly for Maclean, the villian. Colonel Hidas is drawn with some sympathy, especially during his final confrontation with Reynolds. Although utterly ruthless, we are given an insight into why he has become what he is. This is a welcome change from the usual cardboard-cutout "bad guy" in some other Maclean books.

In all, a different sort of Maclean book that may polarise even his fans. He pretty much abandoned this style after this, suggesting that even he acknowledged 'The Last Frontier' was something of a mis-step.

Michael Reynolds is fleeing the police in Hungary, near the Austrian border. Indeed he was commissioned by colonel Peter Mackintosh to reach a certain Jennings in Budapest before the forthcoming International Scientific Conference. When the police eventually catch Reynolds, the latter claims that his name is Johann Buhl, businessman and resident of Vienna and that he was invited to Hungary by the Economic Ministry. Subsequently, he is taken to the Andrassy Ut, headquarters of the AVO, the Hungarian Secret Police by Colonel Szendrô. But Reynolds knows that no one has ever escaped from the AVO Headqquarters, from the torture chambers in Stalin Street. If he is ever to escape, it will have to be from inside Szendrô's car within the next hour.

In "The Last Frontier", published in 1959, just three years after the crushing of the October Revolution by the Russian troops, the reader can relive the early days of the Cold War through this twisty and original spy story.

A very fast paced novel by the Alistair MaClean. An epic adventure about a british spy Micheal Reynolds who battles his way through communists gaining an insight into the lives' of those suffering behind the iron curtain. Not only does he learn of the fears they are subjected to but also how they deal with it. He aslo comes across a hero whose philosophical ways makes the reader amazed and admire him. Alistair MaClean keeps the reader hung unto the book till the last page with his sarcasm and cool and analytical style of writing with a mixture of British wit.

The place is Hungary, a few years after the revolution, that put grey men on every corner of the once beloved and peaceful land. Michael Reynolds is a british agent, sent to Hungary by his suppereors on a quest to free a known scientist from the cludges of the evil rulors of Hungary, who want him for themselves. On his way, he is assisted by freedomfighters, lead by the tough and unforgiven leader Janchy, who has fled the camps in Siberia, where he was imprisonned for his love of freedom. The henchmen of the Hungarians are cruel and vicious, but the one man I loved in the book, was the Count. He was from Polen, where he had once recided together with his six children and his beautiful wife, until the soldiers came. The Count barely got away, but when he says in the book, that his family is in a safer place, there is no doubt what he means. His family was killed, and his own exit in the book is both heartbreaking and couragous. A marvelous book from an exelent writer, who sadly is not with us any more.

I really enjoyed `When 8 Bells Toll,' and thought that `The Guns of Navarone' was pretty decent. `Last Frontier' on the other hand was a pretty lack luster effort by MacLean. The book just jumps right into the middle of the action, without preamble or the opportunity to be introduced to the protagonist. For the first sixty or so pages I was wondering when the flash back would occur and inform the reader why Reynolds (the protagonist) was in the situation he was in. In the end however, this book was not really about anything other than two things. One, a stream of action sequences that feels a bit tame by today's standards (after all, this book was written 50 years ago). And secondly, MacLean uses this book as an opportunity to lecture the reader on world events of his day. MacLean really goes off on a peace tirade over and over again here. Its kind of funny to be reading this so far removed from its time and look back at how Communism and the Cold War were being seen by the west.

The worst thing about this book is that it really felt like just a bunch of action sequences strung together with out careful plotting. The good guys constantly get out of scrapes in what can only be viewed as ludicrous maneuvering on the part of MacLean. Time after time, Reynolds and his band get into terrible trouble only to be rescued from the clutches of the most terrible police force ever created. I was wondering towards the end why this band of fellows just didn't head into Russia and end the cold war Rambo style.

I would not recommend this book to anyone. Even a MacLean fan. Maybe I would point someone interested in this time period only to be startled a bit by Communist references, but that would be all.