Customer Reviews

Night without End

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

An airliner unexpectedly crashes on the Greenland Icecap near a scientific station. The scientists scramble to save the surviving passengers from the desperate cold of the Arctic night. They soon discover that the passengers are not whom they seem, and people keep dying...

"Night Without End" is one of Alistair Maclean's earliest novels. If his story-telling technique had not quite matured at this early date, he could still tell a gripping story, a closed house murder mystery set out-of-doors. Stolen military secrets are at the heart of the plot-line, but they frequently take a second seat to the simple task of surviving the dangerous cold weather and the uncertain terrain. The hero, a scientist named Mason, must ferry the passengers to safety on the coast while figuring out the identity of the killer and while being distracted by his sudden affections for a stewardess. Maclean builds the story to a thrilling finale on a glacier.

This book is highly recommended to fans of Alistair Maclean, and to other looking for an exciting story.

Lies. I love them! MacLean's tales are always a lot of fun, and this book isn't one to ignore. My father owns a ton of these old MacLean paperbacks and, sifting through some of them to see what I hadn't already read, I was intrigued by the premise I found: plane crashes in Greenland during winter's zero-light months...night without end (and hardly anyone gets any sleep). Several scientists working up there rescue the survivors, only to become potential victims themselves (they've only just enough food and other resources without keeping a host of foreigners barely alive)...

And, in that awesome MacLean fashion, strange things begin happening. It's a wonderful little tale, told in the first person. And I love it when our hero, Dr. Peter Mason, like many of MacLean's heroes, lie. I get that adrenaline rush knowing I know more than the other characters do -- save for the antagonists. You never know who they are, but you know they're aware of those lies. It's the most fun one can have with a book, in a way.

Night Without End isn't up to par with the best of the best MacLean tales, but it's damned close. Expect a riveting ride through the Arctic, but don't hope for a zillion plot twists. This is more of a whodunnit, and it keeps you guessing to the last few chapters...and even then you're wondering what's going to happen next. MacLean, who has never really impressed me with landscape descriptions, pounds out fantastic scenes beneath the aurora borealis here.

By the way, if you have the Fawcett Gold Medal Book in your hand, avoid reading the excerpt at the beginning of the book. You lose one potential suspect from that, unfortunately.

An excellent introduction to the masterful work of MacLean who writes with unmatched authority and detail. Typical of British mystery/adventure writers, this book entwines high adventure, human frailities, emotions and an underlying menace that grips the reader early in the narrative that does not let go until almost the end.

As a reader you feel the cold of the arctic weather in Greenland, the misery suffered by the book's subjects, the anger at the pepetrators of the misery suffered by those involved in this adventure. You are torn between putting down the book due to the fatigue and eaxhaustion that you feel as each horror unfolds and yet not wanting to leave the next chapter unread!

This book is an excellent introduction to the genre of great writing- Maclean's double might very well be another writer, Desmond Bagley. It is a shame that we shall not see more material from these two...............

This is one of Maclean's earlier efforts and it unfortunately comes across as such. The plot is, as always, excellent, but the actual writing is a little laboured. It is noticeable that telling the story in the first person creates a difficulty for the writer, with small irritations becoming manifestly larger as the book goes on: I nearly screamed at the number of times the author used the word "chagrin" to explain the feelings of Mason, the lead character. But this is all too negative. The story is a very good one, you are kept guessing throughout (as with every Maclean novel) and the book ends on one of the more gruesome, and therefore good, ways to die in any fictitious medium

Lies. I love them! MacLean's tales are always a lot of fun, and this book isn't one to ignore. My father owns a ton of these old MacLean paperbacks and, sifting through some of them to see what I hadn't already read, I was intrigued by the premise I found: plane crashes in Greenland during winter's zero-light months...night without end (and hardly anyone gets any sleep). Several scientists working up there rescue the survivors, only to become potential victims themselves (they've only just enough food and other resources without keeping a host of foreigners barely alive)...

And, in that awesome MacLean fashion, strange things begin happening. It's a wonderful little tale, told in the first person. And I love it when our hero, Dr. Peter Mason, like many of MacLean's heroes, lie. I get that adrenaline rush knowing I know more than the other characters do -- save for the antagonists. You never know who they are, but you know they're aware of those lies. It's the most fun one can have with a book, in a way.

Night Without End isn't up to par with the best of the best MacLean tales, but it's damned close. Expect a riveting ride through the Arctic, but don't hope for a zillion plot twists. This is more of a whodunnit, and it keeps you guessing to the last few chapters...and even then you're wondering what's going to happen next. MacLean, who has never really impressed me with landscape descriptions, pounds out fantastic scenes beneath the aurora borealis here.

By the way, if you have the Fawcett Gold Medal Book (see "customer images") in your hand, avoid reading the excerpt at the beginning of the book. You lose one potential suspect from that, unfortunately.

This a cold war spy novel set in the arctic night. Passenger flight crshlands in the arctic near a scientific base. the researchers hyrry to rescue the passengers and find themselves amidst a plot to steel military secrets. What is amazing about this book is that the heroes have to fight against the terrible cold which is cleverly utilized by the enemy. the author manages to convey the hardships of arctic cold night so well.The plot has some holes though, but the book is enjoyable just for the atmosphere, if nothing else

This is a thriller that plays in Greenland. The life of a group of Arctic explorers gets very complicated when they get unexpected visitors. This is actually all you need to know about the plot, because the less you know in advance, the more you will enjoy the book.

Mr. MacLean most certainly knows what he's writing about. Each little detail is in its place and everything is credible. Actually, a friend told me that the book was so realistic that he felt cold all the time he read the book.

Mr. MacLean also knows how to tell an exciting story. This book's definitely not moving on a straight line - you'll really have no chance of guessing which ones are the good and which ones the bad guys, and how it all ends. Just the ending seemed to me a bit hasty and Hollywood-like. That's why I'm not giving the book more than four stars.

This was one of Alistair MacLean's earlier books but one of his best. He seems to be at home in the Arctic. No one describes the cold, ice landscape better than MacLean.

It has a wonderful plot with twists and turns and surprises. If you are familiar with MacLean's work you may be able to spot one of the surprises. The author excelled at having a group of people in a basically closed environment with a killer in their midst. This novel, Breakheart Pass and Bear Island, have the same basic plot with different locations. It may be a tried and true formula but MacLean always carries it out brilliantly.

Another one of MacLean's five-star novels.

This edition of 'Night without End' is not the original version of the novel. The text has been adapted and shortened, for the sake of people wanting to learn or improve their English.

This is not clearly indicated in the information about the book. So be aware of this before you consider purchasing it.

One of my favourite MacLeans of all time. The suspense is ever present, both at the forefront where you hope the survivors of the plane crash in Greenland in the depth of winter survive the journey to the coast, and much deeper and more sinister, where you hope the unknown murderer amongst them is discovered before its too late.

The most memorable aspect of this story is the hellish journey from the weather station where the crash occurs towards the coast. The temperature is a killer and most of the passengers are totally out of their depth in dealing with the elements and the situation they're in.

Its down to the resourceful Doctor Mason and his eskimo sidekick Jackstraw to get them to safety, as well as trying to unearth who was responsible for the crash and why. Complex, intelligent and with the usual hallmark twist the best MacLeans had.