Customer Reviews

Puppet on a Chain

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Interpol agent Paul Sherman has just arrived in Amsterdam and before he can even leave Schiphol Airport he has already witnessed the gunning down of his key contact, been knocked half-unconscious by an assassin, and tangled with local authorities.

"Check whatever you like with whoever you like," he tells a dubious police officer about his credentials. "I suggest you start with Colonel van de Graaf at the Central HQ."

"You know the Colonel?"

"It's just some name I picked out of my head. You'll find me at the bar."

Alistair MacLean has fun with his sarcastic protagonist, and his levity is much needed with a storyline that gets gothic and overwrought. The drug trade is the nemesis in this taut action yarn, equal parts mystery and "Dirty Harry"-style rogue cop story.

Actually, I was reminded a lot of Nelson DeMille reading this, something I wasn't expecting. MacLean is known for his fast-paced action yarns, but not for the humor he shows off here, often and well. Like DeMille, MacLean here presents a wonderful narrative voice that deepens our sense of engagement with the tale's teller by using humor and a feeling for the moment that is at times quite fine.

Occasionally the plot seems to almost veer into parody, as when Sherman checks into a hotel and almost immediately is set upon by a hopped-up bellboy. There's also an attack by wimple-wearing haymakers and the use of a safe as torture device. I wish he had let himself go more in a comical direction with these ideas, but he had an army of readers who expected otherwise.

It's not an easy book to follow, maybe because I was reading it too fast. One bit on the last page between Sherman and a woman is especially odd; I'm still not sure if he was proposing to her or exposing her as a double agent. The villains, when revealed, as not exactly who you expect in part because their motives and modus operandi make no sense. Of course, MacLean is writing for effect here, nowhere more so than in the title image of a Dutch doll hanging from a hook, which the bad guys use to demonstrate their menace. Why? Don't ask, just keep reading.

But that's the easy part. It's a fast, fun read. The best bit is when Sherman does some investigating of a barge operating around the Zuider Zee; MacLean's ability to convey the sense of the natural world and its elements is on full display in a night scene with "the faint threnody of the wind and the soft creaking and rubbing as the wind made the barges work gently at their moorings." After eluding some assassins, Sherman gets on the wheelhouse roof and quickly realizes he's likely to freeze to death in the hard winter cold coming off the water.

Since he's telling you all this, you sense Sherman will pull through, but MacLean keeps many balls in the air and the reader isn't let off so easy. You might feel a little like that puppet on a chain as MacLean dangles your expectations and pulls your strings; but his intentions are honorable and it's all in good fun.

Question: When is a puppet not a puppet?

Answer: When it's a corpse, of course!

Yes, In MacLean's _PUPPET ON A STRING_ this was one method that a psychopathic killer used to make his point -- his point being don't try to catch me or "this" could happen to you. "This" being your body hanging from a hook through your neck from a third story flagpole projected out over the street. Gruesome, huh?

The plot revolved around the efforts of Col. Sherman, an Interpol agent, to find and eliminate a major drug supplier in Amsterdam. Our psychopathic killer was a prominent player in, but not the "mastermind" of the drug distributors.

At times during this book, I wondered how Col. Sherman had survived as long as he had. On at least three occasions he was careless enough to get captured, severely beaten, and almost killed. Only a combination of a lot of luck and last second help from unexpected places kept him alive. He also made enough serious mistakes and overlooked the obvious with such frequency that his friends and aides often found themselves in serious trouble or, worse, turned up dead.

Those are the weak points. On the other hand, Sherman was remarkably resilient, and came out of each failure a little closer to finding out who was running the show and what ingenious methods were being used to smuggle the world's largest supply of heroin into those countries where it brought the highest prices.

The action was non-stop, and, at least to this reader, the ending did come as a surprise. I could easily picture it as a spy thriller movie starring whoever is the "star of the moment."

If you can suspend disbelief for a bit and just read _PUPPET ON A STRING_ as a fast paced thriller, I think you'll enjoy it in spite of a few "aw come on, he must be smarter than that" reactions. I know that I did.

Easily my favorite book ever! One of the best stories of its genre. Alistair Maclean does a wonderful job of describing Amsterdam. From the moment Paul Sherman arrives at Schiphol, you can feel the tension in the air and thereafter the book is impossible to put down. The canals, the shady characters that abound the story, the helpless victims (Astrid Lemay, her brother George), the ultimate sadists, and their weapons of torture, will make you believe that you are there. If you have read all of Maclean's works but this one, this one is very different in that it brings out the dark side of Maclean's work. Read it and discover it for yourself. You will not regret it!! It's a pity that today's moviemakers do not take a look at this gem and make a movie out of it (there was one done in 1976 and that was not as good as desired). Sean Connery, Pierce Brosnan, or George Clooney would do a good job of Paul Sherman, I think!

Alistair Maclean's "Puppet on a Chain" is a thrill ride straight into the late 1960's drug underworld of Amsterdam. The story opens with the murder, in the middle of Schiphol Airport, of the contact for Maclean's protagonist, Paul Sherman. Sherman is a veteran Interpol Narcotics Bureau agent, used to independent action and blunt force tactics. He is assisted by two attractive female agents, one an experienced operative, the other a rookie. Sherman is in the Netherlands to break up a vicious drug smuggling ring that will kill ruthlessly to protect its operation.

"Puppet on a Chain" has the standard twisting plot, local atmospherics, and sardonic dialogue that were Maclean's trademarks as a story-teller. Maclean allows his protagonist to have a bantering relationship with his assistants that provides a streak of humor as the plot unfolds. Unfortunately, Sherman's relationship with his assistants will be used against him. As his investigation is undermined by betrayal, leaving him constantly a half-step behind his adversaries, Sherman will resort to increasingly violent action to turn the tables. The story culminates in a violent struggle above the streets of Amsterdam to save the life of his surviving female operative.

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

This book is certainly the best of Alistair Maclean. It has all the crucial elements of a detective-thriller. The added bonus is the occasional sarcastic remarks by Paul Sherman which makes one laugh all over. From the very first it grips the reader and keeps churning out unexpected twists in the plot,the main element being Maclean's trademark:- Suspense. It keeps the reader rivetted upto the last page and the action never dies even when the suspense has been revealed. The only drawback in the book is the almost total invincibility of the main character,Paul Sherman. He seems to anticipate and get out of every dicey situation. Barring this,this book is recommended for all Maclean's fans.

This is another of Maclean's successful detective novels. Some of the characters in the books are familiar from his another work, "Floodgate". The action takes place in Amsterdam and it's suburbs and along with intriguing the reader with a great plot, the author also succeeds in portraying the picturesque Hollandish city-life and countryside. Just like in most of his novels, the hero is an invincible individual, accompanied by an astonishingly beautiful woman, for whom he shows no sign of affection until the end. The plot itself is highly unpredictable and is full of interesting twists. It is a great read for any detective-story fan and is, of course, a must-read for MacLean fans.

Alistair MacLean's PUPPET ON A CHAIN, which was written in 1969, ranks in the annals of suspense/horror with anything that has been written in the 40 years since its publication.
From beginning to end the tale is a fast moving saga of violence, terror, and greed where nothing is as it seems in Amsterdam. Major Paul Sherman of the London Bureau of Interpol is on the hunt for a madman killer who will stop at nothing to foster his illicit drug trade that reaches around the world.
An excellent read for plot, style, and story line at anytime.
Nash Black, author of Indie finalists WRITING AS A SMALL BUSINESS and HAINTS.

This is right up there with The Satan Bug, Fear Is The Key, Night Without End, When Eight Bells Toll and The Golden Rendezvous. Please don't miss this exciting book....the pitchfork "dance" in the hayfield, you will never forget.

Alistair McLean excels in creating a complex and suspenseful twist of events and characters in such a wy that you dont know whats going to happen next.This is a thriller all the way and a masterful one at that. A great read.

Alistair McLean excels in creating a complex and suspenseful twist of events and characters in such a wy that you dont know whats going to happen next.This is a thriller all the way and a masterful one at that. A great read.