Customer Reviews

Running Blind

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

 

 

Back in the 1960s and even 1970s, Desmond Bagley was easily one of the best thriller writers around. As a rule, his books tend to be short and to the point, filled with action and marked with innovative ideas. Running Blind is one of my personal favorites (actually I think it is his best work) which I suddenly stumbled upon after many years. Allan Stewart, a retired intelligence agent is suddenly forced against his will to re-join the game just to complete one final assignment. Almost immediately, he finds himself in a maze of bluffs and double-bluffs. By a mix of good fortune and rusty skills, he escapes a trap and in doing so, stumbles almost by accident on the scary possibility that a top official in British intelligence may actually be a Russian mole (remember, this is a Cold War story). Of course, he now has to settle this question one way or the other. What follows is a terrific roller coaster of a story as Stewart (accompanied by his girlfriend), the mole, the Russians (including his opposite number thirsting for revenge after Stewart had long ago shot him in a very sensitive area!), and stray CIA agents engage in a fascinating pursuit over the Icelandic landscape, culminating in a shootout at the baddies hideout that is almost "western" in nature. A very good novel indeed.

Yes,This book is superlative. For the person who reviewed it earlier, it has been filmed. It was shown on PBS ten or so years ago in a three part series starring Stuart Wilson.

Running Blind is a book that is on the real side of Life not with super heros dashing around with the biggest gun possible(fleets Rifle comes close) A must for all kids from 12 to 120 Another helpful Hint from the meister

British agent Alan Stewart is dragged out of self-imposed exile for a simple job, to deliver a package. But when the delivery goes wrong, Stewart suddenly finds himself persued through Iceland from all sides. 'Running Blind' is a very apt title for this book, as Stewart is up against his former service, the Russians, the Americans, as well as an old nemesis. His only real asset is local knowledge and contacts thanks to his Icelandic girlfriend Erin, and together the two of them race from hideout to hideout across the back-blocks of Iceland. What was in the package? Can Stewart trust anyone? Is his boss, Slade, selling him out?

In general, I prefer Bagley's man-against-the-environment thrillers to his more conventional spy thrillers. Bagley is better at the former, whereas his spy thrillers are a bit too cliched, especially in the characterisation. Stewart is almost too typical of the cool, dry-witted, wisecracking spy hero....even under threat of having his vital parts cut off he remains ultra-cool. It doesn't help that Bagley's first-person narration gives us little insight into Stewart's emotions. Erin is a better character, quite strong willed and capable. The dynamic between the two leads is interesting; Stewart depends on her knowledge of Iceland but at the same time is reluctant to involve her too deeply. Of the antagonists, the duplicious Slade is given a bit of humanity; behind the ruthlessness is a hint of the stress and tension of maintaining two faces for so long.

It was a little different from some of Bagley's early books, although there is still some sense of Stewart fighting the hostile environment of Iceland as much as his enemies. And Stewart is able to exploit the landscape (flooding rivers, boiling geysers, lava deposits) to escape his persuers. I'm not sure that all the story threads quite make sense, and the revelation of what was in the package is almost too clever and tricky to satisfy. I'd say it's not quite in the same class as 'High Citadel' or 'Wyatt's Hurricane', but fans of the genre will still find plenty to like here.

[3.5 stars]

Running Blind lives upto the title. The author sends the hero on a mission where the hero is literally 'running blind'. He is the victim of a double agent within his own service, and is called back from retirement for a last job against an earlier nemesis in the rival KGB service.

The background is the Cold War, and the antagonistic feelings of those times may be a bit anachronistic. But given this limitation as a period piece, the book succeeds in leading both its hero and the reader into a Blind Man's Buff.

The end is still a surprise, and sort of a shock.

A thriller from start to finish, and guaranteed reading from in one sitting from start to finish.

Also very good repeat value.

The language is very mature and builds up each event to a pitch required for the novel to sustain a certain momentum.

I picked the right age to read this for the first time -- I had progressed beyond Hardy Boys and so forth, and knew just a little about birds and bees. It remained my favorite book for a good 3 years.

This book will make you want to visit Iceland and retrace the protagonist's adventures.

As with most Desmond Bagley books, the language is not taxing, and the style is welcoming. It has more pace and intensity than his usual work, and all in all, a delightful book to read. Unfortunately, the ending is quite weak -- the good guy loses consciousness at some point and when he wakes up some serendipitous sequence of events have improved his changes. Other that complaint, I loved this book.

I read this book many years ago I remember it being great. A very fast paced action thriller. For those of you who may be interested the BBC did make a TV series based on this book. But it was a long time ago, (maybe early eighties or even late seventies I'm not sure). May be available at BBC.co.uk?

When I was a kid (many years ago now), I read this book. I still see Desmond Bagley as the natural successor to Alistair Maclean. If Maclean had zero percent sex in his books (where there is a female character as in 'The Golden Rendezvous', she hates the hero), Desmond Bagley gets to maybe 2 percent - he does have some alluring female characters. But it is all sooo British. This book is an excellent read, with the hero and the reader uncertain as to what is going on as the plot slowly unfolds.

I happened to receive this book as a gift a few years ago, and once I started reading, I could hardly stop until I had finished it. A short time later, I read it a again, this time with a map of Iceland at hand, because "Running Blind" isn't just an exciting, thrilling novel, but also supplies a lot of background information about Iceland. Great!

One of bagley's best. i read this book during my school trip this year & i was loathe to put it down. Allan stewart has retired from the intelligence buisness but has been forced to return. He is supossed to deliver a mysterios package to slade(dont confuse with slade from "the freedom trap") but discovers danger & double crossing at every corner.