South by Java Head [Hardcover]

Alistair MacLean (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1958

Classic World War 2 adventure set in south-east Asia. February, 1942: Singapore lies burning and shattered, defenceless before the conquering hordes of the Japanese Army, as the last boat slips out of the harbour into the South China Sea. On board are a desperate group of people, each with a secret to guard, each willing to kill to keep that secret safe. Who or what is the dissolute Englishman, Farnholme? The elegant Dutch planter, Van Effen? The strangely beautiful Eurasian girl, Gudrun? The slave trader, Siran? The smiling and silent Nicholson who is never without his gun? Only one thing is certain: the rotting tramp steamer is a floating death trap, carrying a cargo of human TNT. Dawn sees them far out to sea but with the first murderous dive bombers already aimed at their ship. Thus begins an ordeal few are to survive, a nightmare succession of disasters wrought by the hell-bent Japanese, the unrelenting tropical sun and by the survivors themselves, whose hatred and bitterness divides them one against the other.Written after the acclaimed and phenomenally successful HMS Ulysses and The Guns of Navarone, this was MacLean s third book, and it contains all the hallmarks of those other two classics. Rich with stunning visual imagery, muscular narrative power, brutality, courage and breathtaking excitement.

--This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Excitements come and go at breathless speed. --The Times

Highly dramatic and effective --Observer --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: Doubleday; First Edition edition (June 1958)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 9997402618
• ISBN-13: 978-9997402615
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.9 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,472,638 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not the best one, August 24, 2000

By 

Mark S. Winger (Wood Dale, IL United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: South by Java Head (Hardcover)

I don't think it was one of his best books. The tale seemed to drag on for me. Yes, it had MacLeans normal twist and turns but I don't think the story was as strong or as interesting as it has been in many of his other books. I feel each time he started a new chapter it lost its flow entirely, and it took several pages to get reinterested in the story. I think most all of his books start off real slow, but once you're in, you are hooked. Not so with this one. He is an entertaining author so that's why the 3 stars, and because he has written worse. I still recommend "Puppet on a Chain", "Where Eagles Dare" or "Satan Bug" among others.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well-executed adventure, May 31, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: South by Java Head (Hardcover)

I always loved Alistair MacLean novels. For adventure, I found him to be one of the most consistent and satisfying authors out there. This is one of his best. It has twists and turns, as always, but is also a bit more harrowing than some of his other novels. All of which sets everything up nicely for a great denouement.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Escape from Singapore..., October 12, 2008

By 

D. S. Thurlow (Alaska) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Alistair MacLean's 1958 "South By Java Head" is evidence both of his tremendous talent as a story teller and that he was still learning the writing trade with this early novel.

"South By Java Head" is set in the fall of the British stronghold of Singapore to the Japanese Army in February 1942. A mixed collection of soldiers, nurses, fleeing civilians, a small boy, and at least one spy attempt to escape the burning city aboard the Kerry Dancer, a battered freighter manned by a disreputable captain and crew. When the Kerry Dancer is crippled by Japanese war planes, the refugees are rescued by the Viroma, a tanker also fleeing the Japanese. Thus begins a terrible ordeal, as the Viroma itself is sunk by the Japanese and the survivors take to open boats. Led by stalwart First Officer Nicholson, they will attempt to flee to safety across the South China Sea, relentlessly pursued by the Japanese and equally at risk from traitors in their midst.

"South By Java Head" has touches of real brillance. The description of the fall of Singapore is as moving as anything MacLean would write after "HMS Ulysses", and the twisting plot presages what would become the standard of MacLean's adventure stories. Although Johnny Nicholson doesn't even make an appearance until the second act of the story, he is clearly the hero; the rest is told from his point of view. He is a perfectly adequate Maclean hero, honorable, humane, but tough and enduring in a crisis; he is ably assisted by a strong, silent side kick who seems to rise to every occasion.

Unfortunately, MacLean tries to pack too much adventure into the storyline. The core characters roll from one life-threatening crisis to the next; their continuing survival becomes less and less credible. MacLean gives himself rather too many characters to manage. Several get promising introductions, only to be killed off as plot devices. The secret that gives rise to several betrayals hardly seems worth the trouble it costs both the pursuers and the traitors. Nicholson is given a promising love interest, but the romance doesn't get a lot of development. The Japanese, fair or not, are flatly portrayed as savage monsters.

"South By Java Head" is highly recommended to Alistair MacLean fans. The casual reader will likely find it to be an entertaining adventure story.