Customer Reviews

HMS Ulysses (Isis Nonfiction)

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

 

 

I haven't read the large print edition, so I'm not commenting on the format. I read this book years ago, and it is one of my favorite of all time. It takes place on a convoy escort, the HMS Ulysses in the North Atlantic. The story is exceptionally well told, and as you read it you are there, on the ship, through one harrowing experience after another. Reading this gives one an insight into what it was like to be on convoy duty, the constant tension and fear, the shadowy threat of U-boats and the constant threat of the awesome power of Mother Nature.

I highly recommed the book for anyone who is a fan of military history. Even those who aren't particularly war fans will enjoy the book because the story is told so richly.

I've always been a fan of MacLean, even muddling through some of his later works such as Goodbye, California that were truly just "phone in" (if writers can be said to do such a thing, like actors can). Lots of action, lots of surprises, lots of unique settings (the artic, the desert,etc.) And no cussing, no sex, all clean...if you like that.

However, some of MacLean's earlier books, not only exhibited his best prose (Guns of Navarone being the most famous example) but often showed his love for the sea and the navy. HMS ULYSSES reads like a work of careful non-fiction. You truly feel as though this mission and the work of the crew on this ship REALLY did happen during WWII. The closest analogy I can think of is the movie, DAS BOOT, which gave you the feeling of sweat and filth the covered the men, the danger and possibility of surprise death and the sheer foolhardiness of men at war. This book does the same.

Unlike a movie such as U-571, for example, the ULYSSES is not on some super secret mission to save the world. It is on a routine run. But the book shows how the routine, for those living it (and dieing in it) is harrowing when it comes to war. The people who live and die in this book will never have statues dedicated to them or have their stories taught in history class. They fight and die for small things. That gives the book an extra aura of sadness.

MacLean's books, well-written or not, usually had plots that were over-the-top and ideal for Hollywood (although few good movies ended up being made of his work, ironically). They were "entertaining." HMS ULYSSES, his first novel, is gritty, realistic and vital...if you can only ever read one of his novels, make it this one.

I had read Alistair MacLean as a teenager and enjoyed his writing very much. But I had to wait until now at the age of 57 to pick up HMS Ulysses. How could I have allowed this treasure to elude me for so long? This book starkly portrays the horrors of war at sea where the savage elements, the unbelievable cold and the implacable enemy combine to strip away all hope. But that is only half of the whole, for HMS Ulysses is full of compassion, human warmth and wonderful characters so beautifully portrayed that it was so easy to identify with them and their trials and imagine that this great ship and her extraordinary crew really existed. Such was the power of the writing that I was left with a feeling of loss when I reached the end of the final page. HMS Ulysses is a beautiful story that you must read and if there were a way of awarding it more than 5 stars, I would gladly do so. Don't wait more than 40 years like I did. Buy it now and don't loan it to anybody. Let them buy their own copy. They'll want to anyway.

I read this book after completing the abysmal MacLean work known as Seawitch. HMS Ulysses was (to my knowledge) MacLean's first book. He had not yet "hit the groove" that made Night Without End and Ice Station Zebra so memorable, but this story still makes for great reading. A dictionary/reference for British Naval terminology would have been helpful at times as this book uses many technical terms.