When Eight Bells Toll [Mass Market Paperback]

Alistair Maclean (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 12, 1983

From the acclaimed master of action and suspense. The all time classicMillions of pounds in gold bullion are being pirated in the Irish Sea. Investigations by the British Secret Service, and a sixth sense, have bought Philip Calvert to a bleak, lonely bay in the Western Highlands. But the sleepy atmosphere of Torbay is deceptive. The place is the focal point of many mysterious disappearances. Even the unimaginative Highland Police Sergeant seems to be acting a part. But why?This story is Alistair MacLean at his enthralling best. It has all the edge-of-the-seat suspense, and dry humour that millions of readers have devoured for years.

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

• ‘Keeps up its high-wire tension all the way. Not to be missed’ Guardian• ‘A cracker-jack opening. Insistently readable’ Evening Standard• ‘Breathless action…and a sterling plot’Financial Times --This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

About the Author

Alistair MacLean, the son of a Scots minister, was brought up in the Scottish Highlands. In 1941 he joined the Royal Navy. After the war he read English at Glasgow University and became a schoolmaster. The two and a half years he spent aboard a wartime cruiser were to give him the background for HMS Ulysses, his remarkably successful first novel, published in 1955. He is now recognized as one of the outstanding popular writers of the 20th century, the author of 29 worldwide bestsellers, many of which have been filmed. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback
• Publisher: Fawcett (November 12, 1983)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0449204944
• ISBN-13: 978-0449204948
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,503,025 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars At the Stroke of Midnight, March 17, 2005

By 

Christopher "chrysaetos" (Wengen-en-esprit) - See all my reviews

This review is from: When Eight Bells Toll (Mass Market Paperback)

"The Peacemaker Colt has now been in production, without change in design, for a century." An inciteful beginning to MacLean's first tale in three years, after Lawrence of Arabia: A Biography (he also released Ice Station Zebra in '63). This sentence is a perfect example of the humor (you'll know it's humor soon enough) MacLean writes into our hero's personality.

While I've noticed MacLean's first-person narratives contain fair amounts of his dry wit, When Eight Bells Toll is the first book of his that has made me laugh out loud on several occasions. My favorite part was when Philip Calvert, the hero, is running through trees in a heavy downpour, and he can't see where he is going, so he keeps running into trees. His thoughts as this is happening is simply a delight to read! A British secret service agent with a sense of humor.

Of course, MacLean's book is not all laughable. Calvert and his boss must figure out why ships and their crews are disappearing - and each vessel had been carrying valuable cargo. I enjoyed reading Captain Imrie's doppelganger (he's a far nicer character in Bear Island).

MacLean isn't afraid of killing off characters. And he throws in the usual dash of twists to toss the reader off his seat, although it has fewer than some of his other books. The book is also loaded with exposition. I found myself dragging my eyeballs over some of the pages, unfortunately.

While the book kept me guessing to the very end -- and you're guessing about an extraordinary amount of things -- I didn't feel it was MacLean's strongest work. This is on a sliding scale, of course, as I feel MacLean's tales are more complex in design and more realistic than many modern books published today.

The title refers to seafaring vessels and crew who keep track of time by ringing bells. Eight bells represents six different hours of the day, one of which is midnight. Of the time-span each chapter represents, I noticed chapter six (8:40 pm - 10:40 pm) is the only chapter that takes place between the three bells and six bells of the first (evening) watch, meaning eight bells never "toll" during this chapter. Unrelated, but interesting to note, is that a Christian church will ring a bell nine times for the death of someone.

Mr. MacLean also slightly rewrote the story for the 1971 film with Anthony Hopkins.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great read from the master of suspense, September 21, 2004

By 

Darren Harrison "DVD collector and reviewer" (Washington D.C.) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: When Eight Bells Toll (Mass Market Paperback)

I was first alerted to this book when as a young boy I saw the 1971 movie adaptation starring Anthony Hopkins and Robert Morley on the BBC. Fans of MacLean should know what to expect here as he enters into James Bond territory with a naval secret service officer named Calvert investigating gold bullion pirating in the Irish Sea. This case takes him to Scotland. The pace is relentless and the suspense breathtaking. I highly recommend this book, its one of my favorite reads. I notice that a DVD of the movie is available in Region 2. Here is hoping that it appears one day soon here in the USA.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars This short novel is enjoyable but not great., July 10, 2008

By 

NoWireHangers (Sweden) - See all my reviews

This review is from: When Eight Bells Toll (Paperback)

"When Eight Bells Toll" is a well written adventure involving modern day pirates stealing gold and diamonds from cargo ships. It's up to Philip Calvert and his team to find the thieves. But things haven't worked out quite as Calvert planned and several people end up dead.

This is a very quick read at just over 200 pages, so it never gets boring, but the story is only mildly interesting. There are some, but few, good suspense sequences and the ending is somewhat anticlimactic and clichéd.

Strong three star rating. It's an enjoyable but not great adventure that can be read in a short time.