Alistair Maclean Best Books In Order

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Rosham Rosebure

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Aug 3, 2024, 2:44:08 PM8/3/24

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MacLean introduced me to the plight of the World War 2 Arctic Convoys, the troubled history of the Balkans, and the complicity of silence by the western world that exacerbated the horrors of Communism and Fascism. Yes, he always did so through the lens of his story, and sometimes with a slanted, or downright inaccurate, view (MacLean clearly has no idea how nuclear weapons actually work). Nonetheless, he made me want to find out more.

The atomic submarine Dolphin has impossible orders: to sail beneath the ice-floes of the Arctic Ocean to locate and rescue the men of weather-station Zebra, gutted by fire and drifting with the ice-pack somewhere north of the Arctic Circle.

A converted fishing trawler, Morning Rose carries a movie-making crew across the Barents Sea to isolated Bear Island, well above the Arctic Circle, for some on-location filming, but the script is a secret known only to the producer and screenwriter.

So, those are my five favourite Macleans (and one stinker). Have you read them? Do you have favourites of your own that you think should have made the list? Be sure to let me know in the comments below.

I adore When Eight Bells Toll (and Golden Rendezvous) though it does suffer from a rushed ending. The opening scene, however, is one of the best. It also perhaps claims the most faithful movie adaption, save perhaps for Fear is the Key.

Funny I saw this as I just started reading all of his earlier books again. I read them in the 70s and loved his writing. Not always correct or well researched but a master storytelling ability that is sadly lacking in many authors today.

HMS Ulysses was by far my favourite. I have a hardback copy on the shelf and read it occasionally. Many of his earlier works were very good but the latter ones were really bad. I think the Dusty Road to Death (or something like that) was roughly the turning point.

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Alistair MacLean (1922-1987) was a Scottish novelist of thrillers and adventures. His novels The Guns of Navarone, Ice Station Zebra and Where Eagles Dare were all adapted into successful films. His novels do not include much sex or romance because he believed it would slow down the action.

Notes: The Last Frontier is also titled The Secret Ways. The Dark Crusaders was also published under the title The Black Shrike. The novels Death Train, Night Watch, Red Alert, Time of the Assassins, Dead Halt, Code Breaker and Rendezvous were co-authored by Alastair MacNeill. Hostage Train and Air Force One is Down were co-authored by John Denis. Prime Target and Borrowed Time was co-authored by Hugh Miller.

We do our best to get everything listed but the occasional book gets by us. If you see anything missing please let us know so we can add it ASAP. You can also use this form to request we add new authors. Thanks. You can also e-mail us with any feedback at si...@orderofbooks.com.