A bordo del SS Campari, no todo está del todo bien para Johnny Carter, el Oficial Jefe, el viaje ha comenzado mal, pero es sólo cuando esa noche, después de una sucesión de los retrasos, se da cuenta de que algo está realmente mal.
Un miembro de la tripulación desaparece y durante la búsqueda sólo sirve para aumentar la tensión. Entonces estalla la violencia y todo el barco está en peligro. ¿El Campari es víctima de la piratería moderna? ¿Y cual es la extraña carga oculta debajo de las cubiertas?

The Golden Rendezvous is a modern tale of pirates. A tramp steamer, with the absurd idea of having A1 cabins for the ultra rich, meanders from port to port. It is hijacked by some of its own passengers and sails on with murder and mayhem to an expected destination. After a slow start, it is fast paced with excitement reminiscent of James Bond. All my reviews and other tidbits can be seen at https://pensionersrants.blogspot.com/ ( )

Even an uncritical reader is likely to have strongly mixed reactions to Alistair MacLean's 8th novel, The Golden Rendezvous. On the one hand, it is full of suspense, action, mystery, and plot twists, as well as a male protagonist who shows incredible courage, intelligence, and resourcefulness through which he prevails against overwhelming odds. On the other hand, the plot itself is full of holes, and far from credible, even granting that it was published in 1962.

Take the setting as a key example. The action takes place on a British cargo ship, the Camperi, which has been converted into a luxury liner. It has 12 guest cabins, none of the amenities of a real cruise ship, and has no ports of call -- it simply sails where the cargo is to be transported or where the captain wishes. Yet despite the vessel's Spartan nature, wealthy millionaires, socialites, and members of royalty vie to get on the waiting list and pay exorbitant fees to secure berths on it. Why did MacLean opt for such an unbelievable setting? Because he needed a cargo ship that also carried passengers for his story to hang together.

And then there's the backstory. A nuclear bomb has been stolen from a US lab and the senior scientist who designed its triggering mechanism is missing. Why an atomic weapon? Not because it was necessary for the plot, but because to authors and readers of 1962, this was the worst weapon imaginable, and therefore useful in heightening the drama.

As for the plot, The story is as follows. Pirates from an impoverished Third World country have hijacked the Camperi. Back at port, they were loaded on as "cargo" in two large crates that held 20 men per crate (where they stay locked for the first few days of the "cruise"). The pirates also have with them the atom bomb that they stole from the lab and the scientist who can activate it. Their plan is to sail the ship to intercept another ship (the Ticonderoga) that is to be carrying 150 million dollars with of gold. After grabbing the gold, they will transfer their passengers to the Ticonderoga, along with the newly activated atomic bomb, and after sailing away, set off the bomb to hide their crime. Readers whose critical faculties are not numbed by the action will wonder why they needed an atomic weapon, and why they couldn't simply have shot their passengers and scuttled the other ship. Needless to say, the hero, 1st officer Carter, figures out their plan and foils them at every turn -- and manages to leave the bomb on board the cargo ship where it blows the evil-doers to smithereeens. And needless to say, he saves a beautiful young woman who decides then and there to marry him

Clearly this story resists scrutiny from the standpoints of plot and character development. However, if the reader is able to suspend judgment on its non-credible aspects, he/ she may sufficiently caught up in the action as to find it entertaining as a bit of escapism. My three- star rating reflects the fact that for me, the action partly made up for the weaknesses in plot and characterization. ( )

St. Barts 2017 #4 - MacLean has always been a favorite......always the swashbuckling normal guy thrust into the middle of unbelievable horror that only he can solve...saving the lives of many innocent people. Grueling inhuman situations....physical strength always ready to give out...yet somehow finds the wherewithal to pull it off in gripping split-second timing. I love how our hero always ducks into a door to do some necessary quick task, the details we know not, but we find out later it was a brilliant stroke of genius, all playing into the successful conclusion.

After years of this on my shelf, i always thought the title had something to do with the Golden Gate Bridge in San-Francisco.....but i was dead wrong.....it is a Caribbean cargo ship offering exclusive luxurious travel to a small number of guests as it meanders back and forth from the U.S. to the tropics. Bankrupt island dictators, atomic bomb, good guys, ship piracy, lots of bad guys, gold, and of course, the necessary unexpected hurricane all get stirred up into an exciting ride aboard the 'Campari'.....oh, and lets not forget the precocious little ingenue to continually distract our hero Carter from saving them all from sure demise. a little crazy??? maybe....but an awful lot of fun for a vacation read! ( )

This was an odd book to read and is an odd book to review. On one hand, so much of it is unbelievable and downright stupid, I want to give it two stars. On the other hand, it's pretty action packed and is somewhat of a page turner. I couldn't put it down. So I'm not sure what to say.

An atom bomb is stolen from an American base. A British ship, however, is where the plot takes place. It's truly bizarre. It's a cargo ship, okay, but has also been converted into a luxury liner -- without the traditional luxuries. It's just got 12 luxurious rooms and good food, but no pools or dancing or gambling or ports of call or anything. It goes where the captain wants it to go; there's no itinerary. And there's a waiting list of kings and presidents trying to get aboard, willing to pay millions to do so. And yet they transport cargo. Simply stupid as hell.

Be that as it may, our hero, Carter, the first officer, helps run the ship. And he turns out to be nearly omniscient, omnipotent, has near super human powers and it's simply too unbelievable to make you feel like it's remotely real. Murders start occurring on the ship. Carter figures out what's going on. Pirates from a small third world government hijack it for the purpose of hijacking another ship carrying $150 million, as this country is broke and needs the money. Carter gets shot in the leg, while others get shot too. He's transported to the hospital bay, where he is treated -- and from where he escapes to save the day, in a manner that's altogether unbelievable, again. And again, he figures out exactly what's happening -- the pirates have the bomb and are going to blow the ship with its passengers and crew to pieces so there will be no witnesses to the piracy. So he disarms the atomic bomb. With the help of a gorgeous rich girl. Naturally. And when everything is over, he is surprised to hear that they are getting married in a month. She tells him so. Bizarre ending. It reminded me of a Doris Day, Rock Hudson movie ending. Of course, this book was published in 1962, so perhaps that makes sense.

Even though there's nothing remotely believable in this book, I actually enjoyed it. It was fun to read. It had a a lot of action. It had evil characters, good heroes, the pretty girl, guns -- everything. If only the author had put some more time into making it seem real. Oh well. I guess this book is somewhat recommended.... ( )