I love Bagley and the way he writes, the way none of his heroes are supermen and more often than not normal people thrown into extraordinary circumstances. He excels when writing in remote landscapes so Running Blind being set in Iceland is a real treat for both fans and people new to him.

Alan Stewart thinks he has retired from the apartment (a branch of the secret service) and has made a new life for himself in Akureyri, along with a beautiful girlfriend he wants to marry. He is contacted out of the blue and 'asked' to complete one last job, something simple for a man of his capabilities, just to deliver a package. For this he has the guarantee of a stress free life and that his enemies will not be informed of his new location. Unfortunately the job isn't as straightforward as he would have liked and very soon he has a dead man on his hands and foreign agents tracking his every move. Unsure who to trust he escapes into the barren icelandic country where he must battle the elements as well as trying to work out who is friend or foe.

A brilliant story, with a brilliant character that will have you turning the page until it is over with a climatic finish. Easily recomendable and I am unsure why he isn't as well known as other authors such as Ian Fleming and Alistair Maclean - although I think the films of their works have helped. A proper 'man's' book (if we are allowed to say that any more?). Give it a try. ( )

I enjoyed this as a teenager; I think it would be a great holiday read for any adventure story lover. ( )

Alan Stewart thought he was done with the Department, but the Department wanted him to do one last job: deliver a parcel in Akureyri. So far, so annoying. But not two minutes into his mission, he killed a man. And then he himself nearly got killed, while his contact stood by and did nothing. Was this a frame-up? What's going on in the Department? A nail-biting spy game plays itself out across the Icelandic landscape, with plenty of action, derring-do and perhaps slightly more gore than necessary when describing the effects of a particularly souped-up rifle.

This book features on one of the crime writing associations' top 100 crime and thriller novel lists, and it's all right. I liked that Iceland was the setting, and that the character is Scottish but also speaks Icelandic (this is a niche intersection of interests on my part). Alan's girlfriend, Elin, also gets some resourceful scenes for herself, which is pretty good for a mid-20th-century thriller novel. But all in all it just wasn't quite as fun as a really good Alistair MacLean novel can be. So I don't regret reading this, but I won't read it again. ( )

This book is Bagley's best. I'm surprised at the low ratings. It's a lot of fun with action taking place around geysers, waterfalls, emerging volcanic islands, and peat fires. And the hero's ... love affair is the only expression I can think of to adequately describe it... with the high tech rifle he picks up along the way is just hugely entertaining ... ( )

old book, left here by Carey's parents May 2008

Not bad. Probably the first book set in Iceland that I've read. ( )