Good

I am working on giving a second chance to authors that I read during my school years and disliked, possibly because they were too demanding for me at the time.

One such author was Grahame Green; I started something and gave up on it, which is a rare occurrence for me. Last year I read Our Man in Havana and was thoroughly entertained - I have since acquired a copy of Brighton Rock which is patiently awaiting my attention.

Alistair MacLean was another writer who I tried and gave up on. Upon encountering a couple of reprints in my local bookstore, I though I'd give him his second chance. 'Twas awful.

The prose starts off terribly florid but fortunately does not stay that way for long. Soon the reader is whisked along a story in which everybody is unpleasant, every incident is a cliche and so is every character. The book has two merits: it's fast paced and short.

Ach y fi! ( )

Nice twisty tale of a sadistic killer hired to recover underwater treasure...but don't assume anything. This one did surprise me and had me guessing to the end. ( )

Although it got off to a slow start, almost a confusing start, I now know that was on purpose....the bulk of the book was unraveling all of the confusion concerning underwater treasure, an oil rig on the Gulf of Mexico, a bevy of bad guys seeming to have control over a very wealthy oil family, and the unfortunate guy thrown into the middle of it all trying to save the day against all odds. As with most of Maclean's work, there are some nail-biting, split-second-timing adventures that keep the wheels turning on this one. Slowly, the reader gets to those revelatory moments where the confusion begins to clear, and it takes practically to the bitter end to get it all figured out....just the way i like it. Nicely done - and with a perfect title! ( )

The revelation toward the end of this book is not so much stunning as explanatory of the narrator's rather odd behavior throughout the book.