MacLean was my favorite author in my teens in the 70s and 80s. Since then his books have followed me through several moves but have been rarely read, except maybe H.M.S. Ulysses.
Lately I’ve started to re-read them again and I can see the reason I, and quite a large number of other readers, liked them all those decades ago. The stories are quite outdated, writing is rather naive and the characters, specially in later books, thinner than paper they are printed on. Still, the actual stories are interesting for quick read and some of them manage to get under my skin to create an emotional response.
Considering that he was one of the biggest sellers in several countries for years, it is interesting that his works are rarely mentioned anymore. Thus my question – are his works still known today or were they solely a product of their time?
by Veetupeetu
5 Comments
I can’t speak to anything current, but I read Ice Station Zebra as a teen, and I i think back on it often. I really should re read it, but there are so many great parts that have stuck with me. I also read Guns of navarone and force 10 from navarone, but I don’t remember them so we’ll.
Good question. One of the problems is that he didn’t have a continuing main character like James Bond so there isn’t a series.
They’re very much still in print, and we’ve got them in stock in our library service here in the UK – but I don’t know how much of that interest is made up of new readers. Could very well be an older generation thing but I think given the film adaptations of his work it’s likely he’s still picking up new readers regardless?
Haven’t read any myself so can’t say if they’ve aged well!
I think this is the first time I can recall seeing someone mention him on Reddit. Or anywhere else for that matter, in a very long time.
(I also used to be a big fan of his books in late middle school, some decades ago, but I read them as translations and haven’t tried picking them up again after moving to the US.)
Maybe in the UK he’d still be better remembered?
I read a bunch of them as a teen as well. Don’t think I have seen them in a bookshop or library for ages though so I assume they are more or less forgotten.
They are apparently in the adult section in our libraries here in Sweden. Maybe they would get more readers if they were moved to the youth section, I don’t remember them dealing with any adult themes, although I guess there was violence and suspense enough.
Who is the Alistair McLean of today though? Should be a market for this type of stuff, even if the world has changed a lot.