Marazan

Philip Stenning makes a living as a charter pilot in England after the Great War. The company he works for pushes the pilots and the planes to their utmost limits, with little to no turnaround time to allow engines to cool and pilots to rest. On one such precarious job, Stenning crash lands in a field and nearly dies in the wreckage. His life is saved by Denis Compton, an escaped prisoner who is passing through the field. Stenning then becomes involved in Compton’s plans for his post-prison life, which consist of putting a stop to some illegal activities Compton came across (the perpetrators of which were instrumental in putting him in prison in the first place).

This was a thrilling book, although I totally got the time period wrong. show more Somehow I had it in my head that this was after the Second World War, but it is indeed set during the interwar years and an earlier age of flight. Aviation enthusiasts will love this book for the details about the planes and the flying manoeuvres, and those who like good old-fashioned smuggling yarns will enjoy the plot. There’s even a female character who is as resourceful as she’s allowed to be in 1920s society, which is pretty good! Another bonus is the key setting: Marazan is a sound in the Isles of Scilly, off the coast of Cornwall.

In the minus column, there are some awkward references to people from Italy and stereotypes of Chinese people in the drug trade, which is not unexpected in novels of this period; this book was first published in 1926.

Overall, I would recommend this book particularly as an escapist adventure for grownups who fondly remember the days of the Famous Five and the Hardy Boys, who always seemed to be unearthing smugglers. show less

Somewhat less interesting than most Shutes, for me. Our Hero is...I don't know, a little vague? He has quirks rather than motivations, and is willing (eager) to throw his life, or at least his reputation, away helping the others. The reasons given don't ring true, to me. The story is a bunch of random events with Complex Secrets underlying them - which neither we nor Our Hero know until very late in the book, so there's a lot of confusion on both sides. A lot of convenient allies, ditto skills...It's not bad for a thriller, I just expect more of Shute. Oh, looking at other reviews - this was his _first_ book. That makes a lot of sense.

Apparently, this is the first book Nevil Shute wrote. In his introduction, he mentions that he had to write it through three times. It seems pretty similar to vintage Shute, which means that it's a GoodRead, well worth one's time. It has many elements one finds in later Shute books, airplanes, small sailing vessels in the English Channel, and romance that progresses as two people slowly develop a friendship while they are working together to address a problem. It's at once calming and deeply engaging.

In this book, we have an airplane pilot who is a bit wild outside his flying, but quite competent within the flying. He has a crash because his plane was turned around too quickly, and the engine blew out on him. An escaped convict from show more Dartmoor saves his life. As a consequence, he becomes involved in saving the convict. It seems that the convict has an Italian half brother who is smuggling drugs into England, and the convict has escaped to try to stop the smuggling. After all, in England one doesn't do such things as smuggle drugs. The escaped con also has a female cousin who isn't all that much of a looker, but who is a competent, independent young woman. So naturally, while the pilot works to save the convict, by helping to bring the half brother to justice, he also falls for the cousin, because, after all, looks become ever so much more enchanting once wit and intelligence have had their chance to beguile the senses.

This is really a fun story. Perhaps not my favorite of Shute's works, but I've yet to find a dog among them. Why didn't I discover Nevil Shute earlier? show less

Marazan - Neville Shute ***

I am a massive Nevil Shute fan and count his classics amongst the best books ever written. With this in mind I started reading Marazan....

Marazan although not Shute's first novel, was in fact his first to be published.

We meet Stenning, a left over pilot from the First World War, who now flies commercially. Unlike most of Shute's creations I actually found it very hard to like Stenning, I found him quite arrogant and overly self assured. The other Shute books I have read have always has a main protagonist(s) that it is easy to empathise with.

Stenning, although tired and probably hung-over, agrees one last flight before he takes a few days holiday. He crashes and is left stuck upside down in the planes cockpit. show more Out of a nearby forest comes an escaped convict to his aid. After being rescued Stenning feels obligated to help where he can and offers his services. What follows is an adventure around Britain and eventually further afield. We encounter drug smuggling and plenty of gun action. As with all of Shute’s works, they have to be read in the context of the time they were written and Marazan is no exception.

As I have already said, I am a big fan of the author, but for some reason this book just didn't get me involved. I found myself not caring what happened next. The first few chapters started promisingly enough but I think that after that the storyline got tedious. A number of chapters felt like reading an atlas of the British Isles as his travels are described in minute and often unnecessary detail. Having said that, there are many redeeming features and when the action does finally appear, it is well described.

If I had to recommend this book it would probably be to only die hard fans of Shute. If you are new to the author try some of his later offerings such as 'On the Beach'. If I had read 'Marazan' as an introduction to the author then it is unlikely I would have picked up any more of his works, and that would be a great shame. show less

Very much a book of its time (and that was after the edition that I was reading had apparently had such language as 'topping' and 'ripping' removed from it!) A diverting enough read, but nowhere near Shute's best work. Recommended only if you want an unchallenging post-war romp.

Written in 1925 so a bit dated now. Very "Biggles" and RAF "frightfully" but still a ripping good story, well written.

Not quite his best - but considering it was his first book, it's good. Shute always manage to capture you with his great narrative.