River of Death

Utterly shameful! What Alistair MacLean has done in River of Death is steal storylines, imagery, and even characterization (what there is of it) from the much superior writer of Amazonian adventure novels and short stories, Arthur O. Friel. It's not a matter of reusing well established conventions in the genre. Or even reusing the well known imagery and conventions of the sub genre of the jungle story. MacLean, here, has essentially recreated Friel's lost Amazonian world, except for one or two additions. The journey down the river through successive Indian tribes with an almost Darwinian sense of evolution can be found in several of Friel's Lourenco and Pedro stories. The presence of escaped Nazi criminals amidst a secret German show more infrastructure in South America is but a pale echo of the machinations of the vengeful Germans in Friel's novels who work to frustrate the American veterans of World War I, McKay, Ryan, and Knowlton, in their own explorations. And, of course, the best passage in River of Death, where Hamilton attempts to steal canoes and a launch from a headhunter village, only to be revealed because of the luminous starlight shining down on an Amazonian river, is taken almost entirely from Friel. In imagery, plot structure and positioning. and in its battle and chase sequences.

What new elements did MacLean include in the stolen story? Well, he added the launch to the stolen canoes described above. And this modern tale of Lost Tribes and lost treasure also invents a helicopter and hovercraft to add to the action. MacLean also introduces into the mix the background story of an Amazonian explorer, Dr. Hannibal Huston and his daughter, Lucy, who is also the wife of the protagonist, Hamilton. Huston is based upon the real life English explorer Percy Fawcett, who spent his life looking for the so-called Lost City of Z in the Amazon jungle and who disappeared in 1925 on his last expedition to find the city. Otherwise, River of Death is merely a poorly written, drab, pedestrian version of Friel's work. Without the awe, the amazement, and the mystery that Friel brought to his writing.

To be fair, MacLean is capable of much better than is on exhibit, here. But at bottom, he was a commercial writer, responsive to the wants and needs of the widest possible readership. And River of Death is just piece work. No introspection, of course. But no real adventure either. show less

As I read MacLean's books, I'm discovering they're largely formulaic -- protagonist is mini-God, omnipotent and omniscient, female love interest is not what they seem to be, the bad guys are pretty bad but easily handled by the protagonist, lots of action which usually isn't remotely believable. This book is no exception. At least it's short. Hamilton, the protagonist, takes an expedition on a trip into a South American jungle in search of the Lost City, rumored to have a bajillion items in gold. And it does. He needs neither a map nor compass, as he's been there before and knows all. He repeatedly saves the group from danger. And while actually searching for a Nazi who mysteriously hides himself and his weapons cache and heavy show more equipment in an impregnable fortress, there is a predictable plot twist, as is often the case in the author's books. This book is a pretty sad effort at entertainment. It's not that entertaining, it's not as action packed as some of his other books, there are very few likeable characters, including the protagonist, and I just couldn't wait to finish it and be done with it. Not recommended. Other than Guns of Navarone, I don't know if I'll be reading any more of his books. I've read four and find his books extremely limiting and poorly written. show less

Not his greatest book by a long shot, but a fairly short and easy read.

The books starts with Nazi's looting a monestary towards the end of the war. Two officers who are in charge make off with the g0ods but one is deceived by his partner and left behind.

Fast forward a number of years and we meet Hamilton, an expert in the amazonian jungles and all round adventurer. He is hired by a multi millionaire called 'Smith' to locate a lost city. Expect plenty of action with hostile tribes, animals and nazis.

As usual with Maclean you can expect a number of twists and turns, although many are easy to work out in this novel.

Worth a read but try some of his other works first.

I actually don't think I like his work, I wanted to, but its actually really juvenile. I love the moves from his work, but the books themselves are those rare cases where the movie is better than the book.

The very predictable book which caused me to stop following Maclean's writing.

MacLean is just gone. Read his books from the 60s if you want good thrillers.

Great