San Andreas
by Alistair MacLean
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Description
Reissue of the classic tale of war at sea, from the acclaimed master of action and suspense. Suddenly, just before dawn, the lights went out aboard the San Andreas. For the British hospital ship sailing the deadly, U-boat patrolled Norwegian waters, a nightmare of violence and betrayal has begun. A terrifying game of sabotage in which an unknown traitor among the crew holds all the cards. The red crosses on the vessel's sides spell anything but safety. For a dangerous secret has turned the show more ship into a priceless quarry. With the Captain out of action Bosun Archie McKinnon takes over. Alone in treacherous, frozen seas, her compass smashed, the San Andreas is being drawn relentlessly into the enemy's hands. show lessTags
Recommendations
Member Recommendations
themulhern Allied ships in the North Atlantic + U-boats...
Member Reviews
The double crosses, the sabotage, the indomitable hero, the romance. Typical MacLean. What makes it better than "Where Eagles Dare" is that it is set on board a hospital ship in the north Atlantic and MacLean, a former office in the Royal Navy, could really describe his ships.
Miss Marple in the tea parlor moves faster than this supposed “thriller” novel. San Andreas has a great setup: a Merchant Marine vessel converted to hospital ship is in arctic waters, struggling against impossible weather, with German planes and u-boats circling, and an unknown saboteur onboard reeking havoc – but then it just stalled.
The opening long rant against the decrepit state of the Merchant Marine fleet before WWII anchored the somnambulistic tone for rest of this snoozer. First thriller I could only make it halfway through. Sadly this MacLean is not recommended.
The opening long rant against the decrepit state of the Merchant Marine fleet before WWII anchored the somnambulistic tone for rest of this snoozer. First thriller I could only make it halfway through. Sadly this MacLean is not recommended.
Pretty cool story. It was like a 1960s war/suspense movie in my head. Pretty slow but still good.
Lots of action, enough dialog to keep you guessing, who done it at sea. I enjoyed the period this story was set in. I found myself getting tired toward the end and eager for the revealing of who did what. The plot was a little complex for me. Good historical fiction.
Overly long portions impacted on the sense of tension. Not really a believable scenario, combined with less than realistic characters, impacted on the story.
Pretty cool story. It was like a 1960s war/suspense movie in my head. Pretty slow but still good.
Pretty cool story. It was like a 1960s war/suspense movie in my head. Pretty slow but still good.
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Author Information
107+ Works 28,604 Members
Alistair MacLean was born in Glasgow, Scotland on April 28, 1922. During World War II, he served in the Royal Navy. He graduated with a degree in English from Glasgow University. Before becoming a full-time author, he was a teacher. He wrote numerous books including HMS Ulysses, The Guns of Navarone, Ice Station Zebra, Where Eagles Dare, Dark show more Crusader, Satan Bug, Captain Cook: A Biography, and Santorini. He also wrote The Black Shrike and The Satan Bug under the pseudonym Ian Stuart. Several of his books were adapted into movies including The Secret Ways, Fear Is the Key, and When Eight Bells Toll. He also wrote several original screenplays including Breakheart Pass and conceived an adventure drama for television entitled The Hostage Towers. He died of heart failure on February 2, 1987 at the age of 64. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Some Editions
Series
Belongs to Publisher Series
Fontana (7026)
Work Relationships
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- San Andreas
- Original title
- San Andreas
- Original publication date
- 1984
- People/Characters
- Bowen (Captain); John Patterson; Peter Jamieson; Archie McKinnon (Bosun); Margaret Morrison (Head Nurse); Janet Magnusson (Nurse) (show all 7); Geraint Kennet (Chief Officer)
- Important places
- Bard Point, Shetland, Scotland, UK; Out Skerries, Shetland, Scotland, UK; Bressay, Shetland, Scotland, UK; Barents Sea; Norwegian Sea
- Important events
- World War II, European Theater
- First words
- Silently, undramatically, without any forewarning, as in any abrupt and unexpected power cut in a city, the lights aboard the San Andreas died in the hour before the dawn.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)"And f you will excuse me, everybody. I made a promise. Now it is time for me to take this lady back home."
- Original language
- English
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 690
- Popularity
- 41,203
- Reviews
- 15
- Rating
- (3.27)
- Languages
- 11 — Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, German, Italian, Norwegian (Bokmål), Polish, Spanish, Swedish
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 45
- ASINs
- 16
