The Way to Dusty Death
by Alistair MacLean
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Reissue of the classic tale of high-octane adventure set in the world of 1970s Formula One, from the acclaimed master of action and suspense. Johnny Harlow seems to have it all: he's good looking, desired by women, and envied by men; he's also the reigning Formula One world champion, the poster-boy for the world's most thrilling and richly financed sport. But a recent devastating accident has driven him to drink. And now his beloved sport is changing: too many things are going wrong in too show more many races. And when Johnny is the apparent cause of the latest accident, he decides the time has come to sort things out. But what he finds has nothing to do with cars, and some people will do anything to prevent him from discovering the truth... show lessTags
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Member Reviews
A fairly diverting thriller for fans of auto racing. The story begins with world-famous Formula 1 driver Johnny Harlow being involved in a fiery, horrific crash that claims the life of a fellow driver and cripples the daughter of his team's owner when she is hit by flying debris. Rumours then start flying that Harlow has lost his nerve -- he's seen drinking to excess when before he would never touch alcohol, he spends more time alone and is just generally unpleasant. He is also convinced that there is some more sinister explanation for the accident and for some of the other unusual occurrences that have been happening on the track. But is this just bravado or paranoia on his part, or is it true?
For the first half of the book the reader show more constantly changes their opinion of Johnny. One page he's a drunken idiot and not deserving of sympathy, then the next he is very much put-upon and deserves to succeed. Very much an anti-hero. But once the second half really gets into gear (sorry!), he becomes more of a cartoon action hero type. Not that there's anything necessarily wrong with that, and indeed it's a lot of fun if you like that sort of thing. At least he does stuff, which is more than I can say for the owner's daughter, Mary, who spends the entire book crying and saying "Oh, Johnny!" She added very little to the book and I would have been far happier had she been written out entirely.
The best parts of the book were the technical descriptions of the cars (especially in that crash at the beginning, horrific as it was), the sheer craziness of the hijinks at the end, and MacLean's characteristic dry-witted, clever narration. Recommended more for F1 fans who also happen to like MacLean's work and have tried something else by him already. show less
For the first half of the book the reader show more constantly changes their opinion of Johnny. One page he's a drunken idiot and not deserving of sympathy, then the next he is very much put-upon and deserves to succeed. Very much an anti-hero. But once the second half really gets into gear (sorry!), he becomes more of a cartoon action hero type. Not that there's anything necessarily wrong with that, and indeed it's a lot of fun if you like that sort of thing. At least he does stuff, which is more than I can say for the owner's daughter, Mary, who spends the entire book crying and saying "Oh, Johnny!" She added very little to the book and I would have been far happier had she been written out entirely.
The best parts of the book were the technical descriptions of the cars (especially in that crash at the beginning, horrific as it was), the sheer craziness of the hijinks at the end, and MacLean's characteristic dry-witted, clever narration. Recommended more for F1 fans who also happen to like MacLean's work and have tried something else by him already. show less
The first book I ever read by Maclean, and true it doesn't stand up to his earlier novels. However this doesn't mean that it should be overlooked, as this began a long relationship between myself and one of the worlds greatest thriller writers.
The plot follows Johnny Harlow, a seemingly washed out F1 driver and the numerous accidents that are plaguing the circuit. Expect plenty of action and a fairly fast flowing pace. I have no interest in motor racing but the author still managed to hold my attention throughout. Maybe not the ideal place to start as an introduction, but definitely not only one for the completists either.
Interestingly the novels title is taken from Shakespeare's Macbeth.
The plot follows Johnny Harlow, a seemingly washed out F1 driver and the numerous accidents that are plaguing the circuit. Expect plenty of action and a fairly fast flowing pace. I have no interest in motor racing but the author still managed to hold my attention throughout. Maybe not the ideal place to start as an introduction, but definitely not only one for the completists either.
Interestingly the novels title is taken from Shakespeare's Macbeth.
5538. The Way To Dusty Death, by Alistair MacLean (read 1 Mar 2018) This is the 8th book by MacLean I have read and the first I've read in almost 10 years. Most of the others I've read involved war, but this one, published in 1973, involves auto racing and drugs. It is extremely fast-paced and event is piled on event. At the beginning one is not sure who the bad guys are but gradually one comes to deduce that and one can be sure that the good guys will win in the end--which frankly is a benefit since it would be devastating for the people one comes to admire to fail to triumph. The hero does amazing things and nearly always with tremendous aplomb. Not much subtlety but one does not mind and I found myself totally caught up in the show more crescendo of the story. It is only the second work of fiction I have read this year, but I found it easy and a very enjoyable work. show less
Behind the scenes Formula 1 racing. A background of criminal activities, rather than about the racing. Lots of mystery until we finally figure it out. An arrogant hero and a leading lady who acts like someone from "The Perils of Pauline".Their conversations are like those from a Sat. afternoon serial movie.
This appeared near the end of MacLean's useful life, when he was starting to dial it in. There are some good conceits and the characters are not without interest, but nowhere near his best.
Mid to late Maclean, right before his books became unreadable. This one still has some good stuff but a lot of it feels too dashed off.
Pretty good adventure story involving Formula One car racing.
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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
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Series
Belongs to Publisher Series
Fontana (3835)
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- The Way to Dusty Death
- Original title
- The way to dusty death
- Original publication date
- 1973
- People/Characters
- Johnny Harlow; Alexis Dunnet; Isaac Jethou; James MacAlpine; Jacobson; Rafferty Twins (Tweedledum & Tweedledee) (show all 10); Mary MacAlpine; Rory MacAlpine; Nicolo Tracchia; Willi Neubauer
- Important places
- Clermont-Ferrand, Puy-de-Dôme, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France; Monza, Lombardy, Italy; Marseille, Bouches-du-Rhône, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France; Vignolles, Charente, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France; Bandol, Var, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France
- Important events
- French Grand Prix; British Grand Prix; German Grand Prix; Austrian Grand Prix; Italian Grand Prix
- Dedication
- To Mary Marcelle
- First words
- Harlow sat by the side of the race-track on that hot and cloudless afternoon, his long hair blowing about in the fresh breeze and partially obscuring his face, his golden helmet clutched so tightly in his gauntleted hands tah... (show all)t he appeared to be trying to crush it: the hands were shaking uncontrollably and occasional violent tremors racked his entire body.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)He put his arm around her and continued to gaze down, unseeingly as it seemed, into the hidden depths of the ravine.
- Original language
- English
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 860
- Popularity
- 31,523
- Reviews
- 16
- Rating
- (3.22)
- Languages
- 10 — Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, German, Hungarian, Norwegian (Bokmål), Polish, Spanish, Swedish
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 58
- ASINs
- 29
