Do You like book HMS Ulysses (2004)?
I read this shortly after reading The Cruel Sea (see here fore review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...)Both novels are fiction based on fact, based by men who fought in this theatre. Whereas The Cruel Sea is almost documentary, HMS Ulysses is more novelesque, and structured like a thriller. It broke MacLean into a successful career as a novelist. Contemporary reviews put it in the same class as The Cruel Sea and The Caine Mutiny. However, Monsarrat's and Wouk's works are still respected as great literature, but MacLean's isn't. In his final years he regretted taking the path to money, rather than literary respect. If you like brutal tales of war, then this is for you. If you're the literary type, read the other titles.
—Mark Speed
I was excited to read this book, because I used to love Alistair MacLean. But I was also nervous to read this book, because I used to love Alistair MacLean, and what if he wasn’t as good as I remembered? I did enjoy the book, but it took me a while to get into it. I think that’s because the protagonist is the crew as a whole, so it didn’t feel like there was a main character, just a lot of secondary characters. But as with most novels, by the middle, even secondary characters can be compelling and I may have shed a few tears by the end of the story. The book revolves around the WWII Arctic convoys. The Ulysses had been on Arctic duty for some time as the book begins, and the duty isn’t easy. It’s so rough that they’ve just squashed a slight mutiny. Despite their exhaustion and bad morale, they set out again to escort ships carrying fuel, tanks, and planes to the Soviet Union. Along they way they battle horrid weather, the German navy (surface and underwater fleet), the German air force, and indifference and incompetence from the Royal Navy back in England. They rarely have more than a minute or two of down time before the next crisis emerges, so it’s a good novel for fans of fast-paced, action-packed stories. Many of his other novels have happier endings, so if you prefer happy endings over beautifully tragic books, I’d recommend trying a different one. On the other hand, this one does a good job giving readers a taste of the trials and sacrifices common on assignments like that, giving me a greater appreciation for what WWII Arctic convoys went through. It’s fiction, but I doubt it’s too far off reality.
—A.L. Sowards
I must have been about 14 when I first read this book and I can remember being blown away by it; it was the best book that I had ever read. I recently found a copy in a second hand bookshop and it was with some trepidation that I began to reread it, afraid that it would not live up to my expectations. I am glad to report that I needed not to worry; the novel was all that I remembered it as being. It is, along with The Cruel Sea and The Cain Mutiny, one of the best explorations of naval warfare in WW11, focusing not only on the battles but also on the effects of the cold, the fear and the danger on the men who sailed in those ships. My uncle was on a ship sunk on an Atlantic convoy and although he was picked up, more dead than alive, he never recovered from the experience. So, I suppose this and books like The Cruel Sea have a special resonance for me.
—Christopher Ingham
