Reviewing books is a bit like a Rorschach Test- you tease out things that you want to see, and ignore others that don't seem terribly important to you. No two people ever approach a book in quite the same way- those familiar twins, Context and Subjectivity, shape every review you make.Being fully aware of this, it is with little hesitation that I say the following sentences: The Golden Rendezvous is Alistair MacLean's best book, which is a staggering achievement in itself. It is also, narrowly beating out The Day of the Jackal, the finest thriller novel ever written.The book distills the very best of MacLean- take a wry, intelligent protagonist, some suave Hans Gruber-type villains (the Die Hard guy, later famous as Snape), a beautiful/sensitive/intelligent heroine, and a truly hopeless situation. Throw lots of threads all over the place, then bring them all neatly together at the end. And, best of all, put them all in the sea, MacLean's natural habitat.This is as truly a page turner as was ever written- every page brings forth something new, something unexpected, and you find yourself turning pages so smoothly that before you realize it, you're half way through. This is one of the hardest books to put down, it's *that* gripping.The book contains enough doses of the trademark MacLean humour- there's none of the foreboding or the tragedy from Fear is the Key or the Dark Crusader, and none of the intensity of HMS Ulysses or Night Without End. It also lacks the slightly dated feel of The Guns of Navarone or Circus, the frivolousness of Golden Gate and Caravan to Vaccares, and the sometimes overbearing Man Against Nature feel of Ice Station Zebra or South by Java Head. All of the above are great books, mind you, but you can only read them every third year or so.More than that, it's what the book has, that ultimately counts. It's got the frenetic non-stop action and the unexpected twist at the end of Where Eagles Dare, it's got the smooth, highly talented hero of Floodgate, it's got the Nothing Makes Sense Till The End feel of Where Eight Bells Toll. And it does it better than all of them.This may not be a very intense book, or a very meaningful one. MacLean wrote several of those. However, if thrillers are the junk food of literature, sometimes, we want to indulge ourselves and go all the way. We want to order extra bacon on our pizza, we want mayo with our fries, we want caramel sauce on our ice cream. And this book gives you all of that, without compromising in any way.If you had to take one thriller with you to a desert island- if you had to pick one book that you could open a random page from, read that page, and then close the book with a smile on your face as you wait to be rescued, then look no further. From that perspective, this is the finest thriller ever written.
Alastair MacLean is an author of the 20th century well known for action and suspense. Two of his best known classics, The Guns of Navarone and Where Eagles Dare, are edge of your seat reads and both were made into edge of your seat movies. The Golden Rendezvous is not as good as Navarone of Eagles, but the story is still quite thrilling. Chief Officer John Carter of the SS Campari is not having a good day. Last minute passengers with coffins delay the departure of the Campari from Nassau. The abrupt disappearance of a crew member complicates the voyagefurther when a stem-to-stern search discovers nothing and only increases the tension.
Do You like book The Golden Rendezvous (1982)?
This book was classic MacLean: espionage, adventure, and mystery. The added romance took away a bit from the plot, so this was not as enjoyable as some of MacLean`s other books. But, still a fantastic read with suspense that keeps you on the edge of your chair, unable to put the book down.
—Roshni
Alistair MaClean is one of the more difficult thrillers to endorse. He was the junk-food of the classic-era thriller-writers. You know its bad but you still keep stuffing it into your craw. He's the writer that you're embarrassed to be caught reading.People talk about where the 'rot' in his technique began to 'set in'. Here? I agree it has some pretty alarming flaws. But really, this is only his eighth book! I've read his earliest works and unfortunately I found them no better than anything else he wrote later. So where exactly does his best work lie?I remember this title as being particularly well-paced and gripping. It seemed to all take place between a couple of ships on the ocean. So, that means a single, unified location as Aristotle would approve of. Tight, taut, condensed. Yes, the protagonist does seem **way** too sure of himself and **way** too daring...but I believe that's because he is not--after all--'just an ordinary first officer'. So in the beginning of the story you see him dangling over the side of a ship by a rope..just accept it, because MacLean really could handle those action scenes with authority and command. Its great, just like when you're in the *middle* of a bag of crisps. When you're at the *end* of the bag, and you look down--then you feel sick.Bottom line: if I had to select a few favorites from MacLean I would toss out a lot of other titles before tossing this one. When MacLean sets a story somewhere out on the ocean you just gotta respect it. That was his metier. You feel the spray in your face and the roll of the ships. Just don't look down.
—Feliks
The best MacLean ever and my personal favourite. As with all MacLean Novels the plot is thrilling to the very end. The hero is typical MacLean: tough, resourceful and gifted with a self-deprecating sense of humor. Modern pirates day pirates running after gold bullion and a nuclear bomb take over a luxury liner and its upto the first mate (the protogonist) to outwit them in the dangerous game of cat and mouse. The story grips you from the very first page and will keep you hooked till the the last. Revealing too much of the plot won't be good on my part. I suggest you buy and read this gem of a novel. I am sure this would be the best thriller you would ever come across in your life time.
—Dhiraj Sharma
