When I picked up this book three years ago, I promised myself that I would never read it. Now, why would I do a crazy thing like that?Because I wanted to be able to keep it with a clean conscience. I’d never heard of the book before and had no clue what it was about. But its beautiful blue cover with gold gilding demanded that I add it to my collection, and I was not going to read it so that it could stay there. (The cover picture to the right is not the same edition as my copy.)But then, I saw a few other books by the same author, this Alistair MacLean, at another library sale. They looked interesting, so I decided to research his style. What I discovered is that he is the author of the popular adventure stories Where Eagles Dare and The Guns of Navarone which are set during World War II. I began to wonder if maybe Where Eight Bells Toll had a similar theme.At last, I capitulated. I read the book.The Story.Calvert's never liked staring down the barrel end of a Colt .45. He knows too well how they shatter bone and flesh. Yet, once again, he’s faced with this gun.Calvert knew he would have to play a dirty game when he planned to board and search, the Nantesville that night. He knew that the sinister crew would think nothing of slitting his throat if they found him poking around, collecting evidence against them. Yet he had to do it, had to get the information off of them. There were too many millions – and lives – at stake.But what are the stakes that Calvert and his enemies are playing for? What drove Calvert to board the Nantesville that night? What does he expect to find? And will he survive the visit?You’ll have to read When Eight Bells Toll to find out!Discussion.Or not. I think I’ll just make this section one big huge spoiler. : )When Eight Bells Toll had a brilliant opening. Our hero is staring down a gun – we don’t know who’s on the other side of the gun, where Calvert is, why he’s there, or what he’s fighting for. We only know that he is a second away from death and, in the scene that ensues, that his enemies want very badly to kill him. It was a real clincher – I instantly realized that the stakes were mile high and that the hero was badly outnumbered by an organized gang. The scene made me feel acutely the importance of the mission and its success. It left me asking a million questions…And here’s where When Eight Bells Toll took a dip. From the first moment I was dying to know all. But MacLean chose to string me along, not revealing the motive behind Calvert’s actions until page one hundred fifty-nine of the novel. Over three-fifths of the story was already behind me before I was able to make sense of any of it. And by that time, I was tired. I was tired of reading a story in which the main character had been nearly killed a half-billion times for no stated reason. I was tired of watching the main character snuff out the lives of his bloodthirsty opponents, again for no stated reason. Tired of being shut out from the dread secret. Tired of being treated like an outsider.And then, I was told the stakes. By that time, I was expecting the fate of the world to rest on Calvert’s shoulders. (After all, if it’s THAT big and THAT secretive, surely it must be a case of diplomatic proportions.) I was, frankly, disappointed. Oh, sure, it’s big, but it had no immediacy.And then there was Calvert, himself. A cold, cynical man, Calvert lives in a dog-eat-dog world where you take out your enemy before he takes you out.Now, I believe in self-defense. But Calvert’s attitude was hard, very hard. He approached killing in a cavalier, who-cares-so-long-as-I-don’t-get-killed manner. As he says, he feels no compunction over the lives that he takes. He is not moved at the thought of snuffing out a life, even one which was intent on killing him. He takes a cool-boy attitude towards the whole idea.Calvert seems to take pride in the fact that he’s a disillusioned, worldly-wise man. As the story began, it was interesting to have for a protagonist a man not given to melodrama and theatrics. But over time, it began to feel as though his very lack of theatrics was, itself, theatrics.Conclusion. Not a necessary or really recommended book, n Eight Bells Toll nevertheless peaked my interest enough to keep an eye out for other books by Alistair MacLean in the hopes that not all of his books are as language filled or strung out. And yes, n Eight Bells Tolll continue to grace my shelf of pretty books.:)Read my Cautions at The Blithering Bookster.http://blitheringbookster.com/home/20...
Back in the early eighties, between my 12th and 15th years, I read numerous Alistair MacLean novels as well as Jack Higgins, Colin Forbes, Hammond Innes, Desmond Bagley and Ian Fleming. Couldn't get enough of the British suspense novelists.But then I got older, my perspective and tastes changed and I stopped reading them. Eventually I got rid of the books and , in many respects, forgot about them - with the exception of watching the ocassional movie based on their novels.Most notably the movie adaptation of The Guns of Navarone. A few weeks ago I came across a mint copy of When Eight Bells Toll in a local thrift shop. The asking price was a staggering 25 cents. I opened the book and read that terrific first page - which I hadn't fogotten. I plunked down the quarter and read the book in a matter of a few hours.It's a fast read, but it's an engrossing read. Much to my surprise the novel is as good as I remember it. That doesn't happen very often. I like this book. Yes it is dated. Technology, the roles of men and women, ect. You have to read it as a period piece and move on. Just sit back and enjoy the roller-coaster ride that is When Eight Bells Toll . To use a rather dated expression this is a real crackerjack adventure novel. Great fun. I'm going to have to look for a few more of MacLean's novels.
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This was the first Alistair MacLean book I ever read - read it many years ago when I was in jr. high school, and I loved it. I've since read most of his other books and loved most of them as well. I think the reason I love this book so much (I pull it out and re-read it every now and then) is because it grabs you from the start. The tension from the first-person perspective, the beautifully-written descriptions of the Scottish coast, the sarcastic tone at times, and even some well-placed humor...just a great book if you like a good thriller.
—Sara F.
A secret service agent, Phillip Calvert, looks into the disappearance of a ship laden with gold bullion around the Western Isles. Is it related to the disappearances of numerous other vessels, some carrying valuable cargoes, some simply working / pleasure vessels? The beginning of the book starts with Calvert deeply involved the plot and it takes a hundred odd pages to understand what is happening. The story proceeds at a cracking pace and it’s an engrossing read.I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys crime / spy thrillers.
—Wilde Sky
This book was pretty good, but not MacLean's best. It's an action/thriller set at sea featuring British Secret Service agent Peter Calvert and his boss, Admiral Sir Arthur Arnford-Jason, called Uncle Arthur for some reason. Calvert is witty, but is also a cold blooded killer. He's also a bit of a misogynist, although that may be a product of the book's publication time of the 1960s more than anything.The opening scene is spectacular, one of the best I've read. It really leaves you breathless. People are trying to kill Calvert. Why? Who? Well, as is the case with most MacLean heroes, Calvert displays superhuman skills and stamina to get to those trying to get to him. A plot is uncovered, a piracy plot, in which people and ships are disappearing, people get murdered, and a helicopter he's in gets shot down. One thing that frustrated me about the book, though, was that you don't really have a clue what it's all about until you're about two thirds of the way through it. By that time, you might be irritated you've read so far without having been told what's going on. Calvert, though, seems to know a lot and likes to tell people what's going on, even after Uncle Arthur has said things about need to know. He has his reasons though. Of course, with most MacLean novels, there's a twist at the end of the book, although I found it a bit convoluted. Call me a dullard and I won't take offense. I just had to read extra carefully to make sense of it all. Another thing that bothered me was the plot seemed just so unrealistic. I don't see how anyone would have done what was done in this novel. Too much chance to plan realistically. Still, it lends itself toward excitement. Whatever my complaints, this book is action packed and rarely slow. Lots of violence, if that's your thing. It's very similar, I think, to a James Bond film -- just more violent. Think of the era of publication and it makes sense. Recommended? Yes.
—Scott Holstad
