Alistair MacLean was born in Scotland in 1922. In early 1954, he won a short story contest run by the Glasgow Herald with an entry titled "The Dileas", which is included in his maritime collection The Lonely Sea. In the wake of this achievement, he was asked to write a novel; that first book, H.M.S. Ulysses, was published in October 1955. It achieved such wide acclaim that he soon became a full-time writer. (excerpt from About MacLean/Alistair MacLean's Writing Career)
One of the all-time great thriller writers, Alistair MacLean has long been a favorite of mine. I set up this site to share my views about his books and the films based on them.
I have now reviewed every novel he wrote (see links above)! I am gradually covering more movie treatments of his books; sadly, few are available as home video rentals.
For each book, I provide an introduction; plot keypoints; strengths and weaknesses; and a rating. Movie reviews are less structured.
This is all highly subjective, of course! Though your tastes probably aren't identical to mine, I hope my thoughts will help guide you toward enjoyable reading and viewing.
Click to visit Amazon.com for a large selection of Alistair MacLean's Books and Movies.