San Andreas

by Alistair MacLean

1986

Status

Available

Genres

All Topics

Fiction

Collection

Standard Shelves

Publication

Fawcett (1986), 346 pages

Description

Reissue of the classic tale of war at sea, from the acclaimed master of action and suspense. Suddenly, just before dawn, the lights went out aboard the San Andreas. For the British hospital ship sailing the deadly, U-boat patrolled Norwegian waters, a nightmare of violence and betrayal has begun. A terrifying game of sabotage in which an unknown traitor among the crew holds all the cards. The red crosses on the vessel's sides spell anything but safety. For a dangerous secret has turned the ship into a priceless quarry. With the Captain out of action Bosun Archie McKinnon takes over. Alone in treacherous, frozen seas, her compass smashed, the San Andreas is being drawn relentlessly into the enemy's hands.

User reviews

LibraryThing member BookWallah

Miss Marple in the tea parlor moves faster than this supposed “thriller” novel. San Andreas has a great setup: a Merchant Marine vessel converted to hospital ship is in arctic waters, struggling against impossible weather, with German planes and u-boats circling, and an unknown saboteur onboard

reeking havoc – but then it just stalled.

The opening long rant against the decrepit state of the Merchant Marine fleet before WWII anchored the somnambulistic tone for rest of this snoozer. First thriller I could only make it halfway through. Sadly this MacLean is not recommended.

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LibraryThing member pre20cenbooks

Lots of action, enough dialog to keep you guessing, who done it at sea. I enjoyed the period this story was set in. I found myself getting tired toward the end and eager for the revealing of who did what. The plot was a little complex for me. Good historical fiction.

LibraryThing member JoeKingman

Pretty cool story. It was like a 1960s war/suspense movie in my head. Pretty slow but still good.

LibraryThing member themulhern

The double crosses, the sabotage, the indomitable hero, the romance. Typical MacLean. What makes it better than "Where Eagles Dare" is that it is on board a hospital ship in the north Atlantic and MacLean, a former office in the Royal Navy, could really describe his ships.

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