Frygten er mit våben

by Alistair MacLean

Paper Book, 1983

Status

Available

Call number

823.9

Library's review

USA, 1961
Forhistorien er at et Trans Cariib Air Charter Company fly i maj 1958 bliver skudt ned og mindst fire bliver dræbt, Pete, Elizabeth, John og Barry. Flyet havde en formue i guld med. Elizabeths mand lytter med på radio, da det sker.
Så klipper vi til den egentlige handling tre år senere,
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hvor en mand John Montague Talbot (som vi aner er identisk med Elizabeths mand) flygter fra en retssal og efterlader en dødeligt såret politimand. Han tager et gidsel Mary Ruthven med sig. Hun er datter af den stenrige General Blair Ruthven. Talbot og pigen bliver fanget af en mand Herman Jablonsky, der bringer dem til generalen i stedet for til politiet, fordi han har tænkt sig at tage sig godt betalt for tjenesten. En af generalens mænd genkender Jablonsky som en tidligere politimand, der er røget i uføre. De hyrer Jablonsky til at passe på at Talbot ikke stikker af.
I virkeligheden er Talbot og Jablonsky i gang med at afsløre generalen og den bande, han er med i. Banden ser ud til at blive ledet af Vyland, hans narkomansøn Larry og en lejemorder Royale.
Jablonsky slipper Talbot fri, så han kan udspionere en boreplatform X13 som generalen har planer for, men da Talbot vender tilbage er Jablonsky død. Til gengæld får Talbot overbevist både Mary og hendes chauffør Simon Kennedy om at han er god nok. Hele menagen tager ud til boreplatformen, hvor det er meningen at Talbot skal få gang i motorerne på en hævningsubåd og redde en guldskat op. Han får med hjælp fra Kennedy og Mary forpurret planen, slået Larry Vyland ihjel og fremskaffet en tilståelse fra Royale og Vyland.
Vyland begår selvmord inden retsagen, men Talbot har alligevel fået hævnet sin tvillingebror Peter, sin kone Elizabeth og deres lille søn John. Men det er ikke happy ending, for nu er hans liv helt tomt og på sidste side går han stille hjem efter at have siddet og gloet på solnedgangen.

Urealistisk knaldroman men med mindre papagtige karakterskildringer end sædvanligt.
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Publication

[Kbh.] : Gyldendal, 1983.

Description

A classic novel of ruthless revenge set in the steel jungle of an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico - and on the sea bed below it. Now reissued in a new cover style. A sunken DC-3 lying on the Caribbean floor. Its cargo: ten million, two hundred and fifty thousand dollars in gold ingots, emeralds and uncut diamonds guarded by the remains of two men, one woman and a very small boy. The fortune was there for the taking, and ready to grab it were a blue-blooded oilman with his own offshore rig, a gangster so cold and independent that even the Mafia couldn't do business with him and a psychopathic hired assassin. Against them stood one man, and those were his people, those skeletons in their watery coffin. His name was Talbot, and he would bury his dead - but only after he had avenged their murders.… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member www.snigel.nu
Fast-paced action, which I could not seem to get enough in my teens.
LibraryThing member jeffome
Although it got off to a slow start, almost a confusing start, I now know that was on purpose....the bulk of the book was unraveling all of the confusion concerning underwater treasure, an oil rig on the Gulf of Mexico, a bevy of bad guys seeming to have control over a very wealthy oil family, and
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the unfortunate guy thrown into the middle of it all trying to save the day against all odds. As with most of Maclean's work, there are some nail-biting, split-second-timing adventures that keep the wheels turning on this one. Slowly, the reader gets to those revelatory moments where the confusion begins to clear, and it takes practically to the bitter end to get it all figured out....just the way i like it. Nicely done - and with a perfect title!
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LibraryThing member fuzzi
Nice twisty tale of a sadistic killer hired to recover underwater treasure...but don't assume anything. This one did surprise me and had me guessing to the end.

Language

Original language

English

Original publication date

1961

Physical description

318 p.; 21.2 cm

ISBN

8701557416 / 9788701557412

Local notes

Omslag: Eric Palmquist
Omslaget viser en ubåd på vej ned til en sunken flyvemaskine hvor man (på bagsiden af omslaget) kan se en knokkelmand bag styrepinden i cockpittet
Indskannet omslag - N650U - 150 dpi
Oversat fra engelsk "Fear is the Key" af Knud Müller

Pages

318

Library's rating

Rating

½ (127 ratings; 3.7)

DDC/MDS

823.9
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