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Athabaska
SABOTAGE!
THE VICTIMS
Two the most important oilfields in the world - one in Canada, the other in Alaska.
THE SABOTEURS
An unknown quantity - deadly and efficient.
THE RESULT
Castrophe.
One man, Jim Brady, is called in to save the life-blood of the world as unerringly, the chosen targets fall at the hands of a hidden enemy...
THE VICTIMS
Two the most important oilfields in the world - one in Canada, the other in Alaska.
THE SABOTEURS
An unknown quantity - deadly and efficient.
THE RESULT
Castrophe.
One man, Jim Brady, is called in to save the life-blood of the world as unerringly, the chosen targets fall at the hands of a hidden enemy...
224 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1980
74 people are currently reading
649 people want to read
About the author
Alistair MacLean
347 books1,208 followersAlistair Stuart MacLean (Scottish Gaelic: Alasdair MacGill-Eain), the son of a Scots Minister, was brought up in the Scottish Highlands. In 1941, at the age of eighteen, he joined the Royal Navy; two and a half years spent aboard a cruiser were to give him the background for HMS Ulysses, his first novel, the outstanding documentary novel on the war at sea. After the war he gained an English Honours degree at Glasgow University, and became a schoolmaster. In 1983, he was awarded a D. Litt. from the same university.
Maclean is the author of twenty-nine world bestsellers and recognised as an outstanding writer in his own genre. Many of his titles have been adapted for film - The Guns of the Navarone, The Satan Bug, Force Ten from Navarone, Where Eagles Dare and Bear Island are among the most famous.
Maclean is the author of twenty-nine world bestsellers and recognised as an outstanding writer in his own genre. Many of his titles have been adapted for film - The Guns of the Navarone, The Satan Bug, Force Ten from Navarone, Where Eagles Dare and Bear Island are among the most famous.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 91 reviews
July 16, 2012
This is not one of MacLean's tightly-plotted masterpieces, but it does make a really satisfying head-movie on a hot summer day. The oil fields of Alaska and the tar sands of Canada are being threatened by some shadowy and efficient terrorist organization. Our two intrepid investigators are out to find out what's going on.
Included: research nuggets about oil and the effects of extreme cold. Adorably crusty characters. Pretty girls. Hard drinking. Fisticuffs.
Read if: You are a MacLean completist. You love the cold books.
Skip if: You're in it for the tight plotting.
Read instead: San Andreas
Included: research nuggets about oil and the effects of extreme cold. Adorably crusty characters. Pretty girls. Hard drinking. Fisticuffs.
Read if: You are a MacLean completist. You love the cold books.
Skip if: You're in it for the tight plotting.
Read instead: San Andreas
April 3, 2014
Alistair MacLean was a thriller writer who wrote Ice Station Zebra, The Guns of Navarone, Force 10 From Navarone, Where Eagles Dare, and many other great books.
He also wrote this piece of crap.
The action takes place in Maclean's beloved Arctic. Someone is sabotaging the Alaska Pipeline and the Athabasca oil sands in northern Alberta. Enter a bunch of "oil sabotage investigators", who come across like a bunch of retired CIA agents. These characters are such one dimensional stereotypes, you really begin to appreciate what a well-rounded charcter James Bond really is. They're tough-talking, hard drinking, ruthless, and so thoroughly despicable that the reader wouldn't be blamed for thinking that these assholes are causing the very sabotage they're being paid to stop.
But the plot of the book is so boring that not even that twist occurred to MacLean.
The characters are supposed to be North American (one is even from Texas), but that doesn't stop MacLean -- they're all bloody well going to talk like Scotsmen, d'ye ken? The FBI and RCMP agents are one step removed from the Keystone Kops. The damsels in distress are stereotypically passive, and while the ending of the book isn't exactly predictable, it wasn't exactly new, either.
What did I like? The prologue. The prologue was great!
September 16, 2013
I decided to read Athabasca, to represent the province of Alberta, in my Read Across Canada challenge. Written by the famous thriller and grand adventure author:Alistair MacLean|26970], known for Ice Station Zebra and The Guns of Navarone, "Athabasca"' was going to be a wild and exciting ride. This was not the case. I forced myself to wade through the first 100 pages, and was sorely tempted to quit, which I rarely do. I needed this book for my challenge. The main characters are a trio of oil-field sabotage investigators who are called in to deal with threats of sabotage to tar sand oil fields near Fort MacMurray, Alberta and to a pipeline which carries oil to Alaska. So, two countries-Canada and the United States are involved, as are two oil companies, along with two sets of employees. The novel was published in 1980, at the peak of the 80's oil shortage/panic, and is set time wise as a current event.
In those first 100 slow-moving pages, MacLean must set the scene in terms of providing the reader with page after page of technological information and jargon, regarding how the tars sands are accessed, how the pipeline works, and how the gigantic oil fields are laid out, over several thousand square miles. He introduces a plethora of characters, many of them minor. I found it difficult to keep all of them straight.
On a plus side, the tar sand fields of northern Alberta, in the depths of winter, make for an interesting location for solving sabotage and murder. Extreme temperatures, snow, and blowing snow that quickly covers an outdoor crime scene, or hides a body, are tough to deal with and cover evidence quickly. For those who may find themselves left outside for any length of time, the cold can be deadly. The remoteness of the crime sites and the need for helicopters to travel about in these difficult conditions, suggest that the threat is coming from the inside.
This book was written long before 9-11, when the world had a different take on security and threat levels to key resources such as the oil supply coming from these locations in North America. Looking back from a 2013 perspective, makes one wonder how easily this same threat/activity could occur now. As for the reasons behind the sabotage, MacLean says about a third of the way into the novel, "Surely they can't be so naive as to try to convey the impression that Canada is trying to interfere with America's oil supplies and vice versa. In theses times of an acute oil shortage, what have two friendly neighbours to gain by cutting each other's throats?" A comment made after the body of the 3rd murder victim is discovered & they realize they have a really serious problem on their hands! Who has to gain? The answer is OPEC". Later on a character says, "there are some certifiable loonies who would stop at nothing to achieve their own end". The implication is that OPEC doesn't want Canada & the United States to become self-sufficient in oil, since OPEC would lose leverage, power and $!
The last half of the book improves, but only marginally. There are a few exciting moments, but the resolution of the crisis is anticlimactic. My connection with the main characters was limited, and only on a couple of occasions was I really concerned whether one of them survived. All in all, not what I was expecting from this author. It was interesting to look at this book both through the lens of today's worries about terrorism and sabotage, and thinking back to the fears that North American automobiles were going to run out of gasoline on highways in the 80's.
In those first 100 slow-moving pages, MacLean must set the scene in terms of providing the reader with page after page of technological information and jargon, regarding how the tars sands are accessed, how the pipeline works, and how the gigantic oil fields are laid out, over several thousand square miles. He introduces a plethora of characters, many of them minor. I found it difficult to keep all of them straight.
On a plus side, the tar sand fields of northern Alberta, in the depths of winter, make for an interesting location for solving sabotage and murder. Extreme temperatures, snow, and blowing snow that quickly covers an outdoor crime scene, or hides a body, are tough to deal with and cover evidence quickly. For those who may find themselves left outside for any length of time, the cold can be deadly. The remoteness of the crime sites and the need for helicopters to travel about in these difficult conditions, suggest that the threat is coming from the inside.
This book was written long before 9-11, when the world had a different take on security and threat levels to key resources such as the oil supply coming from these locations in North America. Looking back from a 2013 perspective, makes one wonder how easily this same threat/activity could occur now. As for the reasons behind the sabotage, MacLean says about a third of the way into the novel, "Surely they can't be so naive as to try to convey the impression that Canada is trying to interfere with America's oil supplies and vice versa. In theses times of an acute oil shortage, what have two friendly neighbours to gain by cutting each other's throats?" A comment made after the body of the 3rd murder victim is discovered & they realize they have a really serious problem on their hands! Who has to gain? The answer is OPEC". Later on a character says, "there are some certifiable loonies who would stop at nothing to achieve their own end". The implication is that OPEC doesn't want Canada & the United States to become self-sufficient in oil, since OPEC would lose leverage, power and $!
The last half of the book improves, but only marginally. There are a few exciting moments, but the resolution of the crisis is anticlimactic. My connection with the main characters was limited, and only on a couple of occasions was I really concerned whether one of them survived. All in all, not what I was expecting from this author. It was interesting to look at this book both through the lens of today's worries about terrorism and sabotage, and thinking back to the fears that North American automobiles were going to run out of gasoline on highways in the 80's.
January 13, 2020
2.4 ⭐
Read this many years ago but I clearly recall I was disappointed by this book. The characters were one dimensional and unconvincing. MacLean spent some time learning about the oil sands and the current technology of the time, but very little about Alberta and it's people. It was as if he copied and pasted a generic American background into the novel. As usual he's clumsy in his portrayal of women, here they're dumb and compliant Also for a thriller, I just didn't find it thrilling. Not Maclean's best work.
Read this many years ago but I clearly recall I was disappointed by this book. The characters were one dimensional and unconvincing. MacLean spent some time learning about the oil sands and the current technology of the time, but very little about Alberta and it's people. It was as if he copied and pasted a generic American background into the novel. As usual he's clumsy in his portrayal of women, here they're dumb and compliant Also for a thriller, I just didn't find it thrilling. Not Maclean's best work.
November 26, 2010
Not a particularly good thriller. Two oilfields, one in Alaska and one in Canada, are threatened with sabotage, so a crack team of investigators is sent in. Every time something happens at one of the oilfields, the entire team goes in response; something then happens to the other oilfield. Wouldn't you think that they could split the team in two? The investigators also make a federal case out of the fact that there is no alcohol allowed at these workstations and contrive to bring large amounts with them. And if you hire a woman, it's because she's pretty and you'll likely get together with her. I realize I'm reading a 1980 novel with 2010 eyes, but these cultural elements have not aged well.
But OK, there are some suspenseful bits -- murders, kidnappings, people falling out of helicopters. And MacLean does make you feel how cold Arctic oilfields can be. Plus, he knows his way around thriller language. Here's one quote, to give you a sense of what MacLean does best:
"Ah, Mr Dermott," said a voice he half-recognized but could not place. "Struggling will not help. You are anchored to a steel ring set into concrete. The ring is directly in the path of Dragline One, which, as you can see and hear, is now only a few feet from you. The controls have been preset and locked in position so that the middle of the right shoe will pass over you. Goodbye, Mr. Dermott. You have less than two minutes to live."
If that sort of thing revs your engine, then maybe you'll want to give Athabasca a try. But I'd start with other MacLean novels first, because this one is a bore for much of the time.
But OK, there are some suspenseful bits -- murders, kidnappings, people falling out of helicopters. And MacLean does make you feel how cold Arctic oilfields can be. Plus, he knows his way around thriller language. Here's one quote, to give you a sense of what MacLean does best:
"Ah, Mr Dermott," said a voice he half-recognized but could not place. "Struggling will not help. You are anchored to a steel ring set into concrete. The ring is directly in the path of Dragline One, which, as you can see and hear, is now only a few feet from you. The controls have been preset and locked in position so that the middle of the right shoe will pass over you. Goodbye, Mr. Dermott. You have less than two minutes to live."
If that sort of thing revs your engine, then maybe you'll want to give Athabasca a try. But I'd start with other MacLean novels first, because this one is a bore for much of the time.
July 24, 2016
Maybe it was the year it was written (1980), maybe it was the genre of the time (spy and thriller), but it has poor research, especially when it comes to the Canadian part of the book. The language is stilted and to much of the story relies on the superhero type investigators in Houston, when there where more then competent police services in both Alaska and Alberta who could have solved the crimes. I wouldn't recommend you waste your time on this book. I have read others of Alistair MacLean, especially when I was a teenager growing up in the 80's that seemed to be much better. Maybe I have become more sophisticated in my reading since then.
July 15, 2025
Athabasca is typical of MacLean’s late thrillers. Beginning in the late 1970s his novels became terrorists’ plots against geographic regions or corporations. Athabasca is both. It is also largely a procedural exercise with little suspense.
Re-reading this novel as an audio book exposes MacLean’s prose to be deliberate and even mechanical. That was especially true with the first half of this novel as I grew accustomed to the reader’s cadence. Still, I enjoyed this novel.
Re-reading this novel as an audio book exposes MacLean’s prose to be deliberate and even mechanical. That was especially true with the first half of this novel as I grew accustomed to the reader’s cadence. Still, I enjoyed this novel.
August 18, 2014
This was simply dull, and not terribly well written. Plot about Industrial espionage in the oil fields of Alberta and Alaska and the fearless 2 investigators and their fat, likable, rum swilling boss.
Would not recommend this particular MacLean.
Would not recommend this particular MacLean.
March 31, 2020
Genre fiction with superficially drawn characters. This is a thriller without any thrills. What it lacks in thrills it makes it up in plot holes. The book plods along for about 230 pages and then just sort of stops. The villains are exposed by the chief sleuth and one of the young and beautiful female characters is carried off to Houston by another one for no apparent reason.
The best part of the book is the first chapter in which the geologic origin and history of oil is described. The rest of the book is a waste of paper and the reader's time.
The best part of the book is the first chapter in which the geologic origin and history of oil is described. The rest of the book is a waste of paper and the reader's time.
May 16, 2017
Dibandingkan novel2 Alistair MacLean yg lain, kisah yg ini jelas mengecewakan. Kurang seru. Twist akhir 'siapa dalangnya' pun jelas tertebak sejak setengah jalan.
Latar belakang industri perminyakan besar sebenarnya menarik perhatian, namun kmdn, konjungsinya untuk mengadu dombakan industri tsb dgn OPEC jelas terlalu keblabasan menurutku. Yah, alasan bahwa kisah ini dituliskan di era 80-an mmg cukup masuk akal sih. Tp jk dibaca di jaman skrg, ya kmgkinan besar pembaca (aku) lbh lgs bisa menebak alasan keuangan jauh lbh dulu.
Poin yg lain, karakter utama novel ini gak jelas. Jim Brady jelas pemilik Brady Ent. Konsultan keamanan swasta yg katanya "punya reputasi tak terbantahkan". Lah sepanjang cerita kerjaannya cuman minum2 menjamu tamu doang. Gak meyakinkan samsek. Brain sekaligus muscle malahan ada pd George Dermott, yg mencuri spotlite sejak halaman pertama. Harusnya sudah disorot terus aja sepak terjang si Dermott ini, gak pake tanggung2. Dua karakter lain yg ikut mencuri perhatian, Kapten Willoughby dan Lt. Carmody. Cukup keren bgmn kepolisian lokal bisa berperan besar pada klimaks cerita. ;)
Drpd baca ini, lbh baik baca When Eight Bells Toll. Jauh lebih asyik, seru, tegang, dng twist yg lebih wah.
Latar belakang industri perminyakan besar sebenarnya menarik perhatian, namun kmdn, konjungsinya untuk mengadu dombakan industri tsb dgn OPEC jelas terlalu keblabasan menurutku. Yah, alasan bahwa kisah ini dituliskan di era 80-an mmg cukup masuk akal sih. Tp jk dibaca di jaman skrg, ya kmgkinan besar pembaca (aku) lbh lgs bisa menebak alasan keuangan jauh lbh dulu.
Poin yg lain, karakter utama novel ini gak jelas. Jim Brady jelas pemilik Brady Ent. Konsultan keamanan swasta yg katanya "punya reputasi tak terbantahkan". Lah sepanjang cerita kerjaannya cuman minum2 menjamu tamu doang. Gak meyakinkan samsek. Brain sekaligus muscle malahan ada pd George Dermott, yg mencuri spotlite sejak halaman pertama. Harusnya sudah disorot terus aja sepak terjang si Dermott ini, gak pake tanggung2. Dua karakter lain yg ikut mencuri perhatian, Kapten Willoughby dan Lt. Carmody. Cukup keren bgmn kepolisian lokal bisa berperan besar pada klimaks cerita. ;)
Drpd baca ini, lbh baik baca When Eight Bells Toll. Jauh lebih asyik, seru, tegang, dng twist yg lebih wah.
August 31, 2018
Skulduggery in the Alaskan icefields as a mysterious group of operatives target an oil pipeline. A private security firm run by lugubrious dipsomaniac Jim Grady are deployed to track down the bad guys. The investigation threatens to stall until the villains target Grady’s family and kidnapping is added to the roster of murder and sabotage. ‘Athabasca’ was published in 1980 and MacLean essentially rewrote it three years later as ‘Floodgate’, with the dykes holding back Holland’s flood plains as the target instead of Alaska’s pipelines. But whereas ‘Floodgate’ proved to be one of MacLean’s talkies and least thrilling outings, ‘Athabasca’ is a solid mid-tier entry in the MacLean canon. Its wintry setting recalls earlier classics ‘Night Without End’, ‘Ice Station Zebra’ and ‘Bear Island’. The pace is good even though it’s a procedural for most of its pages with the thrilleramics only breaking cover in the last 50 pages or so. MacLean’s late-period reliance on adjectives and scrappy descriptions aren’t in evidence, and the romantic-subplot-thrown-in-as-an-afterthought doesn’t rear its unconvincing head until literally the final sentence. The novel’s real strength, though, is the robust prose that results from MacLean’s evident pleasure in describing the processes and heavy machinery associated with oil production.
April 15, 2018
I picked up this book up for 20c as I used tolove Alistair McCleans a s Child and still love the movies
BUT
This book was a trainwreck.
There are too many protagonists, too many characters, too little interaction, the romance seems to occur without any reason, the style tell and not show, and too many locations
BUT
This book was a trainwreck.
There are too many protagonists, too many characters, too little interaction, the romance seems to occur without any reason, the style tell and not show, and too many locations
September 17, 2014
Copyright 1980 so an older book about the oil fields in Alaska and Canada. Interesting about how all of that stuff works but the story line was a little lame about who was sabotaging the pipeline.
March 18, 2015
It was intriguing, but it was too wordy. It could have been condensed to make a better read.
March 17, 2020
Very disappointing novel. The only thing I liked about it was the factual information it contains about the petroleum industry, and the tar sands.
February 1, 2019
This is a good fast-paced conspiracy thriller set in the cold snowy landscapes of Alaska and Canada that follows Jim Brady and his team as they try and stop industrial sabotage on an epci scale. Things quickly go from bad to worse as the murders pile up and Brady's family is placed in the firing line, along with some of his team.
March 16, 2015
"Αταμπάσκα", εκδόσεις ΒΙΠΕΡ.
Απότομη αλλαγή περιβάλλοντος από το πρώτο βιβλίο του Μακλίν που διάβασα, στο δεύτερο. Από τα εξωτικά δάση της Νοτίου Αμερικής, όπου διαδραματίστηκε η ιστορία του βιβλίου "Το ποτάμι του θανάτου", στα παγωμένα εδάφη της Αλάσκας.
Κάποιοι σαμποτέρ έκαναν ζημιές σε δυο εταιρείες πετρελαίου με έδρα την Αλάσκα και τον Καναδά, με άγνωστους σκοπούς. Μια φίρμα ερευνών, με αρχηγό τον Μπρέιντι, καλείται να διαλευκάνει την υπόθεση και να βρει τους ενόχους, που μπορεί να είναι και εργαζόμενοι των παραπάνω εταιρειών, μπορεί και όχι. Μετά από πολλή έρευνα, αναζητήσεις και περιπέτειες, μαθαίνουμε τους ενόχους.
Ίδιο επίπεδο γραφής με το προηγούμενο βιβλίο του Μακλίν, λίγο περισσότερο μυστήριο, ίδιοι χαρακτήρες, δηλαδή δίχως ιδιαίτερη εκβάθυνση, λίγο χιούμορ, δυνατές σκηνές και αρκετή περιπέτεια. Και σίγουρα καλή ατμόσφαιρα, μιας και πάντα ήθελα να διαβάσω ένα βιβλίο που να διαδραματίζεται σ'εκείνα τα παγωμένα μέρη.
Σε γενικές γραμμές ένα βιβλίο που μου άρεσε, και όπως είχα πει, δεν είναι ούτε από τα πιο γνωστά του, ούτε και από τα καλά του, αλλά σίγουρα διαβάζεται ευχάριστα και πολύ γρήγορα.
Απότομη αλλαγή περιβάλλοντος από το πρώτο βιβλίο του Μακλίν που διάβασα, στο δεύτερο. Από τα εξωτικά δάση της Νοτίου Αμερικής, όπου διαδραματίστηκε η ιστορία του βιβλίου "Το ποτάμι του θανάτου", στα παγωμένα εδάφη της Αλάσκας.
Κάποιοι σαμποτέρ έκαναν ζημιές σε δυο εταιρείες πετρελαίου με έδρα την Αλάσκα και τον Καναδά, με άγνωστους σκοπούς. Μια φίρμα ερευνών, με αρχηγό τον Μπρέιντι, καλείται να διαλευκάνει την υπόθεση και να βρει τους ενόχους, που μπορεί να είναι και εργαζόμενοι των παραπάνω εταιρειών, μπορεί και όχι. Μετά από πολλή έρευνα, αναζητήσεις και περιπέτειες, μαθαίνουμε τους ενόχους.
Ίδιο επίπεδο γραφής με το προηγούμενο βιβλίο του Μακλίν, λίγο περισσότερο μυστήριο, ίδιοι χαρακτήρες, δηλαδή δίχως ιδιαίτερη εκβάθυνση, λίγο χιούμορ, δυνατές σκηνές και αρκετή περιπέτεια. Και σίγουρα καλή ατμόσφαιρα, μιας και πάντα ήθελα να διαβάσω ένα βιβλίο που να διαδραματίζεται σ'εκείνα τα παγωμένα μέρη.
Σε γενικές γραμμές ένα βιβλίο που μου άρεσε, και όπως είχα πει, δεν είναι ούτε από τα πιο γνωστά του, ούτε και από τα καλά του, αλλά σίγουρα διαβάζεται ευχάριστα και πολύ γρήγορα.
November 10, 2014
It's what you would expect from MacLean, short and dated (its nearly 35 years old). I only decided to read it because I was there last year rafting the river and padding across whats left of the glacier and I remember is work fondly.
Compared to his early works the likes of The Guns of Navarone, Ice Station Zebra and Where Eagles Dare, Athabasca is not a great read. It starts slow, only raises the pulse once and dribbles away with a lame joke about an unlikely romance. The lead character is not only unbelievable but is overshadowed by both of his henchmen. His attempts at female characterization are abysmal. Still compared to current word-processed bestsellers, it reads like an outline, there's very little padding, it's all story.
Notwithstanding the foregoing it could be that my unreliable memory has aggrandised his earlier works. (read soon after they came out - "HMS Ulysses" which I read as a teenager is still my favourite.)
Compared to his early works the likes of The Guns of Navarone, Ice Station Zebra and Where Eagles Dare, Athabasca is not a great read. It starts slow, only raises the pulse once and dribbles away with a lame joke about an unlikely romance. The lead character is not only unbelievable but is overshadowed by both of his henchmen. His attempts at female characterization are abysmal. Still compared to current word-processed bestsellers, it reads like an outline, there's very little padding, it's all story.
Notwithstanding the foregoing it could be that my unreliable memory has aggrandised his earlier works. (read soon after they came out - "HMS Ulysses" which I read as a teenager is still my favourite.)
June 18, 2012
This is not one of MacLean's tightly-plotted masterpieces, but it does make a really satisfying head-movie on a hot summer day. The oil fields of Alaska and the tar sands of Canada are being threatened by some shadowy and efficient terrorist organization. Our two intrepid investigators are out to find out what's going on.
Included: research nuggets about oil and the effects of extreme cold. Adorably crusty characters. Pretty girls. Hard drinking. Fisticuffs.
Read if: You are a MacLean completist. You love the cold books.
Skip if: You're in it for the tight plotting.
Read instead: San Andreas
Included: research nuggets about oil and the effects of extreme cold. Adorably crusty characters. Pretty girls. Hard drinking. Fisticuffs.
Read if: You are a MacLean completist. You love the cold books.
Skip if: You're in it for the tight plotting.
Read instead: San Andreas
August 11, 2010
Alistair MacLean has a perfunctory, highly descriptive and engaging style. I have yet to read one of his books that did not keep me going for hours on end until I finished. He is a great screenwriter as well as author of the books. When one reads his book, the mind is caught up in the movie, even if the movie was never made. He is definitely a favorite. I wish he was still around. He can tell a story in half the space of many current authors, yet with all the detail. Of course, his Scottish, British heritage lends him to great vocabulary and what.
December 24, 2015
Even though now deceased, Alistair Maclean’s novels still live on holding their place amongst the best. Athabasca is one of his lesser known novels, but true to form reflects Maclean’s wealth of knowledge — this time on the oil industry. The novel commences with Jim Brady and his team being employed to stop saboteurs, but ends up with murders and kidnapping. It is a novel of suspense as well as adventure.
For me the Prologue was unnecessary and the novel did take a while to engage the reader. It is not one of Maclean’s better novels, but it is still a good read.
For me the Prologue was unnecessary and the novel did take a while to engage the reader. It is not one of Maclean’s better novels, but it is still a good read.
September 16, 2010
This isn't starting out very interesting... The first chapter was kinda hard to wade through. I may or may not finish this one...
Well, this ended up being a really good book. I gave it three stars just because it took so long to get interesting. But it was a really good spy novel. Very one-plot and simple, but good.
Well, this ended up being a really good book. I gave it three stars just because it took so long to get interesting. But it was a really good spy novel. Very one-plot and simple, but good.
September 11, 2009
A spark of interest (for me) was added to the formula in that it's set very close to home (Alberta), altho' i the alien world of oil production, as transmuted by MacLean's never-never-land imagination. There was one unusually striking scene where Our Hero was trapped in front of a huge - monstrously huge - mining machine, inching slowly forward, etc. Good stuff! [These notes were made in 1982:].
February 27, 2013
I always enjoy a good mystery and Athabasca fit this role perfectly. At first it was a little difficult to get into as Maclean had to give some background on the oil industry, but as the characters developed and the first murders occurred, I was hooked. A mix of intrigue,the almost gruesome, hair raising, and some humour too, I stayed up too late just so I could find out whodunit.
February 19, 2025
Reread
Okay, so I admit. The first time I read this, as a teenager, I was less than impressed. Same with Where Eagles Dare. I couldn't understand how one sentence could be a paragraph. But I am glad I gave Alistair MacLean a second chance. I've since read and reread nearly every book he has written. Athabasca is not my favorite, but it's still one I enjoy.
Okay, so I admit. The first time I read this, as a teenager, I was less than impressed. Same with Where Eagles Dare. I couldn't understand how one sentence could be a paragraph. But I am glad I gave Alistair MacLean a second chance. I've since read and reread nearly every book he has written. Athabasca is not my favorite, but it's still one I enjoy.
October 25, 2008
A tad too techinical for light, enjoyable reading. Didn't really care about the characters either. His first book I've read but am gonna read another one before judging him as a writer (irrespective of the world's opinion)
August 31, 2016
Athabasca by Alistair MacLean provided entertainment for me while we were storm stayed in beautiful Beckley, West Virginia, during the Blizzard of '93. It was a good mystery and a fast, suspenseful read.
July 16, 2017
McClean was never a great writer but sometimes an interesting one who introduced me and others to exotic places I had not heard of. I learned little about Athabaska or Prudoe Bay, and characterization and credibility were below the James Bond level.
July 23, 2017
This book was just ok. It continues Maclean's rather annoying practice of maintaining suspense through a clumsy and obvious withholding of information. I don't remember being annoyed by this as a teenager, but it sure does bother me now.
February 16, 2018
This book had amusing characters and a lot of twists and turns. It would probably fit in the "cozy mysteries/adventure" category because despite several murders, it wasn't terribly dark or gruesome. Overall a fun, light read.
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