Storm Force from Navarone: The Sequel to Alistair Maclean's Force 10 from Navarone

Guns of Navarone #3

by Sam Llewellyn

The surviving commandos of Force 10 are sent to disable German U-boats so that they can't be used to stop the invasion at Normandy

Genres: Fiction, Thriller, Espionage, World War II, Adventure, War, Historical Fiction

391 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1998

About the author

Sam Llewellyn is a British author of literature for children and adults.

Reviews

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

In 1957 Alistair MacLeans' second novel was called "The guns of Navarone" and it became an instant hit and made MacLean an household name when it came to adventure stories, the books spawned a classic movie that was released in 1961 which became one of the all-time classic war movies (together with the unforgettable "where eagles dare" another classic Maclean novel and screenplay).

In 1968 followed the only sequel Maclean ever wrote Force 10 from Navarone in which the three survivors from the first book got another little job this time concerning a dam in Yugoslavia which was desperately in need of some destruction to half the German war effort. This book spawned another movie in 1978 with different faces playing the roles and was far less of an succes.

MacLean died in 1987 after having lead a productive life and leaving behind some unfinished stories which were released after his death by ghost writers.

In 1996 Sam Llewellyn wrote an authorized sequel based on nothing that MacLean had left behind this was a new story starring Mallory, Stavros & Miller. Straight of the Yugoslavia succes they are send to the south of France to find out the whereabouts of three very huge U boats of a new class called Werewolves and they could wreak havoc with an upcoming amphibious landing somewhere in France.
The three lads with some support are send to find out where these three submarines are hidden and destroy them. Not unlike the previous two books they have to find out who is really betraying them from the word go. Miller shows his skills with explosives, Mallory gets to climb a few cliffs and Stavros takes care of the mayhem. It is a thrill ride of a story that does not stop until the last page. We do get another fortress guarded by the SS and it involves the climbing of a cliff (again). This first book is very like the original Guns of Navarone. At times you feel like you are reading a carbon copy but yet the book in the end does show his own identity. To be honest the book is far better than one would expect it to be. They chose well with this new writer who clearly understands what made the Maclean novels tick.

Do not expect great literature but a bloody entertaining romp with our three men from Navarone doing deeds that can only be cataloged as fantastic. An excellent war adventure story that does give some effort and is excellent companionship while traveling, beach bumming, or simply when Netflix gets boring.

With 244 pages the book does not overstay it welcome.

[Rob Braun · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ok read, but just not up to the quality of Alistair. Disappointing characters, plot and dialogue and as much as I like Mallory, Miller and Andre they can't save this from being mediocre. I'll probably read his other sequel but I won't expect it to be much different than this one.

[Brian Williams · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointing, I was hoping it would be close to Alistair MacClean

[Lloyd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Author Sam Llewellyn continues the series of World War II British commanders begun by Alistair MacLean. In this installment Mallory, Miller and Andrea must destroy three new, super-fast (34 knots) U-boats before they can be deployed against the invasion fleet headed across the English-channel to France. The complication is that the U-boats are docked in neutral Spain. This creates many diplomatic problems for Britain if the commandos are killed or captured while on a mission in a neutral country. It is an enjoyable action packed storied even if it is immediately apparent to the reader that no such U-boats could have existed at that time.

[David McFarlane · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like the characters from \alistair McLean and \sam Llewellyn has done a good job of maintaining them in his book 'Storm \force from Navarone'. However, there were parts which did not seem to really gel, like the escape from the village after being stuck in the bread oven, or the emphasis put on Mallory using the pitons made from a car spring.

It is a good read, and it will be interesting to see if any more develop from the stable.

[I C Palmer · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very good sequel to a classic. Enjoyed it very much.

[Vikram · Rating 3 out of 5]

On the plus side, familiar characters. On the minus side: not quite the style of Maclean...

[Vincent · Rating 3 out of 5]

Better than some of MacLean's final books... a fresher outlook..though the plot seemed a bit copycat...
Provides long entertainment..and does include some impossible occurrances.

[Mike Hambrecht · Rating 5 out of 5]

After reading this, I believe that the 4 Navarone Novels would make an awesome TV series for HBO.

[The Villan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just a copy cat of the original Guns of Navarone with a twist in the plot about unbelievable submarines.

[Priya · Rating 2 out of 5]

Felt like a rehash and that made it boring.

[Mike Sobyra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Keeps pace up, but just too many slip ups to be believable. At no point does anything go right, until the end of course.

[Marshall · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was pleasantly surprised to discover that a new author had continued the work of Alistair Maclean. The characters from his original Navarone series are terrific, and Llewelyn does them great credit. The Navarone team set off on another war changing mission, this time to protect the ships of the Normandy invasion force. To the purist, technically this in not an Alistair Maclean book, but it definitely captures the spirit of his works. Loaded with action, twists and turns and a few surprises. This is a very readable, thoroughly enjoyable WWII action adventure thriller.

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was a huge fan of Alistair Maclean's work, and was interested to read this. I thought that the author captured the essence of the original, in both style, and the characters. Realistically, what made the original books were the interactions between the various characters (predominantly Mallory and Miller, who never ceased to crack me up). It was a thoroughly cracking yarn.

[Rob · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent follow on to Force 10 from Navarone. I was expecting this book to be nothing like as good as the two it follows - written by Alistair MacLean. I was wrong. It picks up from the previous books and slots in well. Really well written, and thoroughly enjoyable. Well recommended.

[Jeff Crosby · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay follow-up to the MacLean novels.