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John Locke #1
Steel Tiger
John Locke is a roving sailor and soldier of fortune. The man to turn to when danger simmers to the exploding point. Deep in the South Pacific Frenchmen working on a vital multinational engineering project fall victim to a series of brutal killings. Is it the work of terrorists? Tribalists? Corporate Plunderers? Only one man can answer these questions. The adventurer sailing on a non-stop voyage into excitement. The man that trouble-and women-just can't leave alone. John Locke - Steel Tiger
320 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published May 12, 1983
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About the author
Stirling Silliphant
20 books6 followersStirling Dale Silliphant was an American novelist, screenwriter and producer. He was born in Detroit, Michigan, moved to Glendale, California as a child, graduated from Hoover High School, and educated at the University of Southern California. He is probably best known for his screenplay adaptations of In the Heat of the Night (which earned him an Oscar for screenplay adaptation)and Charly, which was adapted from Flowers for Algernon and co-creating the television series Route 66.
Other features as screenwriter include Irwin Allen productions
The Towering Inferno and The Poseidon Adventure, adapting both films from previously published novels into one cohesive screenplay each.
In the seventies, the quality of the projects he worked on began to slip, even though they did well at the box office. He wrote the screenplays for The Poseidon Adventure (1972), Shaft in Africa (1973), The Towering Inferno (1974) and The Swarm (1978).
During the 1980's he moved to Thailand, but continued to write for TV movies and mini-series up to his death. His last work was a screenplay for The Grass Harp (1995), which he also co-produced. He died of prostate cancer in Bangkok, Thailand, on April 26, 1996.
Other features as screenwriter include Irwin Allen productions
The Towering Inferno and The Poseidon Adventure, adapting both films from previously published novels into one cohesive screenplay each.
In the seventies, the quality of the projects he worked on began to slip, even though they did well at the box office. He wrote the screenplays for The Poseidon Adventure (1972), Shaft in Africa (1973), The Towering Inferno (1974) and The Swarm (1978).
During the 1980's he moved to Thailand, but continued to write for TV movies and mini-series up to his death. His last work was a screenplay for The Grass Harp (1995), which he also co-produced. He died of prostate cancer in Bangkok, Thailand, on April 26, 1996.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
April 25, 2012
Isn't that a great and rather overblown synopsis? I added it. It's (mostly) from the back cover of the novel. But it isn't a very accurate description. The book is better than the typical tough guy pulp fiction novel.
Originally intended to be the first installment of a twelve book series. For reason or reasons that I can't determine Silliphant wrote three of the John Locke novels and dropped them. Possibly because of disappointing sales.
Stirling Silliphant has been almost forgotten since his death. Oh that's not to say that many of the movies he wrote have been forgotten. Far from it. But it's the cheese-ball flicks ( The Towering Inferno, The Poseidon Adventure, The Swarm ) that he wrote for the big paychecks that are still watched (with the exception of In the Heat of the Night and the terrific Charley ). In my opinion that's unfortunate.Silliphant was a solid, thoughtful writer who also turned out some snappy stories. He was a professional writer and his stories always stayed within the boundaries of whatever genre he was writing for, but allot of his material was able to rise above the conventions.
Steel Tiger is one such example of Silliphant's ability to write intelligently while still coloring within the lines. John Locke is a Soldier of Fortune/Private Detective/Troubleshooter. He sails around the Pacific in his ketch to exotic locales and gets involved in bad situations. Naturally he takes care of business then sails off like the free-booting He man that he is.Any resemblance to John D. MacDonald's character Travis McGee is intentional.Silliphant admitted once in an interview that he modeled John Locke after McGee.
The supporting characters are actually unique from each other with distinctive characteristics. The plots have their little twists that once in awhile actually catch the reader by surprise. John Locke is a classic hero, but he has a background and an intelligence that gives him greater depth than one usually finds in these types of novels.
The last thing is a strong sense of place.Silliphant was respected and admired for his outstanding research. This was probably Silliphant's greatest strength as a writer. His writing always had the ability to take you to another place (usually "exotic") and that added texture to what might have otherwise been a fairly typical story.
Steel Tiger is a mystery/action novel set in New Caledonia. It's a competently written yarn with a likeable hero and the South Pacific in the background. Beautiful women, intrigue, a smart tough as nails French police detective with a fondness for Turkish coffee,men of honor,philosophical musings, sardonic humor and gun-play. Good read for the beach or a snowy day in January.
Originally intended to be the first installment of a twelve book series. For reason or reasons that I can't determine Silliphant wrote three of the John Locke novels and dropped them. Possibly because of disappointing sales.
Stirling Silliphant has been almost forgotten since his death. Oh that's not to say that many of the movies he wrote have been forgotten. Far from it. But it's the cheese-ball flicks ( The Towering Inferno, The Poseidon Adventure, The Swarm ) that he wrote for the big paychecks that are still watched (with the exception of In the Heat of the Night and the terrific Charley ). In my opinion that's unfortunate.Silliphant was a solid, thoughtful writer who also turned out some snappy stories. He was a professional writer and his stories always stayed within the boundaries of whatever genre he was writing for, but allot of his material was able to rise above the conventions.
Steel Tiger is one such example of Silliphant's ability to write intelligently while still coloring within the lines. John Locke is a Soldier of Fortune/Private Detective/Troubleshooter. He sails around the Pacific in his ketch to exotic locales and gets involved in bad situations. Naturally he takes care of business then sails off like the free-booting He man that he is.Any resemblance to John D. MacDonald's character Travis McGee is intentional.Silliphant admitted once in an interview that he modeled John Locke after McGee.
The supporting characters are actually unique from each other with distinctive characteristics. The plots have their little twists that once in awhile actually catch the reader by surprise. John Locke is a classic hero, but he has a background and an intelligence that gives him greater depth than one usually finds in these types of novels.
The last thing is a strong sense of place.Silliphant was respected and admired for his outstanding research. This was probably Silliphant's greatest strength as a writer. His writing always had the ability to take you to another place (usually "exotic") and that added texture to what might have otherwise been a fairly typical story.
Steel Tiger is a mystery/action novel set in New Caledonia. It's a competently written yarn with a likeable hero and the South Pacific in the background. Beautiful women, intrigue, a smart tough as nails French police detective with a fondness for Turkish coffee,men of honor,philosophical musings, sardonic humor and gun-play. Good read for the beach or a snowy day in January.
March 26, 2018
Set in a colorful location (New Caledonia in the South Pacific) and better written than a lot of its type (sometimes overblown, but often insightful about people and faraway places), it was a pleasant read as paperback thrillers out of the 80s go.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews