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Alister MacLean, Where Eagles Dare; H.M.S. Ulysses; Ice Station Zebra; When Eight Bells Toll; The Guns of Navarone
Omnibus edition of five Alistair MacLean's novels: The Guns of Navarone, HMS Ulysses, Where Eagles Dare, Ice Station Zebra, When Eight Bells Toll.
862 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1980
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163 people want to read
About the author
Alistair MacLean
345 books1,205 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 - 10 of 10 reviews
November 11, 2025
The Guns of Navarone by Alistair MacLean
10 out of 10
This is a magnificent story about courage, self-sacrifice, endurance, humanity, valor, empathy, love of thy neighbor – well, if not really the neighbor, then of those twelve hundred soldiers that are stranded on an island nearby, who seem to be about to die if nothing is done about The guns of Navarone, which are among the biggest, if not the most powerful ever build, and with their power they prevent the allied ships from getting through in the Dodecanese Campaign, which is a historical fact, unlike Navarone, which is invented, but still the narrative is based on the Battle of Leros, that took place during World War II.
Most of the participants in this Special Operation are heroes, at least those fighting against the Nazis, with one notable exception, an infiltrator that will not be named on the off chance that you read this and then ever so more unlikely, that you decide you would be interested in reading the book – or have it read for you, which might not be such a good idea, given that the audiobook is strangely enough, the only one that this listener has come across that has mistakes that would not have been edited… we can only wonder what happened…
Leading the commando group is Captain Keith Mallory and he would be the favorite maybe to hold the title of the main character, or the hero of the story, if it were not for the fact that this is more a Team of Super Heroes, perhaps beating the Avengers and the other mega blockbusters of this age, in that they also have human qualities and they make some mistakes…that does not appear to be the case with Andrea, a former Lieutenant Colonel, and thus nominally superior in ran to Mallory, only the two are so close together, so bonded and ready to sacrifice for the other that the idea of love comes to mind, if not a homosexual one – albeit who knows, maybe there is that too – then a platonic attachment that is enviable in its solidity.
Captain Mallory is in fact a New Zealander, a Kiwi as they are called, and one of the strengths of this wonderful book is that it shows the cooperation that can exist between such varied individuals, coming from all corners of the world, among the rest we have Corporal Dusty Miller, an American expert on explosives, gifted with a dry humor and at one point he also proves to be an ingenious detective, since he is the one that finds the traitor among the group and saves the operation and the team from utter disaster…there are two British members of the group of saboteurs, Telegraphist Casey Brown and Lieutenant Andrew Stevens…
The latter has had a sad history that would be presented to the readers, in that both father and brothers abused him, though it looks like they did it unconsciously, obsessed with exercise, strength and misunderstood manhood, they had pushed the poor character, when he was just a child into the pool, to learn to swim, this being the only way, his father had told him, first the father and then the bothers, who have all been cruel to the one who would be insecure, afraid as an adult, though not much more than others, but paying nevertheless the price for that miseducation…there is a moment when Andrea in particular tries to explain about his fears, the fact that ‘he is alive because he has feared and others are dead because they have not’, reminding one of the classic of Psychology The Gift of Fear and the truth that the brave man or woman does feel anxiety, only psychopaths and mad men and women do not, but overcomes it anyway…
Taking down the Guns of Navarone is essential for the survival of the twelve hundred men stranded nearby, and for other naval operations, since the cannons are so powerful as to be no match for the allies ships and furthermore, a previous attempt to have them annihilated from the air had failed, albeit the attempt to use the commando to blow them up looks like a suicide mission nonetheless and along the way, the group will encounter all kinds of adversities and obstacles, starting from the moment when they are spied upon by a man called Nikolai, whom they place under the supervision of a British officer, only the latter would prove so criminally incompetent and arrogant as to disregard the request and thus details of their plan would reach the Germans, who would know in advance some of the planned movements of the saboteurs.
They first encounter a German patrol boat, as they try to navigate to their destination and there is no other way out, except to kill the crew and blow up the boat, which results in a decapitated, gruesome to see Nazi officer, then they have chosen an impossible climb, during the night, just because the Nazis would also consider it unmanageable and thus allow it to be the only ‘more vulnerable’ path for access, only in the process of trying the unachievable, Stevens is so badly hurt as to make him look an impossible case…Mallory would discuss the gravity when he thinks the poor young man is sleeping, stating that he is very concerned about the suffering officer, who cannot walk and is in a very critical state falling into the hands of the enemy, given that they will make him talk, just like anybody else under drugs and torture, and then he will have given the plans and the details, finishing the operation.
Since he was not asleep, Andrew Stevens hears this and understands that he is an important liability and he would try to crawl out of the cave where they had found some temporary refuge, to commit what would be suicide, only to be found and taken back, showing an impressive moral compass and willing to self-sacrifice and in the process, improving what had been such a low opinion of himself – he actually becomes one of the Super Heroes of this novel, for his actions would be valiant and heroic, just as his leg would start decaying because of the gangrene that is spreading…let us just leave it at that
They have support from local resistance fighters – albeit among them there may be less friendly elements, saying no more – and the very courageous and intrepid Louki (perhaps lucky, or maybe not so fortunate after all), who will help the commando find food – theirs had fallen over the cliff, in the almost impossible ascent, when Stevens had also had a crush and they had to eliminate a guard that had been waiting above – heat for the suffering lieutenant and then he would prove essential in the fights to come….especially given the enormous setbacks, most important being the capture of the group by the Germans and then the prospect of having them all killed, after they would have been paraded in front of Skoda (not the car), one of the vicious Germans on the island, although Turzig is not so bad, indeed, the latter apparently saves the intruders from being shot by the vile Skoda…we will find that there has been a traitor that had informed the Nazis and this is why the saboteurs would be captured…only to escape, maybe
10 out of 10
This is a magnificent story about courage, self-sacrifice, endurance, humanity, valor, empathy, love of thy neighbor – well, if not really the neighbor, then of those twelve hundred soldiers that are stranded on an island nearby, who seem to be about to die if nothing is done about The guns of Navarone, which are among the biggest, if not the most powerful ever build, and with their power they prevent the allied ships from getting through in the Dodecanese Campaign, which is a historical fact, unlike Navarone, which is invented, but still the narrative is based on the Battle of Leros, that took place during World War II.
Most of the participants in this Special Operation are heroes, at least those fighting against the Nazis, with one notable exception, an infiltrator that will not be named on the off chance that you read this and then ever so more unlikely, that you decide you would be interested in reading the book – or have it read for you, which might not be such a good idea, given that the audiobook is strangely enough, the only one that this listener has come across that has mistakes that would not have been edited… we can only wonder what happened…
Leading the commando group is Captain Keith Mallory and he would be the favorite maybe to hold the title of the main character, or the hero of the story, if it were not for the fact that this is more a Team of Super Heroes, perhaps beating the Avengers and the other mega blockbusters of this age, in that they also have human qualities and they make some mistakes…that does not appear to be the case with Andrea, a former Lieutenant Colonel, and thus nominally superior in ran to Mallory, only the two are so close together, so bonded and ready to sacrifice for the other that the idea of love comes to mind, if not a homosexual one – albeit who knows, maybe there is that too – then a platonic attachment that is enviable in its solidity.
Captain Mallory is in fact a New Zealander, a Kiwi as they are called, and one of the strengths of this wonderful book is that it shows the cooperation that can exist between such varied individuals, coming from all corners of the world, among the rest we have Corporal Dusty Miller, an American expert on explosives, gifted with a dry humor and at one point he also proves to be an ingenious detective, since he is the one that finds the traitor among the group and saves the operation and the team from utter disaster…there are two British members of the group of saboteurs, Telegraphist Casey Brown and Lieutenant Andrew Stevens…
The latter has had a sad history that would be presented to the readers, in that both father and brothers abused him, though it looks like they did it unconsciously, obsessed with exercise, strength and misunderstood manhood, they had pushed the poor character, when he was just a child into the pool, to learn to swim, this being the only way, his father had told him, first the father and then the bothers, who have all been cruel to the one who would be insecure, afraid as an adult, though not much more than others, but paying nevertheless the price for that miseducation…there is a moment when Andrea in particular tries to explain about his fears, the fact that ‘he is alive because he has feared and others are dead because they have not’, reminding one of the classic of Psychology The Gift of Fear and the truth that the brave man or woman does feel anxiety, only psychopaths and mad men and women do not, but overcomes it anyway…
Taking down the Guns of Navarone is essential for the survival of the twelve hundred men stranded nearby, and for other naval operations, since the cannons are so powerful as to be no match for the allies ships and furthermore, a previous attempt to have them annihilated from the air had failed, albeit the attempt to use the commando to blow them up looks like a suicide mission nonetheless and along the way, the group will encounter all kinds of adversities and obstacles, starting from the moment when they are spied upon by a man called Nikolai, whom they place under the supervision of a British officer, only the latter would prove so criminally incompetent and arrogant as to disregard the request and thus details of their plan would reach the Germans, who would know in advance some of the planned movements of the saboteurs.
They first encounter a German patrol boat, as they try to navigate to their destination and there is no other way out, except to kill the crew and blow up the boat, which results in a decapitated, gruesome to see Nazi officer, then they have chosen an impossible climb, during the night, just because the Nazis would also consider it unmanageable and thus allow it to be the only ‘more vulnerable’ path for access, only in the process of trying the unachievable, Stevens is so badly hurt as to make him look an impossible case…Mallory would discuss the gravity when he thinks the poor young man is sleeping, stating that he is very concerned about the suffering officer, who cannot walk and is in a very critical state falling into the hands of the enemy, given that they will make him talk, just like anybody else under drugs and torture, and then he will have given the plans and the details, finishing the operation.
Since he was not asleep, Andrew Stevens hears this and understands that he is an important liability and he would try to crawl out of the cave where they had found some temporary refuge, to commit what would be suicide, only to be found and taken back, showing an impressive moral compass and willing to self-sacrifice and in the process, improving what had been such a low opinion of himself – he actually becomes one of the Super Heroes of this novel, for his actions would be valiant and heroic, just as his leg would start decaying because of the gangrene that is spreading…let us just leave it at that
They have support from local resistance fighters – albeit among them there may be less friendly elements, saying no more – and the very courageous and intrepid Louki (perhaps lucky, or maybe not so fortunate after all), who will help the commando find food – theirs had fallen over the cliff, in the almost impossible ascent, when Stevens had also had a crush and they had to eliminate a guard that had been waiting above – heat for the suffering lieutenant and then he would prove essential in the fights to come….especially given the enormous setbacks, most important being the capture of the group by the Germans and then the prospect of having them all killed, after they would have been paraded in front of Skoda (not the car), one of the vicious Germans on the island, although Turzig is not so bad, indeed, the latter apparently saves the intruders from being shot by the vile Skoda…we will find that there has been a traitor that had informed the Nazis and this is why the saboteurs would be captured…only to escape, maybe
April 7, 2018
read all these books when I was much younger.
Boys adventure books for grown ups
Boys adventure books for grown ups
October 18, 2018
this was a pretty enjoyable read. Most books were about World War II and they taught me a lot of what happened; the impossibility of it all, yet perseverance triumphed. I was stunned sometimes and each book made me rethink my original theory that the Navy had it easy while the Army had to do all of the dirty work. After reading this, I now know that all military had to suffer. Some of the books were extremely slow, while others just flowed like a movie. I haven't seen any of these movies, by the way, but I intend to, especially The Guns of Navarone.
April 30, 2019
Probably the best trio of MacLean books out there!! (Correct me if there are better ones, I'd love to read them!!)
July 11, 2021
Good book, good characters, the secret mission vibe, totally recommend it, now to see the movie ha ha
January 10, 2024
An exceptional plot and action.
February 8, 2016
I used to love all these books when I was small.
I used to love the way the hero could out wit the entire German army while wounded and not having slept in days, while armed with a tooth pick! Well that's they way it seemed to me at the time.
After finding a whole lot of them again a lot later in life, I find they are very entertaining for different reasons. If you add up how much the protagonists drink during the book - its astounding! Its surprising they can do anything at all!
And I love the long speeches given by the hero, scotch in hand, usually to the villain, its almost like watching a play!
They are all still quite good, even today, my favourites are Night Without End and The Dark Crusader.
I used to love the way the hero could out wit the entire German army while wounded and not having slept in days, while armed with a tooth pick! Well that's they way it seemed to me at the time.
After finding a whole lot of them again a lot later in life, I find they are very entertaining for different reasons. If you add up how much the protagonists drink during the book - its astounding! Its surprising they can do anything at all!
And I love the long speeches given by the hero, scotch in hand, usually to the villain, its almost like watching a play!
They are all still quite good, even today, my favourites are Night Without End and The Dark Crusader.
August 17, 2016
This book contains 5 novels. I am familiar with 3 that became movies. The books were better then the movies. Where Eagles Dare and the Guns of Navarone are classic WWII fiction and probably best known by the public. Ice Station Zebra is a good Cold War novel that is a classic whodunit. the HMS Ulysses is about how men face certain death and not for the weak. Finally when Eight Bells Toll is another whodunit that was very pleasing. All in all this is a very good collection.
November 13, 2011
Reading it with Jessica.
February 27, 2012
I read all of these as a teenager and I loved them all with capital letters. Cant wait to read them all again...
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews