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Beyond the Poseidon Adventure
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237 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1978
4 people are currently reading
108 people want to read
About the author
Paul Gallico
192 books319 followersPaul William Gallico was born in New York City, on 26th July, 1897. His father was an Italian, and his mother came from Austria; they emigrated to New York in 1895.
He went to school in the public schools of New York, and in 1916 went to Columbia University. He graduated in 1921 with a Bachelor of Science degree, having lost a year and a half due to World War I. He then worked for the National Board of Motion Picture Review, and after six months took a job as the motion picture critic for the New York Daily News. He was removed from this job as his "reviews were too Smart Alecky" (according to Confessions of a Story Teller), and took refuge in the sports department.
During his stint there, he was sent to cover the training camp of Jack Dempsey, and decided to ask Dempsey if he could spar with him, to get an idea of what it was like to be hit by the world heavyweight champion. The results were spectacular; Gallico was knocked out within two minutes. But he had his story, and from there his sports-writing career never looked back.
He became Sports Editor of the Daily News in 1923, and was given a daily sports column. He also invented and organised the Golden Gloves amateur boxing competition. During this part of his life, he was one of the most well-known sporting writers in America, and a minor celebrity. But he had always wanted to be a fiction writer, and was writing short stories and sports articles for magazines like Vanity Fair and the Saturday Evening Post. In 1936, he sold a short story to the movies for $5000, which gave him a stake. So he retired from sports writing, and went to live in Europe, to devote himself to writing. His first major book was Farewell to Sport, which as the title indicates, was his farewell to sports writing.
Though his name was well-known in the United States, he was an unknown in the rest of the world. In 1941, the Snow Goose changed all that, and he became, if not a best-selling author by today's standards, a writer who was always in demand. Apart from a short spell as a war correspondent between 1943 and 1946, he was a full-time freelance writer for the rest of his life. He has lived all over the place, including England, Mexico, Lichtenstein and Monaco, and he lived in Antibes for the last years of his life.
He was a first-class fencer, and a keen deep-sea fisherman. He was married four times, and had several children.
He died in Antibes on 15th July, 1976, just short of his 79th birthday.
He went to school in the public schools of New York, and in 1916 went to Columbia University. He graduated in 1921 with a Bachelor of Science degree, having lost a year and a half due to World War I. He then worked for the National Board of Motion Picture Review, and after six months took a job as the motion picture critic for the New York Daily News. He was removed from this job as his "reviews were too Smart Alecky" (according to Confessions of a Story Teller), and took refuge in the sports department.
During his stint there, he was sent to cover the training camp of Jack Dempsey, and decided to ask Dempsey if he could spar with him, to get an idea of what it was like to be hit by the world heavyweight champion. The results were spectacular; Gallico was knocked out within two minutes. But he had his story, and from there his sports-writing career never looked back.
He became Sports Editor of the Daily News in 1923, and was given a daily sports column. He also invented and organised the Golden Gloves amateur boxing competition. During this part of his life, he was one of the most well-known sporting writers in America, and a minor celebrity. But he had always wanted to be a fiction writer, and was writing short stories and sports articles for magazines like Vanity Fair and the Saturday Evening Post. In 1936, he sold a short story to the movies for $5000, which gave him a stake. So he retired from sports writing, and went to live in Europe, to devote himself to writing. His first major book was Farewell to Sport, which as the title indicates, was his farewell to sports writing.
Though his name was well-known in the United States, he was an unknown in the rest of the world. In 1941, the Snow Goose changed all that, and he became, if not a best-selling author by today's standards, a writer who was always in demand. Apart from a short spell as a war correspondent between 1943 and 1946, he was a full-time freelance writer for the rest of his life. He has lived all over the place, including England, Mexico, Lichtenstein and Monaco, and he lived in Antibes for the last years of his life.
He was a first-class fencer, and a keen deep-sea fisherman. He was married four times, and had several children.
He died in Antibes on 15th July, 1976, just short of his 79th birthday.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
October 17, 2020
This is going to sound truly ridiculous but I finish this book (Beyond the Poseidon Adventure) and had really enjoyed it and was actually debating in my mind if I should give it 5 stars or 4 stars ... I thought ... I really did enjoy it a lot, but its kind of embarrassing 'cause its like admitting that I really loved a MacDonald's Cheeseburger.... this book is the 'Junk Food' of literature... I mean, not just 'Junk Food' but really, really junk! But I did like it, I mean really enjoyed it. But, I thought, what will people think if I give it 5-stars, what does that say about me? I mean, I also loved Thomas Hardy's 'Return of Native' and gave it 5-stars ... how can I give 5 to both? Does that mean they are equal? So, I thought, maybe I should just give it 4-stars. But then I thought, why am I being 'political' in my own mind about 4 vs. 5 stars. If I loved it, give it 5! Who cares what people think of how I rate a pulp 'fast-food' book, Do I overthink much?
Anyways, that stream-of-conciseness said. This really has a feel of a true sequel to the 'Poseidon Adventure' Movie. (to be clear, this book is a sequel to the first Movie not the first Book). If you a fan of the original movie, try this book out... even if you didn't like the movie 'Beyond the Poseidon Adventure', trust me, this is not a novelization of said movie, nowhere close.
Anyways, that stream-of-conciseness said. This really has a feel of a true sequel to the 'Poseidon Adventure' Movie. (to be clear, this book is a sequel to the first Movie not the first Book). If you a fan of the original movie, try this book out... even if you didn't like the movie 'Beyond the Poseidon Adventure', trust me, this is not a novelization of said movie, nowhere close.
December 20, 2016
I really liked the book. I like getting to a couple "old friends" again. Far fetched, in the extreme, yes, of course. But for me, it was a fun read.
I will say that unlike several of the reviewers, it was not the appearance of the tiger that was the most unbelievable aspect. For me it was the "sex scene". The idea that a couple, on a sinking ship, on the run from thugs, would slip away and have a quick roll around....THAT was the thing that was too over the top for me.
Again though, on the whole, it was a fun way to spend some time.
I will say that unlike several of the reviewers, it was not the appearance of the tiger that was the most unbelievable aspect. For me it was the "sex scene". The idea that a couple, on a sinking ship, on the run from thugs, would slip away and have a quick roll around....THAT was the thing that was too over the top for me.
Again though, on the whole, it was a fun way to spend some time.
February 21, 2018
A sequel, not to the original novel but the Irwin Allen film, Beyond the Poseidon Adventure is an atrociously bad piece of pulp fiction. Picking up where the film left off, Mike Rogo forces the rescue helicopter to return him to the wreck of the S.S. Poseidon and reveals that he was on an undercover mission to protect a shipment of gold and plans to stay with the wreck until the US can send a salvage vessel; meanwhile three ships make their way to the Poseidon to claim salvage rights and end up in a deadly fight for survival. It’s hard to believe that Paul Gallico wrote this garbage, as it has a completely different tone than the first book and none of the grittiness or intensity. Farfetched doesn’t even begin to describe the plot, and the characters are all clichéd stereotypes. As disappointing as the eventual Irwin Allen film sequel would be, the Beyond the Poseidon Adventure sequel novel is infinitely worse.
April 7, 2026
First and foremost - if you haven’t seen this film, skip it completely. Trust me! I had originally planned to finish this novel first, then watch both of the films. However, I had enough understanding that the movie would be nothing like the book. I am so glad I did that first and then came back to finishing this, because the film was so immensely disappointing in script and quality, oftentimes mimicking a 70s TV film production. Interestingly the film carried out almost the same number of characters as the novel, however totally different names and backgrounds. Yet the goal was the same: get to the treasure hiding in the Poseidon’s hold before she sinks forever.
I’ll tell you what. I….love this book. Great continuation of the film - added more actual adventure than “Adventure”. Great to see Rogo take the lead going back into the silly cruise liner. The new characters were far more engaging than any of the film’s. I really wanted to smack Sally Field. Quite hard. And I LOVE Sally Field! Michael Caine probably bought a much-needed new car with that paycheck he earned for his lazy, devil-may-care performance.
Okay! Refocusing - so yeah, read this book. Excellent “sequel of the film”, as curiously prefaced by the author. 😉 Come for the bad decisions, stay for the absolutely wild death of the Poseidon. 🤯🚢
I’ll tell you what. I….love this book. Great continuation of the film - added more actual adventure than “Adventure”. Great to see Rogo take the lead going back into the silly cruise liner. The new characters were far more engaging than any of the film’s. I really wanted to smack Sally Field. Quite hard. And I LOVE Sally Field! Michael Caine probably bought a much-needed new car with that paycheck he earned for his lazy, devil-may-care performance.
Okay! Refocusing - so yeah, read this book. Excellent “sequel of the film”, as curiously prefaced by the author. 😉 Come for the bad decisions, stay for the absolutely wild death of the Poseidon. 🤯🚢
November 30, 2016
If you haven't read the first book, I highly recommend that you read it. The Poseidon is a cruise ship that in book one sank when it overturned. This book is a return to that ship by those hoping treasures can still be found. I liked the first book better, but still loved this adventure.
January 22, 2025
I was always more a fan of the first movie than I was the first novel. The first novel was incredibly nihilistic, full of horrific trials forced upon grotesque people, and with characters who acted in often strange, incomprehensible ways. What it did have was a sense of spectacle and it was easy to see both why it was adapted and why it was so heavily altered in adaptation.
That Gallico would write a sequel based on the film instead of his own book rightfully feels like a cynical cash grab. Dedicating it to Irwin Allen and centering three of the survivors who decide to return to the hell they just escaped makes it also feel like fanfic. Still, though, the nihilism remains and almost every character is in one way or another just terrible. The grand scope is gone, however, and large parts of it could be filmed using a single set. Instead there are bizarre, flashy gimmicks () and an abrupt, and deeply stupid, love story.
None of it is worth reading. And worse, now I have to watch the movie based on it.
That Gallico would write a sequel based on the film instead of his own book rightfully feels like a cynical cash grab. Dedicating it to Irwin Allen and centering three of the survivors who decide to return to the hell they just escaped makes it also feel like fanfic. Still, though, the nihilism remains and almost every character is in one way or another just terrible. The grand scope is gone, however, and large parts of it could be filmed using a single set. Instead there are bizarre, flashy gimmicks () and an abrupt, and deeply stupid, love story.
None of it is worth reading. And worse, now I have to watch the movie based on it.
January 10, 2023
One can go to the well once too many times. This second entry in the Poseidon book series was written at the request of film producer/director, Irwin Allen. Several characters (the survivors) from the first novel return and are given a little more depth but the storyline is a little far-fetched, especially the tiger and the new villain. Theis novel is a bit more racy but alas Paul Gallico's story was 'not good enough' for Allen who deviated from the story when adapting the teleplay. This was a good read and I wished that this version was the one one made not the sequel movie.
June 2, 2017
The first book "The Poseidon Adventure" (which I rated ***) was an entertaining (and plausible) disaster story where a group of (mostly interesting) characters struggle to escape from a capsized ship. This sequel was totally unnecessary (and implausible). Perhaps author Paul Gallico had lucrative movie rights in his sights. Still the film was worse (which I rated *).
May 22, 2020
Una novela curiosa, ya que se basa no en el libro original, si no en la pelicula, Paul Gallico dedica este libro a Irwin Allen.
Tiene sus puntos malos, un poco absurdo el hecho de que los sobrevivientes quieran volver al naufragio, sabiendo por todo lo que pasaron, me quedaron varias dudas al final. Sin duda muy entretenido, pero me quedo con el final del libro Original y el de la pelicula.
Tiene sus puntos malos, un poco absurdo el hecho de que los sobrevivientes quieran volver al naufragio, sabiendo por todo lo que pasaron, me quedaron varias dudas al final. Sin duda muy entretenido, pero me quedo con el final del libro Original y el de la pelicula.
August 12, 2021
as bad as the movie was
May 9, 2008
Gallico took that sinking of this ship a little too far for me. I'm still haunted by this young girl who stayed behind simply to steal the jewels off the guests on the Poseidon ...
April 16, 2015
Preposterous, but pulpy enough to be enjoyable.The tiger was a nice outlandish touch.
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March 7, 2013Loved the book... :)
August 22, 2013
This is ok. Totally different to the original book as it was written to follow up the film, not the novel...some parts are far fetched to say the least! But can't explain why without spoilers...
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews