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The Strange Land
A thriller from the author of THE LONELY SKIER. A man escapes to Morocco, hopeful of starting a new life. However, he soon discovers that three people are waiting for him: a smuggler-turned missionary; a grubby, corrupt entrpreneur; and a young woman from the past he believed he had fled.
Paperback
First published January 1, 1954
94 people want to read
About the author
Hammond Innes
106 books107 followersRalph Hammond Innes was an English novelist who wrote over 30 novels, as well as children's and travel books.He was awarded a C.B.E. (Commander, Order of the British Empire) in 1978. The World Mystery Convention honoured Innes with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Bouchercon XXIV awards in Omaha, Nebraska, Oct, 1993.
Innes was born in Horsham, Sussex, and educated at the Cranbrook School in Kent. He left in 1931 to work as a journalist, initially with the Financial Times (at the time called the Financial News). The Doppelganger, his first novel, was published in 1937. In WWII he served in the Royal Artillery, eventually rising to the rank of Major. During the war, a number of his books were published, including Wreckers Must Breathe (1940), The Trojan Horse (1941) and Attack Alarm (1941); the last of which was based on his experiences as an anti-aircraft gunner during the Battle of Britain at RAF Kenley. After being discharged in 1946, he worked full-time as a writer, achieving a number of early successes.
His novels are notable for a fine attention to accurate detail in descriptions of places, such as in Air Bridge (1951), set partially at RAF Gatow, RAF Membury after its closure and RAF Wunstorf during the Berlin Airlift.
Innes went on to produce books in a regular sequence, with six months of travel and research followed by six months of writing. Many of his works featured events at sea. His output decreased in the 1960s, but was still substantial. He became interested in ecological themes. He continued writing until just before his death. His last novel was Delta Connection (1996).
Unusually for the thriller genre, Innes' protagonists were often not "heroes" in the typical sense, but ordinary men suddenly thrust into extreme situations by circumstance. Often, this involved being placed in a hostile environment (the Arctic, the open sea, deserts), or unwittingly becoming involved in a larger conflict or conspiracy. The protagonist generally is forced to rely on his own wits and making best use of limited resources, rather than the weapons and gadgetry commonly used by thriller writers.
Four of his early novels were made into films: Snowbound (1948)from The Lonely Skier (1947), Hell Below Zero (1954) from The White South (1949), Campbell's Kingdom (1957), and The Wreck of the Mary Deare (1959). His 1973 novel Golden Soak was adapted into a six-part television series in 1979.
Innes was born in Horsham, Sussex, and educated at the Cranbrook School in Kent. He left in 1931 to work as a journalist, initially with the Financial Times (at the time called the Financial News). The Doppelganger, his first novel, was published in 1937. In WWII he served in the Royal Artillery, eventually rising to the rank of Major. During the war, a number of his books were published, including Wreckers Must Breathe (1940), The Trojan Horse (1941) and Attack Alarm (1941); the last of which was based on his experiences as an anti-aircraft gunner during the Battle of Britain at RAF Kenley. After being discharged in 1946, he worked full-time as a writer, achieving a number of early successes.
His novels are notable for a fine attention to accurate detail in descriptions of places, such as in Air Bridge (1951), set partially at RAF Gatow, RAF Membury after its closure and RAF Wunstorf during the Berlin Airlift.
Innes went on to produce books in a regular sequence, with six months of travel and research followed by six months of writing. Many of his works featured events at sea. His output decreased in the 1960s, but was still substantial. He became interested in ecological themes. He continued writing until just before his death. His last novel was Delta Connection (1996).
Unusually for the thriller genre, Innes' protagonists were often not "heroes" in the typical sense, but ordinary men suddenly thrust into extreme situations by circumstance. Often, this involved being placed in a hostile environment (the Arctic, the open sea, deserts), or unwittingly becoming involved in a larger conflict or conspiracy. The protagonist generally is forced to rely on his own wits and making best use of limited resources, rather than the weapons and gadgetry commonly used by thriller writers.
Four of his early novels were made into films: Snowbound (1948)from The Lonely Skier (1947), Hell Below Zero (1954) from The White South (1949), Campbell's Kingdom (1957), and The Wreck of the Mary Deare (1959). His 1973 novel Golden Soak was adapted into a six-part television series in 1979.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
December 2, 2023
I'm trying to figure out why I come back to Hammond Innes. As a suspense novelist, he's no Alistair MacLean. I grew up on MacLean, perhaps the first adult fiction I ever read, at the age of ten or so, recommended by my dad. He's my gold standard. MacLean's protagonists are swashbucklingly cool, Innes's aren't. MacLean is funny, Innes isn't. MacLean has romance sprinkled in, hardly believable, but the girls at least are usually girl-next-door, not Hollywood-stereotype--he's at great pains to point that out. Innes has a bit of romance in The Strange Land, but so little that the big payoff is one explicitly passionless kiss.
Innes is good on setting, though. Here, French Morocco. Really good, rich, interesting descriptions. He's good at suspense--the situations he puts his people in here are difficult and thoughtful, from a man washed onto a shore who is one of two people but we're not sure which, to a mob charging a colonial outpost in which our protagonist and his passionless girlfriend wait to die. The narration drops a nice little mic at the end, too. Both MacLean and Innes have a moral vision, but MacLean is playful with it, and Innes is serious, really serious, a novelist for grownups.
Innes is good on setting, though. Here, French Morocco. Really good, rich, interesting descriptions. He's good at suspense--the situations he puts his people in here are difficult and thoughtful, from a man washed onto a shore who is one of two people but we're not sure which, to a mob charging a colonial outpost in which our protagonist and his passionless girlfriend wait to die. The narration drops a nice little mic at the end, too. Both MacLean and Innes have a moral vision, but MacLean is playful with it, and Innes is serious, really serious, a novelist for grownups.
October 9, 2019
Quintessential 1950s adventure novel. A time when the French still governed in Morocco. A time when the Foreign Legion still exerted its will in France's colonies. A time when explorers, renegades, and those on the run from their past could find seclusion in the barren wilderness bordering the desert. And only a frequently washed out road and unreliable single phone line to connect with civilization. Then, the Berbers rebel.
This book is fun to read and takes you back to what was for it the contemporary setting of the early to mid 1950s. The residue of the war years lingers over the politics and the people of the story. Casablanca and Marrakesh and Tangier fill out the exotic place names, alongside the Atlas Mountains and wastes of the desert. Deserted ancient cities and the prospects for lost mines and archeaological treasures are part of the atmosphere. Within it are two love stories. One of a Czech scientist on the run from Communist agents with his wife. Another about a troubled missionary and the brokenhearted sister of a friend.
I have seen this scenario develop in literally dozens of postwar adventure films and novels. And I've enjoyed most of them. The Strange Land didn't let me down either.
This book is fun to read and takes you back to what was for it the contemporary setting of the early to mid 1950s. The residue of the war years lingers over the politics and the people of the story. Casablanca and Marrakesh and Tangier fill out the exotic place names, alongside the Atlas Mountains and wastes of the desert. Deserted ancient cities and the prospects for lost mines and archeaological treasures are part of the atmosphere. Within it are two love stories. One of a Czech scientist on the run from Communist agents with his wife. Another about a troubled missionary and the brokenhearted sister of a friend.
I have seen this scenario develop in literally dozens of postwar adventure films and novels. And I've enjoyed most of them. The Strange Land didn't let me down either.
October 3, 2019
A man goes to Morocco as a last refuge,but finds three people from his past waiting for him.The setting is exotic,but the plot is rather underwhelming.
November 4, 2025
My task reading all Hammond Innes’ thrillers in order of publication arrives at 1954. We start with a bang in Tangier and it’s clear Innes knows his stuff about yachts and Morocco - he spent weeks there in 1952 researching this exciting story. Latham, after spending a good deal of time smuggling goods into Tangier, has turned over a new leaf and is running a threadbare mission in the Atlas Mountains. He has advertised for a doctor to help him; the locals are desperately poor. His forlorn advert is answered by a Czech who is due to arrive from Falmouth sailing with a Cornishman, Wade, who is a mystery. There’s a huge storm blowing (it’s December) and Latham is fretting nervously in a port-side bar along with an unknown, tense, reticent girl. News comes that the yacht is about to be wrecked nearby but there is apparently only one man aboard. Latham and the girl rush to the shore and with the aid of local police save the sailor but it’s arguable which one had survived, Kavan (the doctor) or Wade. And why is a Greek “businessman” so keen to talk to them? The customs people are keen to recover documentation which the survivor is reticent about providing.
It’s all quite bewildering but somehow Latham manages to get his new companion out of Tangier in the direction of the mission many miles to the south. Kavan/Wade seems less keen on doctoring than travelling even further south into the Zone of Insecurity where the French authorities have a more tenuous grip on things. What is his fascination with Kasbah Foum, a remote former Legionary fort? Gradually it starts to make sense after many disasters and the plot is totally gripping even if it inevitably gets a little bit “Biggles Flies South” (a good thing). The description of the topography and the local Berber people is exceptional. Even the French come out as heroic.
It’s all quite bewildering but somehow Latham manages to get his new companion out of Tangier in the direction of the mission many miles to the south. Kavan/Wade seems less keen on doctoring than travelling even further south into the Zone of Insecurity where the French authorities have a more tenuous grip on things. What is his fascination with Kasbah Foum, a remote former Legionary fort? Gradually it starts to make sense after many disasters and the plot is totally gripping even if it inevitably gets a little bit “Biggles Flies South” (a good thing). The description of the topography and the local Berber people is exceptional. Even the French come out as heroic.
January 1, 2022
A slow, frustrating novel that ratchets the tension and winds it almost to breaking point for the climax. Our narrator has more to him than he’s allowed to show; isn’t the protagonist; is selfish, a little weak, a little slow and frustrating until the adrenalin spikes - much like the story itself.
ETA: I grew very quickly fond of our French characters, but there’s no avoiding the ick factor of the colonial context.
ETA: I grew very quickly fond of our French characters, but there’s no avoiding the ick factor of the colonial context.
March 25, 2024
Classic Grandma thriller, entertaining enough.
November 6, 2019
Standard adventure tale
September 27, 2024
Hammond Innes was one of those names that, as a child in the 70s and 80s, I saw on every railway station bookstall and library shelf, but until now I have never read anything by him. I chanced upon this book in a charity shop and bought it in a 'three paperbacks for a pound' offer so I wasn't too bothered whether it was any good or not.
It's a bit of a mixed bag. I was expecting something akin to Alistair Maclean but it's not as good. The best bit about it, I think, are the topographical descriptions of the 'strange land' (Tangier, the Atlas Mountains and the Moroccan desert). Innes was one of those writers, a bit like Dennis Wheatley, who clearly has a 'what I saw on my holiday' approach to his work.
There's some initial suspense and a reasonably exciting finish but overall I felt a bit let down. The middle in particular sags badly and I got the impression several other plotlines were considered but abandoned, (eg, the buried treasure) and the constant switching of real and false identities of one of the characters got me rather confused. The denouement, where an angry mob of 1000 Berbers out for revenge, was good, but a bit of a let down when they all went home after basically just getting a clip round the ear by a lone French policeman.
I might try some more by Mr Innes if they turn up in charity shops but I probably won't go out of my way to seek him out.
It's a bit of a mixed bag. I was expecting something akin to Alistair Maclean but it's not as good. The best bit about it, I think, are the topographical descriptions of the 'strange land' (Tangier, the Atlas Mountains and the Moroccan desert). Innes was one of those writers, a bit like Dennis Wheatley, who clearly has a 'what I saw on my holiday' approach to his work.
There's some initial suspense and a reasonably exciting finish but overall I felt a bit let down. The middle in particular sags badly and I got the impression several other plotlines were considered but abandoned, (eg, the buried treasure) and the constant switching of real and false identities of one of the characters got me rather confused. The denouement, where an angry mob of 1000 Berbers out for revenge, was good, but a bit of a let down when they all went home after basically just getting a clip round the ear by a lone French policeman.
I might try some more by Mr Innes if they turn up in charity shops but I probably won't go out of my way to seek him out.
December 7, 2016
Another wonderful read by this fantastic author :)
December 7, 2012
Good murder, mystery.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews