posted on 06 Apr 2025

The first time I’ve read……. Alistair MacLean

I recently resolved to (occasionally) read authors who are astonishingly popular – especially with male readers – but who I’ve always rather dismissed, thinking they wouldn’t be ‘my kind of thing’. So far, I’ve tried Ian Fleming and Dennis Wheatley without, it has to be said, conspicuous success: so, when I came upon a very tidy first edition (1966) of Alistair MacLean’s When Eight Bells Toll, I thought this might be my next project.

MacLean (1922 – 1987) authored well over 30 novels in a career that was extraordinarily productive. His sales are reputed to be in the hundreds of millions and several titles have made their way into cinema adaptations – including this one which starred Anthony Hopkins and was released in the early 70s and carried the strapline ‘All hell breaks loose When Eight Bells Toll’.

That might give you a clue to the kind of book you’re going to get if you decide to read it. I don’t just want to precis the plot – I think that might make it even more barmy than it actually is and, in any case, you’ll want to follow the twists and turns and inevitable plot complications for yourself – but instead try and focus on what makes MacLean clearly the writer of choice for readers seeking a certain kind of thriller.

I want to say at the outset that I think MacLean was a master of his form and I can see why he sold like he did. He also clearly knows his audience – this is storytelling perfectly calibrated for those who also love James Bond and who might even dabble with the more complex world of John Le Carre. It is undoubtedly a predominantly male audience and one that doesn’t want too much by way of pesky psychological character complexities but cracks on with the action.

The action kicks off at a rocket-fuelled pace from the very outset and MacLean never takes his foot off the accelerator peddle throughout. At the heart of the book is the seemingly indestructible British secret service agent, Phillip Calvert who despite being strangled, nearly drowned, constantly in danger of being shot or beaten to death by gorilla-like baddies, still manages a sardonic line in self-deprecation and radiates the impression that deep-down he’s a good egg who does what he does for the good of his nation. And, unlike Fleming’s James Bond, Calvert doesn’t waste time with a trail of floosies – what suggestion of romantic interest that does exist is hedged around with ambiguity and treachery.

MacLean also gives Calvert his own version of Bond’s M in the shape of the effortlessly aristocratic Rear-Admiral Sir Arthur Arnford-Jason who is aways referred to as Uncle Arthur who is often the source and butt of what passes for moments of humour. However, we’re left in no doubt that behind Uncle Arthur’s bluff exterior lies a ruthless operator.

This is a book all about set-piece action – explosions, boats, hostages, random deaths, helicopter disasters – and it’s all pretty exhausting. But, without any question, skilfully done.

When Eight Bells Toll knows it’s audience and delivers exactly what it promises – a roller-coaster ride full of jeopardy, no three-dimensional characters and no fussing about ethics: the goodies take on the baddies, overcome the treachery and no-one counts the bodies.

This book, along with all his others, can be found in paperback by the cart-load and you’ll pick one up cheaply in a charity shop.

 

Terry Potter

April 2025