The Dark Crusader
£1.95
Maclean does Bond??? - The Dark Crusader at face value seem like an attempt to create an alternative to Fleming s Bond novels. Secret agents, a criminal mastermind with an intimidating sidekick, plans for world domination and even the girl.Unlike Fleming s direct no-nonsense writing that kept his novels short and punchy throughout Alistair Maclean s Dark Crusader is more wordy and descriptive. That helps in setting the scene but slows the pace somewhat and it s a relief when the action heats up and the paragraphs stop filling whole pages.That said it is still an excellent tale of one man s struggle against overwhelming odds. There s action and intrigue throughout. All in all a very good read.
Synopsis - Meet John Bentall .. When you get to know this tough, diffident guy who s honest enough to admit his mistakes you ll stay with him to the end. And with the beautiful girl who s posing as his wife. Together they embark on a honeymoon voyage which turns out to be a series of disasters. They re dumped on a remote Polynesian island where, isolated and in acute danger, they have to pit their wits against a brilliant brain, a brain backed by sadistic Chinese henchmen. Slowly the terrible meaning of The Dark Crusader comes to light.
You And Me And The Lights Of London - British secret agent John Bentall applies for the job of rocket scientist, a post from which six people have mysteriously disappeared. With fellow agent Marie Hopeson posing as his wife, they fly out to Australia. Kidnapped by mercenaries, they wind up on an island where a group of criminals, led by the sinister LeClerc, has taken the place of a British archaeological expedition. They are secretly tunnelling into a nearby naval establishment where the Dark Crusader rockets are kept. LeClerc is working for Communist Asia. Only Bentall can stop him from triggering a nuclear war...Irritated by the popularity of Ian Fleming s James Bond , Mclean decided to try and do better. This was one of two books he published under the nom-de-plume Ian Stuart , the other being The Satan Bug . Its an exciting, enjoyable yarn in the Maclean tradition, even though Bentall never presents Bond with any competition. As he openly admits, he s rather a dull bloke. The heroine is duller still, though there s a reason for this. The epilogue anticipates the final scene of Where Eagles Dare in that it throws new light on everything that went before.Maclean s later pseudo-Bonds included When Eight Bells Toll , Puppet On A Chain and Ice Station Zebra . All were filmed. That The Dark Crusader got overlooked is strange.