Taivaan nuoli

by Alistair MacLean

Other authorsAaro Vuoristo (Translator)

Paperback, 1981

Status

Available

Call number

823

Genres

All Topics

Fiction

Collections

pd, oc

Publication

Porvoo : Hki : Juva : WSOY, 1981.

Description

A classic tale of espionage, secret missions and exotic locations which out-Bonds Bond, from the acclaimed master of action and suspense. Eight job advertisements. Eight jobs. Eight specialists in modern technology required. Eight scientists to fill them. Applicants to be married, with no children, and prepared to travel. Highly persuasive salaries. One criminal mastermind. Eight positions filled. Eight scientists - and their wives - disappear. Completely. One secret agent to stop him. Advertisment no.9. Sydney, Australia. Fuel specialist required. Looks like a job for John Bentall...

User reviews

LibraryThing member wfzimmerman

One of the very best Maclean novels, because of the terrific action sequences and the ending. The British ICBM now seems quant, and the love story is cringeworthy, but there are a lot of unforgettable moments in this book.

"I can be completely ruthless..."

"I left him there, a small dusty man in a

small dusty roojm ...."

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LibraryThing member cmbohn

I finally gave up on this one. Every time I started reading it, the hero was doing or saying something tough, and the love interest was acting like an airhead instead of the strong undercover agent she was said to be in the first chapter. I never did find out what 'The Black Shrike' was, and I just

don't care.

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LibraryThing member BookWallah

Good spy novel with several plot twists. The fictional South Pacific island setting, somewhere south of Fiji sounds like nice place to visit. Elements include a bumbling but brilliant British physicist cum secret agent, a swooning female non-agent, manufactured love (though a bit hard to swallow),

a gnarly sea captain, a pompous archeologist, a king kong sized bad guy, lots of betrayal, and ancient cold war technology. Whats not to like?

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LibraryThing member jeffome

On OK book, but not up to the expectation that several of the previous MacLean works created for me. An interesting yarn with all of the necessary intrigue and double-crossing one needs for a spy thriller, but the human chemistry seemed off. I never made the connection between Bentall and Hopeman,

and thus the romantic part felt insincere to me....forced. Lots of pure luck as always plays a larger role in their survival it seems than necessarily cleverness on their part. I certainly enjoyed it, but it was no 'Guns of Navarone.'

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LibraryThing member Oskar_Matzerath

From dusty office to dusty office, with a whole hell-of-a-lot in between . . . This is Alistair MacLean at his finest.

LibraryThing member fuzzi

The Black Shrike is one of the best books I've read (so far!) by Alistair MacLean. It's cold war counter espionage stuff from about 60 years ago, so is a little dated, but it holds up well.

What I really liked, apart from the twisty plot, is the humanity and fallibility of the main character. He

might be an agent, but he's no James Bond, though a bit more like MacGyver!

This one is definitely a keeper.

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