Alistair Maclean. Santorini. Fontana Collins. U.K.1986.
A mysterious sinking of a plane filled with hydrogen bombs...a sinking yacht with a multilillionaire who has stashed away his millions in banks across the world...Ariadne, a NATO ship with a razorsharp captain Talbot...Santorini, a catastrophe waiting to happen...the unravelling of clues right before one's eyes, ah...all these make Maclean a writer for someone yearning for some action. The plot is intriguing enough to hold attention...
Maclean, an English Professor of Glasgow University in the early 80's, interstingly enough, uses active narration through conversations. Descriptions are far and few in between and the reader construes the thread of action through the conversations, which are humorous and vibrant. The reader is free to imagine the mood, the place, the environment, the details that one cannot see but can only hear...this makes it more enjoyable.
Captain Talbot, Admiral Hawkinsand Van Gelder are all characters with colourful personalities and one cannot have enough of their lighthearted banter and shrewd acumen.
Ofcourse, if one were expecting something on the lines of Guns of Navarone, or Where Eagles Dare, one would be a mite disappointed. No complaints though.