Tuesday September 28, 2004

Jack Higgins books

Of course everyone knows his most famous book The Eagle has landed. The story (or is it factual) of the German plot to kidnap Churchill while he was having a steak and kidney pie in Norfolk in a country retreat. The inevitable follow on book appeared but was no where close as good. The Eagle has flown is the title.

Like Ian Fleming Higgins does know his stuff he has inside knowledge and when he introduced Dillon (a member of the IRA) who ends up working for a secret organisation who are only responsible to the PM it looked like a good idea. Trouble is he has lost the plot dare I say and milked the idea too often. The latest books that involve a fued with the Rashid family who Dillon wipes out by the end of the second book ( we hope ) have lost his previous storytelling ability.

There always seems to be a Judas gate, someone is always saying something softly, familier sentences keep appearing.

Going back in time some of the older books are good;

Thunder point, a story of how a U boat was found by a lone diver that held paperwork that someone did not want found is a good yarn.

Luciano's Luck, the story of how a convict was let out of prison in order to persuade the Mafia to assist in a uprising when the invasion of Scilly occured.

Night of the Fox, the story of Henry Martineau who has to go and recover Hugh Kelso who gets washed up on the German occupied shore of Jersey and bring him back to blighty.

Solo A piano player, part time asassin who is a Cretan being pursued by an SAS soldier.

Cold Harbour, where Craig Osbourne gets sent back one more time to German occupied France for a mission to far.

Exocet, how an Argentinian pilot had to try and get the weapon to help them win the Falklands war

So all in all not a bad bunch of books. I usually read one on holiday it is a good relaxing easy read