Fear Is the Key

by Alistair MacLean

Book Overview

A classic novel of ruthless revenge set in the steel jungle of an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico - and on the sea bed below it. A sunken DC-3 lying on the Caribbean floor. Its cargo: ten million, two... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0449140113
• ISBN13: 9780449140116
• Release Date: August 1981
• Publisher: Fawcett Books
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 0.30 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Don't quit

When reading this book pay particular attention to the opening chapter. I don't think I did and when I finished I went back and reread that chapter, and the book was more meaningful. Sure, there is much improbable in the book, but I found when I finished the book it was a satisfying and worthwhile story. I have only read five of Maclean's books, to wit: 2231 H.M.S. Ulysses, by Alistair MacLean (read 8 Sep 1989) 2380 Where Eagles Dare, by Alistair MacLean (read 3 May 1991) 2775 The Guns of Navarone, by Alistair MacLean (read 14 Aug 1995) 3298 When Eight Bells Toll, by Alistair MacLean (read 14 Mar 2000) 4258 Fear Is the Key, by Alistair MacLean (read 14 Jan 2007) and this book ranks with Where Eagles Dare and The Guns of Navarone--two I have good memories of.

Lally is Vyland's son

Very well written thriller by Maclean. There is one fatal flaw in the story though: A multimillionaire whose personal wealth amounts to 250 million dollars is blackmailed by a gangster who holds his family for ransom. The gangster wants to force the millionaire to allow him to use his oil rig in order to salvage a treasure worth 10 million dollars. THis doesn't make sense. Couldn't the gangster have asked the millionaire to hand him 10 million in cash for the return of his family rather than go through the tortuously silly plan of salvaging the sunken treasure? But it was a fun read regardless.

Suspense is the key

Great thriller. Perhaps the reason I disagree with some of the reviews is that I'm not generally a huge Maclean fan and have struggled to finish some of them. Most are a little too boys' own for my taste. I think this book as superb, though, mainly because it has a sense of personal motivation that many of his other books seem to lack, and the prologue and ending are brilliant. Particularly good are the sudden twists in the plot and the cold, methodical way the narrator goes about getting revenge. Exceptional page-turner.

This is one of the best books that I have ever read

In my opinion "Fear is the Key" Is probably one of the on the top five of Alistair MacLean's novels. This novel is very difficult to predict which makes all the better, because in most books the outcome is obvious. The protagonist will overcome all obstacles and achieve his goal and live happily ever after. In this book the outcome is not so easily predicted. It's a great book...

"Fear" Is a Winner

It has been nearly 40 years since Alistair MacLean wrote "Fear Is the Key", and the novel hasn't aged all that well. Nonetheless, it is a top-notch adventure story and one of MacLean's most tightly constructed, focused stories. It tells the tale of a man's relentless pursuit of revenge that - in the end - leaves him as empty, lost, and inconsolable as he was before he started his angry quest.In a prologue John Talbot's wife and best friend are killed in an air attack on the plane they are flying, while in frustrated impotence he listens on radio earphones to the ruthless destruction of everything that gave his life meaning. The next time we encounter Talbot he appears to have undergone an unpleasant but feasible change into a criminal who is being tried in a Florida court. In an excitingly told sequence, Talbot turns the tables on the law officers, kidnaps the daughter of the presiding judge, and makes his escape in a hair-raising car chase. The tension - and our curiosity and puzzlement - begin building as the revelations about Talbot's recent past come to light during the highly charged courtroom scene...and keep on building as our protagonist keeps one step ahead of his pursuers. The puzzle of Talbot's transformation acts like a hypnotist's twirling pocket watch, constantly drawing us back to a central mystery that keeps us turning pages in search of more clues to the truth.The storytelling shows MacLean at his absolute best, making us gladly, almost gleefully, suspend disbelief and enjoy a rip-snorting adventure. Full of witty descriptions, well-drawn (albeit stereotypical) characters, self-deprecating wit, and MacLean's characteristic double- and triple-bluffs that leave us smiling in satisfaction at his skill in keeping us in suspense and guessing to the end.A first-rate story with plenty of wit and bite - MacLean, in other words at his very best - which puts "Fear Is the Key" at the top of any adventure story must-read list.