A review by Bigbaz on H.M.S. Ulysses - Alistair MacLean January 11th, 2004
Author's product rating:
Would you read it again?
Absolutely
Story
Outstanding
Characters
Outstanding
Readability
Excellent
How does it compare to other works by the same author?
Excellent
Advantages:
Unmissable, Outstanding
Disadvantages:
You will forget time .
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full review
Perhaps once in a lifetime there comes along a novel that both captivates and inspires. For me this is one such novel and if I tell you that I have owned my copy for more than 40 years then perhaps you will understand the impact it has had on me.
This is the story of a warship H.M.S. Ulysses and her crew. A unique ship, built especially for escort duties on the notorious Russian Convoys of World War Two.
As the story begins we join Ulysses at anchor in Scapa Flow, she has just returned from Murmansk on convoy escort duty and her crew are tired. No perhaps tired is the wrong word; exhausted would perhaps be a better description of a crew both physically and mentally exhausted who have been pushed to the very edge of their sanity.
The arctic weather where Ulysses operates is known for its severe conditions and the effect of these conditions is to numb the senses of the crew to turn them into zombies. Add to the this the need for constant vigilance, where by they are on watch for hours on end with gut wrenching fear ever present and the threat of a sudden violent death always there, then couple this with poor and little food you have a crew that have been pushed to the edge of sanity. There is however a bond that holds them together, a bond that keeps them together and functioning a bond called Captain Richard Vallery but will he be enough?
Safely at anchor in Scapa Flow with a Battleship H.M.S Duke of Cumberland for company, tensions can be released but fate takes a hand, as a marauding German submarine is believed to have entered the supposed safe haven. Minds numb from fatigue clear as they become yet again a fighting machine, but fear turns to misbelief and anger as Ulysses is ordered to tie up to the Cumberland’s anchorage as a decoy for the submarine while the Cumberland makes her escape at maximum speed.
Resentment increases and when Ulysses is ordered to return to Murmansk tensions boil over. Infact the convoy is to be the bait to lure the German Battleship Tirpitz from its safe anchorage. In other words Ulysses her crew and the convoy are expendable, little wonder mutiny occurs but the valiant Captain Vallery is given the chance of redemption. Escort the convoy and the slate is wiped clean and the Ulysses will be drafted away on her return to the Mediterranean.
This then is the story of the Ulysses, a ship fated to endure the worst storm that seas north of the Arctic Circle can throw at them, winds beyond gale force coupled with mountainous seas, temperatures 20 degrees below zero, coupled with the full might of the German Airforce and Navy. A formidable task indeed.
It is also a story of a crew from the inept to the magnificent,showing what adversity can do to people even when they face the sort dangers that we can only imagine in our worst dreams and to compound the problems there is the hidden danger of TB that has become rife amongst the crew.
Is the ending predictable, well that is for you to find out but believe me that this is without a doubt the finest book about the Royal Navy and the Russian convoys that I have ever had the privilege to read.
I love the story; I love the way in which MacLean weaves the myriads of threads together to keep the reader captivated. As ex Royal Navy I can live and become part of the story. I can feel the mind numbing crashing and rolling of Ulysses as she battles all the sea can throw at her, I know the misery of constant cold and damp, everything running with water nothing dry but what I never felt was the fear or the hopelessness of it all but I can feel it here among MacLean’s words. It may be fiction but to anyone who endured those Russian Convoys I’m sure they will find much to relate with.
At the moment the book is out of print but it is obtainable from Amazon used and I feel sure that most libarys will have it upon their shelves. I paid 12 and one half penny for my copy (2s 6d) amazon are not quoting a price.
Advantages: A unique insite into the privations of the North Atlantic war Disadvantages: Out of print, copies left falling apart rapidly!
In the recent BBC review of public books, Sir Jackie Steward said that this was his ideal of the 'greatest book ever written'. At 12 years old I first found my copy on the bookshelf of my grandfather, who had served on a flower class Corvette, on a couple of North Atlantic runs. He would not speak of his 'Fast Russian Runs' experience, except that it was the only time he had ever wanted to grow a beard, and that they used to dry the blankets on the ... ...of Malta' and of convoy duty in the Pacific, but not of that cold sea. I inherited two of those blankets, woollen, and stiff and felted like tri-wall cardboard by the conditions. Many books have been written about the ill-fated convoy named PQ17, and indeed, this convoy is mentioned in the book, so the conditions of the North Atlantic are nothing new to us. But this book crystallizes what it is like to face these conditions, day in, day out, suffering ...
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24.08.2004
HMS ULYSSES Review ofH.M.S. Ulysses - Alistair MacLeanby
iany
Advantages: great reading Disadvantages: can't put down
I must own up to being a big fan of the early maclean books and this, his first is really outstanding.
It takes you on a trip through the hell of the north atlantic during world war 2. It is not a war book as such, the war plays second place to the descriptive and will take you on a emotional rollercoaster. A ship who's crew have had their patience and loyalty tested beyond belief, as they set out to protect the convoys from u-boats.
The elements ... ...ice, wind,storms,and tired, tired men with a deadly unseen enemy afoot. the question is which will win the weather, the german u-boats, or courage.
Can they keep going in such conditions, they have to.
Remember your loved ones remember you musn't give up, but just how much can any soul give.
A incredible read. ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
In the recent BBC review of public books, Sir Jackie Steward said that this was his ideal of the 'greatest book ever written'. At 12 years old I first found my copy on the bookshelf of my grandfather, who had served on a flower class Corvette, on a couple of North Atlantic runs. He would not speak of his 'Fast Russian Runs' experience, except that it was the only time he had ever wanted to grow a beard, and that they used to dry the blankets on the ... ...of Malta' and of convoy duty in the Pacific, but not of that cold sea. I inherited two of those blankets, woollen, and stiff and felted like tri-wall cardboard by the conditions. Many books have been written about the ill-fated convoy named PQ17, and indeed, this convoy is mentioned in the book, so the conditions of the North Atlantic are nothing new to us. But this book crystallizes what it is like to face these conditions, day in, day out, suffering ...
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Would you read it again?
Story
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27.01.2005
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