Scan barcode
davebald80's review
A superior thriller--the first 50 pages really crackle. Some of the later psychologizing is a bit dodgy, but my only real complaint is that the malevolent gods prevented Orson Welles from finishing his film adaptation of the book. The movie with Zane and Kidman is kind of a joke.
tittypete's review
5.0
Taut thriller that made me have to look up a new nautical term every 3-4 pages.
_stephp's review against another edition
3.0
John Ingram, ancien marin, et passionné de navigation, emmène son épouse Rae en lune de miel, et ensemble ils traversent l'océan Pacifique. Alors que l'océan est calme depuis plusieurs jours, ils aperçoivent un canot qui vient à leur rencontre. le jeune homme, quelque peu affolé, leur raconte que les autres passagers ont été victimes de botulisme, et que le bateau est en train de couler.
Légèrement sceptique, Ingram décide d'aller constater les dégats par lui-même. Et alors que ce qu'il découvre est loin de ce qu'il avait imaginé, il voit son bateau s'éloigner, sa femme étant restée à bord avec le naufragé.
Débute alors une course contre la montre, dans une atmosphère tendue, Ingram tente de retrouver son bateau, en plein milieu de l'océan Pacifique, à bord d'un yacht qui prend l'eau de toutes parts...
Suspense bien ficelé, histoire bien menée, et rebondissements jusqu'à la fin, ce titre des années 50 est toujours très actuel !
Légèrement sceptique, Ingram décide d'aller constater les dégats par lui-même. Et alors que ce qu'il découvre est loin de ce qu'il avait imaginé, il voit son bateau s'éloigner, sa femme étant restée à bord avec le naufragé.
Débute alors une course contre la montre, dans une atmosphère tendue, Ingram tente de retrouver son bateau, en plein milieu de l'océan Pacifique, à bord d'un yacht qui prend l'eau de toutes parts...
Suspense bien ficelé, histoire bien menée, et rebondissements jusqu'à la fin, ce titre des années 50 est toujours très actuel !
charlieavocado's review
5.0
Better than the movie, but only because of a larger cast of characters. I still really love the movie!!!
sarah1984's review against another edition
3.0
8/7 - An impressive knowledge of boat and sailing terms that kind of boggles the mind of a reader who is almost completely clueless about all things nautical. Most of the time I have no idea what action of the boat (or is it a ship?) is being described. For example this sentence:
"He cast off the genoa sheet, carried the sail forward around the stay and outside the starboard shrouds, and trimmed the sheet on the port tack."
I can't visualise what's happening during that sentence, at all. Other than being at a complete loss as to what Ingram is doing when he's driving the boat I'm enjoying the story. The atmosphere was quite tense before Warriner revealed himself, when we didn't know exactly what the situation was, whether all of his fellow shipmates were dead or not. Once we knew what Warriner had, and hadn't done the tension dissolved out of the story. It's a shame the tension had to disappear so early on in the book. I was expecting the mystery of what had happened on the boat - who was dead and how, etc. - to be dragged out for much longer. But signs of life are revealed at only page 42, and the rest of the story is told over the next 20 pages or so. We know pretty much everything there is to know way before the halfway mark. To be continued...
9/7 - I had every intention of finishing this last night, but I kind of flung my book down in disgust when Rae decided that she just couldn't kill Warriner despite the fact that her sentimentality over her kidnapper could likely mean the death of her husband. I'm sorry but if it's a choice between killing a crazy person who is not in their right mind (and therefore legally not responsible for their actions) or allowing them to continue kidnapping me and leaving someone I love in a situation that is very likely to result in their death, I would feel no compunction about killing them as soon as I had the means and opportunity. When I go back to it tonight, with 24 hours having passed, I think I'll be able to go on and finish it. To be continued...
10/7 - The tension ratcheted back up when Rae finally managed to get back to Ingram, Mrs Warriner, and Mr Bellew (funny how everyone except Rae goes by their last name) just in time to rescue them. I found the climax of the story quite satisfying, everyone got what they deserved and I would have found it hard to believe that everyone would've survived to make landfall if things hadn't turned out as they did. There was no way Bellew and Warriner could have spent any time together trapped on a two person yacht without someone committing violence.
"He cast off the genoa sheet, carried the sail forward around the stay and outside the starboard shrouds, and trimmed the sheet on the port tack."
I can't visualise what's happening during that sentence, at all. Other than being at a complete loss as to what Ingram is doing when he's driving the boat I'm enjoying the story. The atmosphere was quite tense before Warriner revealed himself, when we didn't know exactly what the situation was, whether all of his fellow shipmates were dead or not. Once we knew what Warriner had, and hadn't done the tension dissolved out of the story. It's a shame the tension had to disappear so early on in the book. I was expecting the mystery of what had happened on the boat - who was dead and how, etc. - to be dragged out for much longer. But signs of life are revealed at only page 42, and the rest of the story is told over the next 20 pages or so. We know pretty much everything there is to know way before the halfway mark. To be continued...
9/7 - I had every intention of finishing this last night, but I kind of flung my book down in disgust when Rae decided that she just couldn't kill Warriner despite the fact that her sentimentality over her kidnapper could likely mean the death of her husband. I'm sorry but if it's a choice between killing a crazy person who is not in their right mind (and therefore legally not responsible for their actions) or allowing them to continue kidnapping me and leaving someone I love in a situation that is very likely to result in their death, I would feel no compunction about killing them as soon as I had the means and opportunity. When I go back to it tonight, with 24 hours having passed, I think I'll be able to go on and finish it. To be continued...
10/7 - The tension ratcheted back up when Rae finally managed to get back to Ingram, Mrs Warriner, and Mr Bellew (funny how everyone except Rae goes by their last name) just in time to rescue them. I found the climax of the story quite satisfying, everyone got what they deserved and I would have found it hard to believe that everyone would've survived to make landfall if things hadn't turned out as they did. There was no way Bellew and Warriner could have spent any time together trapped on a two person yacht without someone committing violence.
em_c's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
More...