Fear Is The Key

                                  

One of the books on my 2010 reading list was a novel by Alistair MacLean entitled Fear is the Key. I recently finished it, and I must say, reading it was an interesting and enjoyable experience.

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MacLean is probably best known for giving us the WWII thrillers The Guns of Navarone and Where Eagles Dare, both of which were made into movies. However, he is also the author of such lesser known works as Ice Station Zebra, Breakheart Pass, Night Without End, and of course, Fear Is The Key (apart from the latter, I've not read any of MacLean's other books, and therefore cannot recommend them one way or the other).

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Fear Is The Key is a page-turner, in every sense of the phrase. In the words of one reviewer, it "keeps tension at a screaming point". MacLean did an excellent job of creating an intelligent story that grabs you from the first page.  It's fast-paced, intense, and unpredictable. And I really mean unpredictable: you'll never know where your going until you get there. And, in the case of this novel at least, that's a good thing.

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The protagonist of MacLean's tale is John Montague Talbot. In the prologue, we find Talbot mantaining radio contact with a plane carrying his wife, son, and a valuable cargo worth millions. Thing take a nightmarish turn, however, when the plane is viciously shot down, and Talbot listens helplessly as everything which gave his life meaning is destroyed within seconds.

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When we next encounter Talbot, he is an embittered, convicted criminal on trial in a Florida court. In a rapid chain of events, Talbot turns the tables on the police officers guarding him, kidnaps the daughter of a millionaire, and after an intense car chase, makes his escape.

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The rest of the story is something I'll leave you to discover for yourself. Suffice it to say, the adventure carries on at breakneck speed, with shrewd characters, compelling plot twists, and a high stakes game where the good had better beat the bad - or else. The three villains of this story are some of the most memorable I've encountered: sharp, calculating Vyland, who runs the show; Royale, the hired killer, whose as cold, cool and conscienceless as bad guys get; and psychopathic Larry, a drug addict with an axe to grind.

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 While the story revolves around a very intense and serious plot, MacLean throws in enough dry (if sometimes grim) humor to keep the reader smiling. At one point, during a tense confrontation with another character, Talbot relates, "The first thing I noticed was the gun in his hand, and it wasn't the sort of gun a beginner carries around with him. A big dull black German Mauser 7.63. One of those economical guns; the bullet goes clear through three people at once."

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Although one of the best adventure yarns I've come across in a long time, I do not recommend Fear Is The Key for anyone under 14. The violence, though by no means gratutitous, is disturbing, and there are numerous references to drugs (including some slang phrases about drug addicts). Mild language is also used throughout.

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Be forwarned that Fear Is The Key is by no means written from a Christian perspective. As with all books, it should be read cautiously, and measured by God's All-Sufficient Word. I found it to be a very enjoyable read, and recommend it highly, especially for boys on the lookout for an intelligent novel that delivers action, suspense and adventure on a satisfying level. 

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Persevero,