The Last Frontier, by Alistair MacLean

June 18, 2010 by Nekkidblogger
Filed under: Alistair MacLean, Thriller, book review

(a k a The Secret Ways) This suspenseful thriller is a spy story from the era of the Cold War, by master thriller writer Alistair MacLean. It takes place behind the Iron Curtain, in Hungary, a few years after the revolution. Michael Reynolds, a British agent, has been sent to Hungary by his superiors. His mission, assigned to him by colonel Peter Mackintosh, is to reach a certain Jennings in Budapest before the forthcoming International Scientific Conference.

Michael Reynolds is a capable agent but not a superman. He doesn’t even have any fancy technology. He is well trained and resourceful. His skills are immediately put to the test when something goes wrong and he falls into the hands of the ruthless Hungarian Secret Police. In an attempt to continue his mission, he seeks the help of the leader of an underground movement that is set up to smuggle Hungarians over the border into the West.

The Last Frontier was published in 1959, just three years after the crushing of the October Revolution by the Russian troops. It is a tough book to read, and an excellent spy thriller. If you don’t know or have forgotten just how hard-fought the Cold War was for the United States and its Western Allies, and how desperate many people in the Eastern European countries were under Soviet rule, this may be a good book to read. It is, I think, very realistic on some levels, and besides: it is great entertainment, and very exciting. The Last Frontier is recommended to fans of Cold War spy fiction and to fans of Alistair MacLean.

Praise for The Last Frontier:

‘Breathless, bloody and detailed.’ Daily Telegraph

‘Swift-moving, with a tremendous climactic scene on the snow-swept roof of a trans-Hungarian express.’ Glasgow Herald