"Santorini" by Alistair MacLean
This political detective story begins when the people aboard the British military frigate Ariana – one of the most advanced NATO ships of its time (the book is written in 1986) witnesses the accident of a mysterious plane that they cannot identify. Engulfed in flames, it sinks in the Aegean, near the island Thera. Around the same time they are witnessing the plane’s last minutes, they receive an emergency message from a sinking private yacht, which also burns badly after an explosion. They arrive just in time to rescue six survivors from the yacht, but there is no one to rescue from the plane.
Commander Talbot and his skilled crew members, and later Vice Admiral Hawkins, set out to investigate a nasty plot involving highly-positioned Pentagon military personnel. From the beginning they began to suspect that one of the rescued survivors, the owner of the yacht Andropulous, was something different than what he claims. Later, his suspicions are confirmed in the most terrible way.
The sunken plane presents a real problem, its payload consists of atomic and hydrogen bombs and a ticking timing device. If detonated, they could cause, in addition to their own deadly effect, a strong eruption from a nearby volcano and an earthquake. The consequences can be apocalyptic …
But, needless to say, our brave and admirable men in every way prevent catastrophe. They always do it in books. Too bad it is not so easy in real life, for example when oil is spilled in the water and no one knows how to plug the hole. Commander Talbot and Lieutenant Denholm might suggest something, if they were real.
The book itself is full of humor and is read in one go. The plot is perfectly exciting; the author’s language flows easily; The characters are, as I said before, admirable, each in their own way, and even the villains are kind of funny. It’s hard to believe that these people are talking about a possible catastrophe that will destroy most of the world if they don’t prevent it – I would have thought they were talking about a picnic. The author mentions the Russians a few times, in typical Cold War times, but in jest, so I never felt hurt or offended, but smiled every time.
Who will like the book? To all those who like political thrillers, sure, although it might not be difficult enough. As I read on Wikipedia, it is the last work of the author, written just a year before he died, and that his last works were received by critics with less approval than his previous ones. Well I haven’t seen the rest yet so it’s hard to judge. Even if the plot is really improbable, as the critics claim, it is at least hilarious and has given me a few enjoyable hours of reading.