Seawitch

Last updated

Seawitch
Alistair MacLean - Seawitch.jpg
First edition cover (UK)
Author Alistair MacLean
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Genre Thriller novel
Publisher Collins (UK)
Doubleday (US)
Publication date
1977
Media typePrint
Pages286
ISBN 0-449-23597-1
OCLC 4311544
Preceded by The Golden Gate  
Followed by Goodbye California  

Seawitch is a novel written by the Scottish author Alistair MacLean. It was first released in the United Kingdom by Collins in 1977 and later in the same year by Doubleday in the United States. [1]

Contents

It was written in Mexico, where MacLean would not be taxed by US authorities. [2] The book deviates from MacLean's usual mystery/drama formula in that it is almost all action, with no mystery and no "traitor amongst them" sub-plot.

The book was a best seller. [3] The New York Times review said MacLean "stumbles badly". [4]

Plot introduction

Lord Worth, ruthless and fabulously wealthy, has made a lot of enemies in the oil business. His new offshore tension-leg platform oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico, named Seawitch, is one of the biggest in the world, the only one of its kind, and will put his competitors out of business. To destroy it and therefore be able to inflate the price of oil at will, the competitors get together and send one man to deal with Lord Worth. The villain has a personal score to settle with Worth and kidnaps his daughters. But Lord Worth's daughters are betrothed to the protagonists, Mitchell and Roomer, two former police detectives, now private investigators. They set trying to save Worth and his daughters from certain death, as the villain intends to leave them on Seawitch when he destroys it with a stolen nuclear weapon.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alistair MacLean</span> Scottish writer (1922–1987)

Alistair Stuart MacLean was a Scottish novelist who wrote popular thrillers and adventure stories. Many of his novels have been adapted to film, most notably The Guns of Navarone (1957) and Ice Station Zebra (1963). In the late 1960s, encouraged by film producer Elliott Kastner, MacLean began to write original screenplays, concurrently with an accompanying novel. The most successful was the first of these, the 1968 film Where Eagles Dare, which was also a bestselling novel. MacLean also published two novels under the pseudonym Ian Stuart. His books are estimated to have sold over 150 million copies, making him one of the best-selling fiction authors of all time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tension-leg platform</span> Type of offshore platform used in production of oil or gas

A tension-leg platform (TLP) or extended tension leg platform (ETLP) is a vertically moored floating structure normally used for the offshore production of oil or gas, and is particularly suited for water depths greater than 300 metres and less than 1500 metres. Use of tension-leg platforms has also been proposed for offshore wind turbines.

<i>Force 10 from Navarone</i> (film) 1978 film by Guy Hamilton

Force 10 from Navarone is a 1978 British war film loosely based on Alistair MacLean's 1968 novel of the same name. It is a sequel to the 1961 film The Guns of Navarone. The parts of Mallory and Miller are played by Robert Shaw, and Edward Fox, succeeding in the roles originally portrayed by Gregory Peck and David Niven. It was directed by Guy Hamilton and also stars Harrison Ford, Carl Weathers, Barbara Bach, Franco Nero, and Richard Kiel.

<i>Thunder Bay</i> (film) 1953 American adventure film

Thunder Bay is a 1953 American adventure film distributed by Universal International, produced by Aaron Rosenberg, directed by Anthony Mann, and starring James Stewart, Joanne Dru, Gilbert Roland, and Dan Duryea. It was shot in Technicolor and was released on May 20, 1953. This film tells the story of two engineers drilling for oil in the Louisiana gulf while dealing with hostility of the local shrimp fishermen fearing for their livelihood, and features the first non-western collaboration between Stewart and Mann.

<i>The Satan Bug</i> (novel) 1962 novel by Alistair MacLean

The Satan Bug is a first-person narrative thriller novel written by Scottish author Alistair MacLean. It was originally published in 1962 under the pseudonym Ian Stuart, and later republished under MacLean's own name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diamond Offshore Drilling</span> American drilling contractor

Diamond Offshore Drilling, Inc. is an offshore drilling contractor. The company is headquartered in Katy, Texas, United States, and has major offices in Australia, Brazil, Mexico, Scotland, Singapore, and Norway.

<i>Fear Is the Key</i> (novel) 1961 novel by Alistair MacLean

Fear Is the Key is a 1961 first-person narrative thriller novel by Scottish author Alistair MacLean.

<i>Circus</i> (novel) 1975 novel by Alistair MacLean

Circus is a novel written by the Scottish author Alistair MacLean. It was first released in the United Kingdom by Collins in 1975 and later in the same year by Doubleday in the United States.

<i>San Andreas</i> (novel) 1984 novel by Alistair MacLean

San Andreas is a novel by Scottish author Alistair MacLean, first published in 1984. One of his final novels, it returns to MacLean's original genre, naval warfare.

<i>The Golden Rendezvous</i> 1962 novel by Alistair MacLean

The Golden Rendezvous is a novel written by Scottish author Alistair MacLean, and was first published in 1962. One of MacLean's most popular works, it combines mystery, suspense, action, clever bluffs and double bluffs, with MacLean's trademark self-deprecating wit.

<i>Puppet on a Chain</i> 1969 novel by Alistair MacLean

Puppet on a Chain is a novel by Scottish author Alistair MacLean. Originally published in 1969 with a cover by Norman Weaver, it is set in the late 1960s narcotics underworld of Amsterdam and other locations in the Netherlands.

<i>Athabasca</i> (novel) 1980 novel by Alistair MacLean

Athabasca is a novel by Scottish author Alistair MacLean, first published in 1980. As with the novel Night Without End, it depicts adventure, sabotage and murder in the unforgiving Arctic environment. It is laid in the oilfields and oil sands fields of Alaska and Canada and includes a considerable amount of technical detail on the operations.

<i>River of Death</i> 1981 novel by Alistair MacLean

River of Death is a novel by Scottish author Alistair MacLean, first published in 1981. As with most of MacLean's novels, it depicts adventure, treachery, and murder in an unforgiving environment, set this time in the steamy jungles of South America.

<i>The Golden Gate</i> (MacLean novel) 1976 novel by Alistair MacLean

The Golden Gate is a novel written by the Scottish author Alistair MacLean. It was first released in the United Kingdom by Collins in 1976 and later in the same year by Doubleday in the United States.

<i>The Way to Dusty Death</i> 1973 novel by Alistair MacLean

The Way to Dusty Death is a thriller novel written by Scottish author Alistair MacLean. It was originally published in 1973. The title is a quotation from the famous soliloquy in Act 5, Scene 5 in Shakespeare’s play Macbeth.

<i>Caravan to Vaccarès</i> 1970 novel by Alistair MacLean

Caravan to Vaccarès is a novel by author Alistair MacLean, originally published in 1970. This novel is set in the Provence region of southern France. The novel was originally written as a screenplay for producer Elliot Kastner.

<i>Partisans</i> (novel) 1982 novel by Alistair MacLean

Partisans is a novel by the Scottish author Alistair MacLean, first published in 1982. MacLean used portions of the plot from the 1978 film Force 10 from Navarone as the basis of the plot for this novel. MacLean reverted to the theme of the Second World War, with which he was successful and highly popular in his early career. However, as with many of his later novels, Partisans proved to be less than popular with his long-time fans.

<i>Goodbye California</i> 1978 novel by Alistair MacLean

Goodbye California is a novel by Scottish author Alistair MacLean, first published in 1977.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John D'Agostino (financial services)</span> American businessperson

John Joseph D'Agostino is an American business executive and entrepreneur. D'Agostino is a senior advisor to Coinbase and Chairman of US Asset Management Committee for the Department for International Trade. He previously was Managing Director at the world's largest fund governance firm DMS Offshore, where he was also on the board of hedge funds providing independent oversight. He was previously a managing director at Alkeon Capital Management, a multibillion-dollar registered investment adviser. Prior to this, D'Agostino was known primarily for his involvement in the early development of the Dubai Mercantile Exchange. In 2021, Mr. D'Agostino co-founded the Alternative Investment Management Association (AIMA) Digital Asset Working Group. He was named Fellow of the AIF Global Innovation Institute in 2022. D'Agostino has been on the board of Surf Air, an aviation and air charter company since 2018.

<i>Fear Is the Key</i> (film) 1972 film by Michael Tuchner

Fear Is the Key is a 1972 British action thriller film directed by Michael Tuchner and starring Barry Newman and Suzy Kendall. It is based on the 1961 novel of the same title by Alistair MacLean. It was the feature film debut of Ben Kingsley. The soundtrack is by Roy Budd.

References

  1. Liebman, Walter H. (10 October 1977). "Blood, Love and Adventure On an Offshore Oil Rig". Barron's National Business and Financial Weekly. p. 43.
  2. Webster, Jack (1991). Alistair MacLean: A Life. Chapmans. p. 208.
  3. "Paperback Best Sellers: MASS MARKET TRADE". New York Times. 6 August 1978. p. BR8.
  4. TOM BUCKLEY (23 October 1977). "Three Thrillers". New York Times. p. BR7.