HMS Ulysses

HMS Ulysses is a fantastic book. WW2 Royal Navy novels are often very hit and miss but this novel is frankly superb and the best of its kind. Set during the Russia convoys MacLean gives us a tremendous cat and mouse chase as the Ulysses attempts to shepherd the convoy through submarine wolf packs, pursuing Cruisers and icy sea's knowing that somewhere ahead the mighty Scharnhorst is laying in wait. It is fantastic. I first read it when I was fifteen and now at 62 I have a new copy as the old one is worn out after 15+ reads of this great adventure. For me this was Alistair MacLeans best. Just buy a copy and read it, you won't regret it!

I never knew or understood the hardships and heroism of all those Naval and Merchant sailors of the convoys until now.My heartfelt thanks goes to Alistair Maclean for opening my eyes and mind.Let's we forget

For a first novel excellent writing and gripping throughout. Shows what a great writer he was even at very beginning.

Royal Navy cruiser, HMS Ulysses, leads a convoy of destroyers, carriers and merchant ships deep into the Arctic Circle, heading for Murmansk with vital supplies for a beleaguered Russian Army. Waiting for them is a U-boat wolf pack and some of the worst winter weather of the war. Their orders are to get through at any cost but no-one can predict just how high that cost will turn out to be.Alistair MacLean's debut novel is arguably also his best and it ranks easily alongside Monsarratt's "The Cruel Sea" as an exemplary account of the Allied Convoy War. Taking his inspiration from his own extensive experience as an RN sailor in the Atlantic and Arctic convoys there is a strong feeling of verisimilitude to this story; but the sheer quality of his writing is also worthy of note.The novel introduces the Ulysses as a ship with a broken and troubled crew, close to mutiny and exhausted beyond recall from previous forays into the Arctic. However, MacLean continues to build the pressure on the ship by throwing at it the most appalling weather conditions and the privations of a ruthless, determined and resourceful enemy. The attrition rate is high, both in terms of the ships and the physical and mental health of their crews. MacLean does occasionally resort to some common war story tropes and cliches and one or two frankly unlikely coincidences in order to maintain the tension and atmosphere. This is perhaps a forgivable crime because "HMS Ulysses" really is an unrelentingly compelling and indeed deeply moving page-turner of a novel. One wonders whether there is at least /some/ exaggeration for dramatic effect: on the other hand I worried that perhaps there was none and that the navy and merchant crews really did suffer as terribly as MacLean recounts here. Either way, this is an impressive piece of story telling and a true "must-read".

I read Maclean as teenager in late 60s and thought I would retry him in my sixties. I wasn’t aware of his one and chose it because I recently obtained from MoD an Arctic Star medal posthumous for my dad who served on convoy escort. HMS Volage. There is a website with everyone who served on any convoy. The medal was created in 2013 after long oblivion and campaign for recognition. I found out about it from Kristen Scott Thomas programme in Who Do You Think You Are, recommended.The book is relentless and gripping. The constant fear of death from cold and battle is real. The ending poignant and well done. It does not have later thrillerish twists and is more Iliad than Odyssey but obvious why he chose the name.I often think of that generation and that I am here with my kids because he survived.

I first read HMS Ulysses just after I left school. It was somewhat easier to get into than Nicholas Monsarrat's `The Cruel Sea' (itself an excellent story and on the school book list at the time - though I found it too much like hard workthen and returned to it later in life) whilst sharing similar subject matter. The characterisations in MacLean's book are excellent and so are the descriptions of the harsh environment and the vesssels within which the action takes place. Sometimes the pace of the story feels a little too fast and the enemy actions can feel a bit contrived - though I'm mindful that Alistair MacLean was in the Navy and has a far better idea than I will ever have of the battles fought. The book captures the feelings of its characters well though and, by the speed with which it progresses to its inevitable conclusion, makes you feel part of their suffering. I highly recommend this ebook with the proviso that some basic words in the earlier passages have accidentally been altered in the Kindle translation process and sit incongruously within the sentence - they're obvious misprints and do not affect the enjoyment of the story. It was an absolute joy to re-read this book after so many years!

I first read "HMS Ulysses" around 60 years ago, at the age of 14, and since then have probably read it another four or five times. The level of detail in descriptions of the ship, its crew and its last voyage could only be achieved by an author with first-hand experience of the war at sea - and MacLean is totally convincing. His first book and, in my opinion, easily his best. No doubt I'll be reading it a couple of times more before I'm finished...

I bought this book as a gift for someone who enjoys this type of book. I am told if was a very good read.