- Paperback
- Publisher: FONTANA (1978)
- ASIN: B000S967AU
- Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
5 star +,
This review is from: Landslide (Paperback)
This is one of my favourite books. I have read it many times and will continue to read it in the future. Having read most of Desmond Bagley's works, all of which are of a very high standard, Landslide is (almost) without doubt my favourite.This book is set in the late 1960's, and based around a fictional back water town in British Columbia. The Matterson family (with their logging empire) pretty much own the town and everyone in it. The hero of this book, Bob Boyd, rolls into town and starts stirring up trouble for the Matterson's, as he tries to unravel the secrets of the town's past, and they try to work out who he really is... The immense macho-ness of Boyd, coupled with his vulnerablitiy and Bagley's writing skill makes for a fantastic character. When he's running for his life in the Kinoxi valley, he comes into his own. He is like Ray Mears crossed with Clint Eastwood, plus a degree in geology.What a man! This book is great for escapeism and probably wouldn't stand up to close scrutiny in the cold light of day. But then why should it have to? Take it for what it is, an exciting adventure story with a clear sense of right and wrong.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Tough man, Exciting read,
By Des (London, England) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Landslide (Paperback)
As genres go, the adventure yarn has never really appealed to me, it's the same with whodunnits, my attitude is often, who cares?
Desmond Bagley's skill in Landslide is in creating an enclosed small town environment in British Columbia, Canada, a place where everyone knows each other, nothing much happens and a powerful family control the newspaper, the main business and many of the natives -but a place where something terrible has happened, but no one has probed deeply enough to discover the truth. Bob Boyd, a victim of amnesia following a car crash - alright, automobile accident, to use North American terminology - turns up as a geologist, contracted by Matterson Jnr, the callous head of the dominant family, to survey land for a hydro electric and logging project. Although theoretically in charge, Matterson Snr, his elderly father, really jangles the keys and can unlock the mystery of what happened in the car crash, some twelve years before. In this land of the macho, Boyd uses his fists to good effect whenever necessary, more John Wayne, than Clint Eastwood, falls for the charms of Claire Trinavant, a relative of the the family who'd been business partners with the Mattersons, but were wiped out in the car crash. Why is the Trinavant name no longer mentioned and all but forgotten in the town? Does Boyd really need to know who he was or should he just try to make a success of his life in his reborn state, grateful for a new chance, after learning from his shrink that he was a n'er do well with a criminal record before his face was smashed, memory went and he ended up with a new face, persona and a fresh start. The excitement is unremitting, it's not a mystery, we know where we're going, the infrastructure of the terrain mean construction is risky, threatening life and limb, will Boyd's warning be acted upon? - or will the younger Matterson's loggers put a bullet through his skull, ending his amnesia - and his life - once and for all. I'm not sure of the scientific theory behind this book, I'm not an expert on landslides - I do know what the sea did to my sandcastles as a kid - much the same thing. Attitudes have changed since this book was written, Boyd is not touchy-feely, does not have much of a feminine side and probably chews nails for breakfast instead of cornflakes. But the vagaries of human nature, good versus evil and the dangers of obsession are age-old, never stale, themes. This is a good read, an interesting theme and could work well today in, say, an oil rig setting off the coast of America. Hold on there's just been a spillage! Shame Bob Boyd isn't around to clear it up and sort the perpetrators out!
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great story and fascinating characters.,
By A Customer
This review is from: Landslide (Paperback)
The style of the characters reminded me in parts of Chandler's writing. Greed, guilt, stupidity, violence, passion and danger are entertainingly mixed in but the issue of the nature of a person's identity or core is also raised and left hanging, though this does allow the lead character to swap between strength and vulnerability. Two descriptions are particularly memorable; the scene with the bear, and also the manhunt.
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