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There is a great cross section of British society in the officers and men of Ulysses; from aristocratic flag officers to gentleman rankers in the lower rates. Petty tyrants and officers one would gladly follow anywhere. MacLean has included them all and made it work to perfection in his tale.
THe constant theme is not the brutality of war, or men killing each other, but the constant battle with the sea in all its many forms. MacLean's attention to detail gives an almost 'you are there' quality to his writing. The reader feels he is right there on the bow of Ulysses as it gets underway for one more run to Murmansk, to being on the bridge in her ultimate engagement with the German Navy. You can almost feel the bone breaking cold whenever you are placed out on deck. MacLean puts you right in the middle of it.
If any of MacLean's books deserve to be made into movies, this is one that is long overdue.
I found this book to be one that I didn't want to put down. I felt the charecters were all extremely well developed, men that were almost real. I don't know if MacLean was in the Royal Navy during World War II, but reading this book, I certainly get that impression. This is a classic in Naval literature.
For those who love the sea and yet respect her fearsome savagry, HMS Ulysses satisfies. Brilliant character development, superb technical detail.
HMS Ulysses is a good novel -- more than that, the book pays tribute to both the Royal Navy and the Merchant Marine, and homage in equal measure to all -- German, British, American. It reminds us that brave men sailed the North Atlantic, and that courage knows no boundaries.
The book follows the fortunes of a fighting ship whose crew is slowly self-destructing after months of convoy duty in the North Atlantic. They are offered the prospect of a break in the Mediterranean if they can complete one final convoy to Russia through the murderous North Atlantic, and thereby atone for a mutiny that has left two people dead...
Their voyage -- and ultimate atonement -- tests the mettle of all on board, and challenges the base assumptions we tend to make about the inherant goodness of Humanity. It will leave you pondering how you would have responded under similar circumstances, and perhaps may leave you less than satisfied with what you learn about yourself.
As a tale it compares well with Noel Coward's wartime movie "In Which We Serve". MacLean paints his tale with prosaic pictures that stay in your mind more persistently than any film could. The final image of the HMS Ulysses, with battle ensign flying, stays with you long after you put the book down.
MacLean's book reminds us that things like this happened every day, once. It is a reminder of the gallantry of a generation that is fast disappearing.
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