The Black Crusader

Alistair MacLean (1922–1987) was a British writer, author of 28 thrill novels and adventure stories, and a screenwriter. His name is widely known to readers around the world. MacLean’s books sold more than 150 million copies; 18 films were made based on his novels, screenplays, and plots. In 1983, the University of Glasgow awarded him the degree of Doctor of Literature.

MacLean’s heroes live and win across the globe—“from communist Hungary and the Gulf of Mexico to Singapore, the south of France, San Francisco, the Netherlands, and the Arctic Ocean” (kirkusreviews.com). The novel “The Black Crusader” tells how in Australia several specialists who developed rocket fuel disappear without a trace. British counterintelligence begins searching—but the agents are kidnapped, and they end up on a mysterious island in the Pacific…