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South by Java Head

3.67  ·  Rating Details ·  1,664 Ratings  ·  55 Reviews
The 50th anniversary edition of this classic World War 2 adventure set in south-east Asia.


February, 1942: Singapore lies burning and shattered, defenceless before the conquering hordes of the Japanese Army, as the last boat slips out of the harbour into the South China Sea. On board are a desperate group of people, each with a secret to guard, each willing to kill to keep
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Paperback
Published May 6th 2008 by Harper (first published 1958)
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Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 2,337)
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Cphe
Oct 21, 2015 Cphe rated it liked it
Quite enjoyed this part sea faring adventure set during the second world war. A hand full of "survivors" battle insurmountable odds against the might of the Japanese when fleeing the fall of Singapore.

I enjoyed trying to second guess the motives of many of the characters and was never quite sure who might very well turn out to be the "bad guy". The author did a excellent job of keeping the tension ratcheted throughout.

My only negatives that I felt detracted from a rollicking good yarn were the
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Feliks
Mar 10, 2014 Feliks rated it it was ok  ·  review of another edition
Shelves: genre-thrillers
Its interesting to investigate MacLean's early novels to see the original formulation of all the hackneyed narrative conventions and action-cliches that he came to rely on later in his career. That's the main thing I got out of this novel.

MacLean is definitely one of the oddest of the successful thriller writers to come out of WWII. Some of his works ('Guns of Navarone') have themes latent within them which can be raised to greatness. Most of his novels are simply workmanlike, filled technically
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Madhulika Liddle
Jul 21, 2016 Madhulika Liddle rated it liked it
On the night of February 14, 1942, Singapore has been bombed so thoroughly by the Japanese that little survives. More importantly, little in the way of transport out of Singapore—and transport is what Brigadier Farnholme urgently needs, because after many months of trying, Farnholme has finally managed to obtain the detailed plans for the Japanese invasion of Northern Australia. The plans are all encoded, of course, and the only man who can break the code lives across the world, in London. Farnh ...more
Bill
Oct 08, 2013 Bill rated it really liked it  ·  review of another edition
Shelves: war, adventure
An Alistair MacLean story I'd not read previously. Excellent, MacLean at his very best. From the first moment, it was a tense, thrilling adventure; a group of British men and women escaping from Singapore during WWII in the face of the Japanese invasion. Going from threat to threat, displaying understated heroism and growth, the characters are interesting and well-presented. I liked the surprises and twists and ultimately the whole story. Excellent.
Philip
Interesting author, MacLean. He began his career with three WWII novels, the classics HMS Ulysses and Guns of Navarrone, along with the lesser known South By Java Head. He then switched gears and produced a series of six contemporary (at their time) novels using the sardonic, first person tough-guy style for which he is perhaps best remembered (for better or worse). From there, it was back to the third person for his next four books, all relative classics including the excellent Ice Station Zebr ...more
Quoopisk
Feb 17, 2013 Quoopisk rated it did not like it  ·  review of another edition
I read this book because a MacLean fan of my acquaintance insisted that the literary hell I was put through by "Where Eagles Dare" was a fluke, and that his other books were better. Big mistake. This one is worse.

MacLean has an infuriating habit of writing military commanders who perpetually endanger their soldiers, their missions, and other innocents through an inexplicable refusal to kill enemy combatants. In "Where Eagles Dare," the supposedly heroic mission leader makes a ridiculous and irr
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Anirudh Parthasarathy
I’ve a liking for history and I possess a particular interest in gathering information about the two world wars. When I wanted to read works of fiction on the world wars, I was immediately redirected to Alistair MacLean. I picked South by Java Head since my knowledge on the Pacific War isn't all that high (The edition I purchased was also rather inexpensive).

Coming to the plot, retired Brigadier Foster Farnholme is at Singapore and he is desperate to leave. The reason being, he has the complete
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Thomas Ray
May 20, 2014 Thomas Ray rated it really liked it  ·  review of another edition
[SPOILER ALERT] I judge a book largely by the ending; this one ends badly--so it's not among my favorite MacLean stories. But it has one quote I quite like:

"Foster always said that education was very important, but that it didn't really matter, because intelligence was more important than that, and that even intelligence didn't count for so much, that wisdom was far more important still. He said he had no idea in the world whether you had education or intelligence or wisdom and that it couldn't
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Ryan
Jul 29, 2015 Ryan rated it liked it
This was a fun one, lots of suspense and WWII knavery by the Japanese. I also liked the love story that evolved at the end.
It's a story of a group of refugees trying to escape from a Southeast Asian island in WWII. They end up trying to sneak their small boat around Java Head...thus the title.
Chris
Jul 09, 2015 Chris rated it liked it
This was an interesting book. The premise is that a British operative has mysteriously got his hands on encoded Japanese plans for an invasion of Australia in WWII. The operative is trying to get the plans out of hostile territory and into the hands of the allies, where they can be of use. Highly episodic in nature with several good plot twists, but the ending felt quite abrupt.
Morgan McGuire
May 22, 2016 Morgan McGuire rated it liked it
I couldn't tell what was going on in some of the scenes because there are a lot of similar (and similarly named) characters, some of which would seem to be forgotten by the author at various points...but I enjoyed the ride nonetheless! Exactly what I go to MacLean for.
Chuck
I looked forward to reading my first Alister MacLean novel and early in the book was not disappointed. The book was cleverly set up and introduced. It is a World War II novel that begins with an escape from a ravaged and burning Singapore by boat with an agent and an unusual cast of characters that are carrying the plans for Japan's invasion of Australia. It goes downhill from there. Surving hurricanes, bombings, being picked up by an oil tanker, then attacked by a submarine, then a fake U.S. PT ...more
Stephen King
Feb 15, 2010 Stephen King rated it really liked it  ·  review of another edition
Recommends it for: anyone
Well, it was a very good read in many ways. Parts were a bit too one sided, but historically it was very interesting. One, the attitudes about the Japanese were so hard and hateful at that time. Two, the typical old female roles were stronger than now. And, three, the nautical terms were very interesting and new to me. Terms like Baft, or into the bows of the boat, and many more. I meant to look them up even though I knew the jist of them, mostly. Oh, and as so many other authors do, the hero is ...more
David Mills
Jun 13, 2014 David Mills rated it liked it
MacClean, via a series of characters, channels thethe hysteria gilded by resigned duty that gripped the south Pacific during the high tide of the Japanese drive west.
Linda
Feb 14, 2016 Linda rated it really liked it
I admit to a secret fondness for WWII novels and MacLean is one of my favorites. This isn't his best but it's still damn good.
James Amoateng
Dec 23, 2014 James Amoateng rated it really liked it
Alistair MacLean's war books are always a joy to read. Takes you through thrilling moments of ship wrecks and spies on remote Islands in the pacific. Great read.
Readdonkey
Jul 25, 2014 Readdonkey rated it liked it
Brilliantly written, nice prose, but at times a tad dragging. The twists and turns lack the panache of his mid-career books.
ALOK B HOTA
Jan 18, 2015 ALOK B HOTA rated it liked it
Good old book to read, thanks to my friend Sagar recommending it to me..
Winter Snowfall
Feb 06, 2016 Winter Snowfall rated it really liked it
Not as much of a "cloak & dagger" novel, as you would typically expect from Alistair MacLean, as it focuses more on the up-front action and less on tying up the loose ends of the story-line. Still, it will not disappoint you unless you were hoping for something in the likes of "Where Eagles Dare".
Katherine Thomas
Feb 19, 2015 Katherine Thomas rated it really liked it
One of my favorite thrillers, over 50 years old but a fun read.
Ronald
Sep 18, 2016 Ronald rated it it was amazing  ·  review of another edition
read between fall 1974 & spring 1975
Frederick Tan
Sep 13, 2015 Frederick Tan rated it it was amazing
Singing the praise for MacLean.
Ravi Shankar
read in bangalore 2009?
Glen
Apr 21, 2014 Glen rated it it was amazing
Really gripping stuff ...
Fernando Delfim
Dec 30, 2013 Fernando Delfim rated it did not like it  ·  review of another edition
"os japoneses, quando entravam num país, nunca mais de lá saíam. Pediam aquilo a que se chamavam cooperação [...] e já iam mostrando que se não a obtivessem voluntariamente a obteriam de outra maneira - com a baioneta e a metralhadora."

Achei o livro chato e repetitivo. Melhora um pouco para o final, mas não deixa de ser medíocre. Embora não seja mau, leva a nota 1, pois não gostei.
Jonah
Oct 05, 2010 Jonah rated it liked it  ·  review of another edition
This was a good MacLean adventure story like the others I've read, but I knocked it down from four stars to three mainly due to the last quarter or so of the story. The Japanese and German officers were burdened with awful, schmaltzy dialogue and the need to tell the hero the entirety of their past and future, like the villains in a bad cartoon. That made it seem like an old Hollywood b-movie, but otherwise I thought it was a good yarn.
grindelwald33
Sep 30, 2016 grindelwald33 rated it liked it
The book is purely action and adventure based. A one time read.
John Williams
Feb 12, 2014 John Williams rated it really liked it  ·  review of another edition
Shelves: alistair-maclean
One of his earliest and best book. A gripping war story. My main complaint is that it totally demonizes the Japanese enemy. He doesn't do this to the Germans in the same way in his other WW2 stories.
Thomas Strömquist
The third MacLean was, as far as I can remember, not so memorable. The boat setting from his first, the secret missions and pesky traitors from the second and the WWII setting from them both. A lot of (more or less unbelievable) plot twists and turns and close calls, but characterization is not alive enough to really care what happens. Would recommend to skip this one.
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Alistair Stuart MacLean (Scottish Gaelic: Alasdair MacGill-Eain), the son of a Scots Minister, was brought up in the Scottish Highlands. In 1941, at the age of eighteen, he joined the Royal Navy; two and a half years spent aboard a cruiser were to give him the background for HMS Ulysses, his first novel, the outstanding documentary novel on the war at sea. After the war he gained an English Honour ...more
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“Foster always said that education was very important, but that it didn't really matter, because intelligence was more important than that, and that even intelligence didn't count for so much, that wisdom was far more important still. He said he had no idea in the world whether you had education or intelligence or wisdom and that it couldn't matter less, a blind man could see that you had a good heart, and the good heart was all that mattered in this world.” 3 likes
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