THE NAVARONE SERIES
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Full Name: |
The Navarone Series |
Nationality: |
New Zealand, Greek, American |
Organization: |
S.O.E. |
Occupation |
Agent |
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Creator: |
Alistair MacLean
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Time Span: |
1957 - 2008 |
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ABOUT THE SERIES
The Navarone Series deals with a trio of agents working for the S.O.E.
The Special Operations Executive was a British intelligence organization created at the beginning of World War Two to engage in espionage, sabotage, and other activities as needed in enemy territories in Europe. Quite often the agents attached to this group were highly trained military officers and enlisted men but when working on an S.O.E. mission, they were there covertly and in civilian clothing making them spies under the Geneva Convention and therefore without any allusions as to their treatment and ultimate fate should they be captured.
The term "Navarone" is used to describe the activities of three key people and comes about because the island of Navarone was the location of the first mission, the one that brought the trio together in the first place. They would be reunited on that Greek island briefly for the second mission but would then leave to head to the actual assignment. The two remaining recorded adventures have nothing really to do with the Navarone location except in context of the three men.
The three men are Keith Mallory, Andrea Stavros, and Donovan "Dusty" Miller.
Mallory is a New Zealand officer serving with the British forces for some time, holding the army rank of Captain. He was before the war an avid mountain climber making him an indespensible man in the cliffs of Navarone. The fact that he had been operating in and around Crete and was an expert in that area made him even more valuable.
Andrea Stavros is a former Lt. Colonel in the now defunct Greek army, working with the Resistance and having no love whatsoever for the German invaders of his homeland. He is also a close friend and sometimes adversary of Mallory as the two had worked together before.
Dusty Miller is an American explosives expert who had signed up with the R.A.F. and was brought along because he was the key man for actually destroying the artillery objective of the first mission. Once he had proven himself to the others, it was natural that he remain with the team although his dour personality coupled with his pessimism always made him a cheery complement.
Mallory and Stavros like and dislike each other. Miller doesn't really like anyone, or at least trust anyone. Together they make a great team.
BOOKS
Number of Books: | 4 |
First Appearance: | 1957 |
Last Appearance: | 2008 |
The terrific author Alistair MacLean made his debut with the semi-autobiographical novel H.M.S. Ulysses in 1955, an adventure that still ranks as one of the greatest modern naval adventures of all time (and one of my absolutely favorite books - I still get chills when remembering it). He followed that book with his first fully fictional tale two years later. That was the first book in this series, The Guns of Navarone (TGON).
MacLean was a stickler for never doing a series. For over a decade he came out with a new adventure almost yearly and each one rushed to the bestseller list because readers knew he would be penning another winner and he never let them down. And each book was about different people in different locations handling different problems.
Then in 1968 he changed his no-sequel policy and created the second book though he took an interesting path in that the book followed the ending of the film that had been released in 1961, not the ending of his original novel. I have not read a definite reason for the change but I am sure the truth is out there. Whatever the reason, the characters of Mallory, Stavros, and Miller were reunited.
Thirty years later, author Sam Llewellyn with the blessing of the MacLean estate came up with two new adventures for the "Navarone" team. These books did not fare as well as MacLean but are worth the read.
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1 |
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The Guns of Navarone
Written by Alistair MacLean
Copyright: 1957
British soldiers are pinned down in on a Greek island, about to be captured. To rescue them would mean certain destruction to Allied ships from artillery on the nearby island of Navarone. The S.O.E. send British officer Captain Keith Mallory and Corporal Dusty Miller, along with Greek Lt. Col Andrea Stavros and others to infiltrate the island and destroy the guns.
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2 |
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Force 10 From Navarone
Written by Alistair MacLean
Copyright: 1968
To rescue captive British agents in Yugoslavia, Captain Keith Mallory and Dusty Miller are again recruited by the S.O.E.
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3 |
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Storm Force From Navarone
Written by Sam Llewellyn
Copyright: 1996
Mallory, Stavros and Miller are sent through occupied France to a supposedly neutral Spain to disable the "Werewolf" U-boats with only six day to do their mission.
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4 |
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Thunderbolt From Navarone
Written by Sam Llewellyn
Copyright: 1998
Keith Mallory, Dusty Miller, and Andrea Stavros are given a new mission from Naval HQ to see about the development of a lethal German V3 rocket and destroy the facilities.
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4.5 |
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The Complete Navarone
Written by Sam Llewellyn, Alistair MacLean
Copyright: 2008
The Anthology Collection of all 4 works by two authors that started in 1957 and ended in 1998 that were print together in 2008 (a period of 51 year).
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MOVIES
Number of Movies: | 2 |
First Appearance: | 1961 |
Last Appearance: | 1978 |
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1 |
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The Guns of Navarone
Director: J. Lee Thompson
Writers: Carl Foreman, Alistair MacLean
Actors: Gregory Peck as Mallory, David Niven as Miller, Anthony Quinn as Stavros
Released: 1961
Based on the book by MacLean. A team is sent into Greek territory to destroy massive German guns in the cliff face on the island of Navarone. Note: It won 2 Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture & Original Score. It also won an Academy Award for Best Special Effects. Plus it was nominated for 4 other Academy Awards and a Grammy.
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2 |
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Force Ten From Navarone
Director: Guy Hamilton
Writers: Carl Foreman, Robin Chapman
Actors: Harrison Ford as Barnsby, Edward Fox as Miller, Robert Shaw as Mallory
Released: 1978
To rescue captive British agents in Yugoslavia, Captain Keith Mallory and Dusty Miller are again recruited by the S.O.E.
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