Running Blind

A Thriller
By Desmond Bagley

I had read a mention of this book when I was researching a mysterious building in the old harbor area of Reykjavík. Desmond Bagley was, at his peak in the early 70s, probably the top spy writer in the UK. His 16 novels have been in and out of print many times since then, but his reputation has faded somewhat in recent years. Running Blind is notable for its use of Iceland as a backdrop for a tale of international intrigue in a complex plot that includes UK, Soviet and US government agencies, both overt and covert. It is considered the first Icelandic thriller. I ordered a copy and when it arrived I read in a day.

The main character, Alan Stewart, is a former UK spy who had been dismissed for a botched operation four years previous. He had been living as a sleeper in South Africa when he was recruited for another mission.  Upon his arrival in Iceland he is immediately thrown into an extended chase through the country that lasts the length of the book.

This is formula writing inspired by Ian Fleming (who is also name-checked in the novel) and it has all of the tropes: double-crossing agents, a sexy but tough love interest, iconic vehicles, fetishized weapons, gunfights, lots of spilled blood and even a MacGuffin worthy of Hitchcock. To get the most enjoyment from this story, however, one should leave logic out of the equation.  To Bagley’s credit his use of Icelandic history and culture is done in a mostly respectful and accurate way. Nothing about it seemed grossly inaccurate or condescending. There was a TV miniseries based on it that has all but disappeared into VHS-limbo; it was evidently nothing special. It reminded me of Arnaldur Indriðason’s Operation Napoleon; it is unsurprising that Bagley’s novel had inspired him.
This book’s follow-up, The Freedom Trap, was made into a major motion picture starring Paul Newman and James Mason titled The MacKintosh Man.