Just Finished (re)Reading: The Satan Bug by Alistair MacLean (FP: 1962)

It was an inside job. It had to be. Things had been going ‘missing’ for months and the facility was far too secure for any thief to have gained access from outside. What made things worse, if that was possible, was that a few months after each theft the Soviets made an unexpected advance in bio-weapons technology. That could hardly be a coincidence. But who could be doing such a thing, such a violation of national security? Pierre Cavell had been given the job of finding out and, during his brief stay as Security Chief at the installation had narrowed the field of suspects to one of five or six men – everyone with impeccable credentials and all of the highest clearance levels. Working better from the outside Cavell’s dismissal was manufactured and he began working on each case file in turn until the latest theft – the one that changed everyone’s priorities. It was no longer a case of National Security but national, even human, survival. Less than 24 hours previously the timed locks on the laboratory had been set, one of the doctors had failed to report for work that morning and part of the security fence had been cut. Everything pointed to a problem with E Block – where they held vials of the most dangerous bacteria man had ever manufactured including one with a melodramatic name that summed up its potential for cataclysmic consequence – The Satan Bug. With Cavell’s investigation barely begun the first demand arrives: Close the Morden Research Facility immediately or a vial of Botulinus toxin would be released somewhere to kill thousands. They had 24 hours to respond…..

According to Amazon I bought this paperback around 10 years ago. Later I discovered that I’d actually previously read the book around 30 years before that. I remember being completely entranced by the movie – especially with the monologue of what The Satan Bug could do if released – but couldn’t remember if the book and movie corresponded much. I’d actually been trying to get hold of a copy of the movie on DVD for a while now but it seems to be one of the few MacLean movie adaptations that is unavailable. So, I thought, what about YouTube and there it was – not exactly a great copy but there in its entirety. I watched it, with more than a little satisfaction/pleasure, just as I started the book. The first section of the novel had a great deal in common with the movie – with the notable exception of location move from the UK (novel) to the US (film). Even some of the dialogue is taken directly from the book, often word for word. After the first quarter or so the plot of book and film start to diverge quite a lot. The book has red herrings galore, Soviet spies and so on and is generally a rather hurried detective novel with a particularly dangerous ‘McGuffin’ to chase down. The movie is much cleaner in narrative and flows much better. The novel is very much of its time with the Soviet threat and the realisation that Britain couldn’t possibly keep up with either Superpower in the nuclear arms race – hence the concentration on bacteriological weaponry. Of course the concept of The Satan Bug itself is a nod to the idea of a Doomsday weapon that would only be used in the anticipation of losing in any future war – basically the idea that, OK we’re dead, but we’re still going to take you with us kind of thing. An ultimate deterrent – of course this would kill everyone, not just the enemy, so it’s a bit harsh over all. But I do get the point – pull that trigger and *everyone* dies. Apart from being dated the book is, to be honest, not particularly well written over all. The idea is spot on but the execution is rather stilted and far too convoluted (with too many cliff hangers) for my liking. Only really of any great interest if you want to compare it to the superior movie version.