UNACO Books in Order
Alistair MacLean has written 10 UNACO books, published between 1980 and 1998. The first book is Hostage Tower (1980) and the newest is Borrowed Time (1998). Publication order is the reading order below.
- Books
- 10
- Published
- 1980–1998
- Confirmed
- 10 of 10 titles
- Pages on record
- 2,056 in 7 of 10 books
- Reading time
- 34–51 hours
Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 2,056 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 7 of 10 titles with a page count on record.
UNACO, the United Nations Anti-Crime Organisation, is an imaginary agency at the centre of 10 action thrillers published between 1980 and 1998 under the Alistair MacLean name. Recorded subjects include terrorism, assassins, criminals, ciphers and espionage. Hostage Tower (1980) opens the run, followed by Air Force One Is Down (1981), Death Train (1988), Night Watch (1989), Red Alert (1990), Time of the Assassins (1991), Code Breaker (1993) and Prime Target (1997). Borrowed Time closed the sequence in 1998.
How many UNACO books are there?
UNACO has 10 books, released between 1980 and 1998.
UNACO Books in Publication Order
The table lists all 10 UNACO books in the order they were published, with the release year, the page count where one is on record, and how many independent book listings confirm each title. Catalogue data as of September 2026.
- 11980–3/4
- 219812243/4
- 31988–3/4
- 419893203/4
- 519903763/4
- 61991–3/4
- 719922883/4
- 819933943/4
- 919972403/4
- 1019982143/4
Do you have to read UNACO books in order?
You should read the UNACO books in publication order, the order of the numbered table above. The catalogue does not record whether each UNACO book also stands alone.
Where to start with UNACO
Start with Hostage Tower (1980), the earliest published title.
What is the newest UNACO book?
Borrowed Time (1998) is the newest UNACO book released so far.
Is there a new UNACO book coming?
No next UNACO book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.
UNACO at a glance
- No recent titles
- The newest UNACO title on record dates from 1998, 28 years ago. No later title is catalogued.
- Release pace
- UNACO books have appeared about one every 2 years on average.
- Length
- 2,056 pages across the 7 of 10 books with a recorded length, a median of 288 pages each.
- Busiest decade
- Most UNACO books, 6 of 10, were published in the 1990s.
What the UNACO books are about
8 of the 10 UNACO books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: action & adventure is tagged on 4 of 8. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.
- Action & adventure 4 of 8 books
- Adventure stories 2 of 8 books
- English fiction 2 of 8 books
More books by Alistair MacLean
The author page linked below lists every book in publication order.
- Alistair MacLean books in order 42 books