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bluestarfish's review
3.0
The Dogs of War was published in 1974 and so is veering into the territory of historical fiction. Telegramming people with date and times to call or meet, not travelling with more than £25 in cash so as not to raise suspicions, having to physically go to places to find out information... It's all rather bonkers. The post-imperial and colonial attitudes, and arms dealing export licence nonsense still sound a bit too realistic. There's a pretty detailed account of how to organise buying arms and smuggling them across Europe and various borders, which is weirdly fascinating and also a little boring from the story point of view. An odd book. Anyway, careful when you find a mountain of platinum I guess.
zare_i's review
4.0
This one took me a while to finish but only because of me not the book. Due to the work and my complete lack of focus I forgot to pack this book and ended up with other bunch that I finished in the meantime just to go back to this gem and read it to the end in matter of couple of hours.
One of the reviewers said that book is slow and action consists of only last chapter - that is correct. Forsyth's books are as a matter a fact very detailed shows that confirm that actual violence, strike of assassins knife in the dark, silenced gunshot or all-out bombardment are either side-shows or culminations of days if not months of very careful planning and maneuvering. Without logistics, planning, asset acquirement there would be no actual action to execute in the first place.
Excellent book, highly recommended to anyone enjoying spy and mercenary literature.
One of the reviewers said that book is slow and action consists of only last chapter - that is correct. Forsyth's books are as a matter a fact very detailed shows that confirm that actual violence, strike of assassins knife in the dark, silenced gunshot or all-out bombardment are either side-shows or culminations of days if not months of very careful planning and maneuvering. Without logistics, planning, asset acquirement there would be no actual action to execute in the first place.
Excellent book, highly recommended to anyone enjoying spy and mercenary literature.
sandin954's review against another edition
4.0
Not quite up to the standards of [b:The Day of the Jackal|540020|The Day of the Jackal|Frederick Forsyth|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1175635385s/540020.jpg|1792180] or [b:The Odessa File|149572|The Odessa File|Frederick Forsyth|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1223643777s/149572.jpg|1274575], but better than most modern day thrillers. Perhaps a bit too realistic (lots of descriptions of the very mundane details of procuring equipment and budgeting) and had quite the cynical outlook (which was a plus for me). The final part of the book flew by and I thought the ending was outstanding.
rschmidt7's review
3.0
Sir James Manson, a scheming mining tycoon, hatches a plan to topple the government of a tiny African country in order to secure the mining rights to Crystal Mountain. This particular mountain contains an enormous deposit of platinum, and through a series of intricate plans involving Swiss banks and the manipulation of shares, Sir Manson plans to exploit the platinum find and make billions.
To carry out the coup on corrupt Zangaran president Kimba, Sir Manson hires Cat Shannon, a ruthless mercenary, and a professional in the business of war.
This book has a very interesting premise, and it begins well, with Cat Shannon and his cohorts defeated at the end of an unspecified African war. The atmosphere created in these first scenes really draws you in. Each of the mercenaries has their own unique personality, and the character of Shannon makes a likeable, interesting protagonist.
After the first scene, the mercenaries make their way out of Africa and back to their various home bases. And here things begin to bog down. As many reviews have pointed out, the level of detail that goes into planning Manson's grand scheme is insanely meticulous and realistic (which means like real life, it's monotonous and tedious at times).
Some of the pros of this book are:
*Any of the scenes set in Africa.
*The mercenaries themselves.
*The characters of Shannon and Endean and Roux.
*The attack on Zangaro (when it finally, at long last, happens)
*The ending. Did not see it coming, and it ALMOST made all the lead up worth it.
Some of the cons of the book:
*There are not enough scenes in Africa! And way too many in places like Belgium and Switzerland (boring).
*Pacing. Terribly slow.
*Lack of action for significant portions of the book.
*Very little war for a book with such a promising title.
Overall, I understand that the focus and emphasis is on realism here. But sometimes too much realism in writing is just downright boring. This may be the way that a real operation like this might be planned, but it reads boring. Add a little action and excitement, and don't spend 50 pages explaining to me how each and every single piece of equipment was bought and paid for. I wanted to read a thriller, not somebody's budget.
To carry out the coup on corrupt Zangaran president Kimba, Sir Manson hires Cat Shannon, a ruthless mercenary, and a professional in the business of war.
This book has a very interesting premise, and it begins well, with Cat Shannon and his cohorts defeated at the end of an unspecified African war. The atmosphere created in these first scenes really draws you in. Each of the mercenaries has their own unique personality, and the character of Shannon makes a likeable, interesting protagonist.
After the first scene, the mercenaries make their way out of Africa and back to their various home bases. And here things begin to bog down. As many reviews have pointed out, the level of detail that goes into planning Manson's grand scheme is insanely meticulous and realistic (which means like real life, it's monotonous and tedious at times).
Some of the pros of this book are:
*Any of the scenes set in Africa.
*The mercenaries themselves.
*The characters of Shannon and Endean and Roux.
*The attack on Zangaro (when it finally, at long last, happens)
*The ending. Did not see it coming, and it ALMOST made all the lead up worth it.
Some of the cons of the book:
*There are not enough scenes in Africa! And way too many in places like Belgium and Switzerland (boring).
*Pacing. Terribly slow.
*Lack of action for significant portions of the book.
*Very little war for a book with such a promising title.
Overall, I understand that the focus and emphasis is on realism here. But sometimes too much realism in writing is just downright boring. This may be the way that a real operation like this might be planned, but it reads boring. Add a little action and excitement, and don't spend 50 pages explaining to me how each and every single piece of equipment was bought and paid for. I wanted to read a thriller, not somebody's budget.
amyfitzsimmons's review
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
paolitopopo's review
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.75
eftucker11's review
2.0
While the beginning of this book interested me and drew me in, I found the story to be prolonged, and many aspects of it unnecessary. There are subplots that turn out to be completely irrelevant, most of the book follows the main character setting up the logistics of an operation, without much plot development to make such a thing interesting. The entire book builds up to a climax that is about ten pages long, and the ending makes about as much sense as a football bat.
While Forsyth is able to write in a way that is methodical and concise, he falls prey to the same literary sickness that many authors of this genre suffer from, over-explanation. There were entire pages that-after reading-I realized I could have skipped, without missing any important details. Forsyth goes into depth about some things, while other, more important aspects of the story are left by the wayside.
On top of all of this, the main character is a drab tapestry with about as much appeal as blank rock face. While the character of Cat Shannon clearly knows his way around the business he is in, and that intelligence does make him interesting to follow, there is nothing about him that made me want him to succeed. In fact, many parts of the story left me convinced that Shannon is a morally reprehensible figure, who goes through the world manipulating and destroying things in the name of his own gain. Forsyth tries to sell him as a rough-and-tumble anti-authoritarian who would rather spend his time crawling through the jungles of Africa than in the cities of Europe, and yet the entirety of the book, with the exception of the last fifty pages or so, takes place in those cities. The other mercenaries that Shannon works with have their own little quirks, but nothing that made me understood the bond that the book kept insisting that they shared. Forsyth frequently identifies the mercenaries by their nationalities, since that is pretty much the only unique trait about them, other than the fact that one is old, one is buff, and one is obsessed with his knife.
I would not recommend this book to anyone. While the promotional materials makes it seem like a thriller with plot twists and action and intrigue, it is a deception. This book is a boring tale of banking, logistics, and meetings, with a bit of sex between our 33 year old hero and a 19 year old girl to add in the precisely wrong level of creepiness (Spoiler: That relationship also becomes physically abusive). The action that one would expect from a book with the word "War" in the title is virtually nonexistent. While I did not find it impossible to keep reading as I have with other books, I am still not glad that I read it; and I would not cite it as an example of anything other than an author demonstrating the knowledge he acquired over a very respectable career in journalism, and disguising it as a novel.
While Forsyth is able to write in a way that is methodical and concise, he falls prey to the same literary sickness that many authors of this genre suffer from, over-explanation. There were entire pages that-after reading-I realized I could have skipped, without missing any important details. Forsyth goes into depth about some things, while other, more important aspects of the story are left by the wayside.
On top of all of this, the main character is a drab tapestry with about as much appeal as blank rock face. While the character of Cat Shannon clearly knows his way around the business he is in, and that intelligence does make him interesting to follow, there is nothing about him that made me want him to succeed. In fact, many parts of the story left me convinced that Shannon is a morally reprehensible figure, who goes through the world manipulating and destroying things in the name of his own gain. Forsyth tries to sell him as a rough-and-tumble anti-authoritarian who would rather spend his time crawling through the jungles of Africa than in the cities of Europe, and yet the entirety of the book, with the exception of the last fifty pages or so, takes place in those cities. The other mercenaries that Shannon works with have their own little quirks, but nothing that made me understood the bond that the book kept insisting that they shared. Forsyth frequently identifies the mercenaries by their nationalities, since that is pretty much the only unique trait about them, other than the fact that one is old, one is buff, and one is obsessed with his knife.
I would not recommend this book to anyone. While the promotional materials makes it seem like a thriller with plot twists and action and intrigue, it is a deception. This book is a boring tale of banking, logistics, and meetings, with a bit of sex between our 33 year old hero and a 19 year old girl to add in the precisely wrong level of creepiness (Spoiler: That relationship also becomes physically abusive). The action that one would expect from a book with the word "War" in the title is virtually nonexistent. While I did not find it impossible to keep reading as I have with other books, I am still not glad that I read it; and I would not cite it as an example of anything other than an author demonstrating the knowledge he acquired over a very respectable career in journalism, and disguising it as a novel.
juggernaut's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Liked it from the beginning but loved it at the end.
destroyallbeers's review
adventurous
dark
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75