Rating: 
Summary: Well....
Review: A mercenary by the name of Cat Shannon, is hired by a British business tycoon, James Manson, to overthrow the ruthless Communist dictator of the African State of Zangaro.
The plot is interesting and it is always good to see a Third World Communist dictator get his comeuppance but there is too much petty detail, which makes large chunks of the novel boring.
I would have preferred less on the logistics and more on the human interactions.
Forsyth's other works The Odessa File Fist of God , and The Fourth Protocol are much better
Rating: 
Summary: Semi-classic tale of the ruthless.
Review: A routine analysis of an African Republic's mountain's ore content uncovers a motherlode of one of the most rare metals on the planet, platinum. However the African Republic's government is a ruthless dictatorship, rabidly anti-western and pro-communist. Facts that do not intimidate Sir James Manson, chairman/managing director of Manson Consolidated Mining Company Limited, in the least. Not surprising when, even at dirt cheap prices, the mountain is worth ten billion dollars. Eager to snag the mining rights, Manson quickly sets forth a rather unique plan. Hire mercenaries to help overthrow the government, replace it with a pro-west puppet dictator, have a shell company buy up the mining rights to the mountain, have ManCon buy the shell company, and rake in the cash by the basket full. Easier planned than done, as others quickly get their eyes on the same prize.Frederick Forsyth narrates with a reporter's deadpan voice and backs up the seemingly outlandish story with a huge amount of detail that makes it all seem credible. While the book does crackle with energy and keeps the pages turning, it lacked that something special to lift it up above the average page turner. But fans of Cold War era Men of Adventure tales will be sure to love this, recommended.
Rating: 
Summary: Very detailed and amusing
Review: A very detailed Forsyth, as always. The Dogs of War has a very good buildup and an amazing plot. Not to put down, a really surprising and recommandable book.
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic detail, the buildup, execution and background top
Review: Amazing research needed for this, great how it all knits together. Good surprises and plot twists, very good ending. Not his best but definitley better than the opposition. No wonder it takes Forsyth on average 5 years to produce a novel, keeps everybody on tenderhooks waiting for the next brilliant book.
Rating: 
Summary: Cat Shannon, International Man of Action
Review: As the reader immediatly knows upon reading the title, this is a book about going into combat. But like a good seduction, nine-tenths of the effort is preparation, as our heroes scour the arms bazaars of Brussels and load their gunboat with WW2 Schmeisers stored in grease together with mortars, grenades and other nasties. For anyone [who likes guns this is great]. The actual story, of Shannon's paid band of mercenaries, funded by evil copper tycoon Manson, was pretty close to real life at the time of writing (1970s) and, reading the papers one wonders whether much has changed.
Rating:
Summary: A different story
Review: At least this is a different story, and in this book you will see that the people who has money and power think that they could do anything, but they have to take care of the people who work for them, specially in the job of Cat Shannon.
The book will keep you interested almost in all pages, the last to chapters are to long for the things Forsyth describes in them, but so far you have to finish the book, in one chapter says that Cat swam several miles to do his exercises, but at the end of the book this is a contradiction, you will see when you read the epilogue.
As the books of Forsyth that I like, you will never know if this story is true or false.
Rating:
Summary: Dogs of War
Review: Dogs of War is one of the finest work of Frederick Forsythe. The author has done considerable amount of research to present a true picture of the world of merceneries with explicit details. The plotting is amazing. Cat Shannon is one of the most intriguing character I have ever come across. The author has successfully given a human dimension to this mercenary. The book is really amazing in true Forsythe style. I enjoy reading it again and again.
Rating:
Summary: Forsyth makes you feel like you are the mercinary.
Review: Forsyth uses actual places and possible events to create a plan to take over a country. The characters are interesting and the main character Cat Shannon makes you think twice about mercinaries. The plot twist is terrific and just knowing there is one keeps you guessing till the end.
Rating:
Summary: unputdownable!!!
Review: frederick forsyth creates magic with this extremely readable book. the plot keeps one guessing till the end. a must-read for all adventure lovers !!
Rating:
Summary: Their bark is worse than their bite.
Review: Frederick Forsyth has written some legendary thrillers, in particular The Day of the Jackal. In this novel, the jackal is replaced by dogs, and the lone assassin replaced by a team of mercenaries with the mission of taking over a floundering African republic. The mission is instigated by Sir James Manson, whose driving force is marked by "an unscrupulousness ... a preparedness to ignore so-called moral principles in pursuit of the goal succcess." (p.117) Manson heads the huge mining company Manson Consolidated, and after discovering a mountain with ten billion dollars worth of platinum, in his pursuit for mammon Manson decides to maximize his millions by arranging a coup to take over the African country which holds this buried wealth. Through his personal aide, he employs mercenary leader Cat Shannon to undertake this mission. Most of the novel revolves around Shannon's preparations for the military coup. Just as The Day of the Jackal was the anatomy of a hit, the Dogs of War is the anatomy of a coup; it deals with a military coup in the same manner that the former book deals with an assassination attempt. The concept is certainly interesting - "knocking off a bank or an armored truck is merely crude - knocking off an entire republic has, I feel, a certain style." (p.120) But unlike The Day of the Jackal, the anatomy of the coup suffers from tediousness at times, and is overly burdened with details of letters and arrangements as Shannon acquires arms, equipment and men. The apparent depth of Forsyth's research is fantastic and certainly adds to the credibility and authenticity and a slow and convincing build-up. But unless you are personally planning to take over an African republic, you will find many of the details rather unnecessary, The story is also marked by instances of remarkable coincidence, such as Shannon's ease in bedding Manson's daughter. Although there are implicit references to unchastity, we are spared any vivid details, and the instances of profanity can be counted on one hand. In the end, while it's an interesting novel, it doesn't have nearly the same bite as the Day of the Jackal. The ending moves quickly and has a nice twist (although the glorification of suicide is disappointing), but it is too little too late. It's clean and convincing, but the majority of this book is rather too slow moving. The bark of these Dogs of War is worse than their bite, and anyone looking for more bite is better off re-reading the Day of the Jackal. Even Frederick Forsyth can't make dogs bite as well as jackals.
|
