Rating: 
Summary: Must reading for any marine or marine corps buff
Review: Very well defined characters and a plot line that is easily related to by all. One cannot help getting involved in the lives of the various characters. The locations and actions depicted are true to reality, the language and description are true to the time lines involved. I have read all of the military novels of Mr, Griffins from cover to cover in one sitting and constantly look forward to the next installment in the series.
Rating: 
Summary: Great story, horrible writing
Review: W.E.B. Griffin picked a fascinating topic - the establishment of a guerrilla operation in the Philippines during WWII. The difficulties involved in planning and supporting such an operation make for a great story. Unfortunately, the writing is horrible. Griffin has the exasperating habit of providing the same "detail" about people and weapons over and over. Characters that have been central figures throughout the entire book are still named by their full name, including middle initial (or NMI for "No Middle Initial"), rank, and service throughout the book. For example, one of the central figures is referred to as "Captain Robert B. Macklin, USMC", for what seems like the 100th time, when there are only 5 pages left in the book! And who could forget that the proper designation for a Springfield rifle is "U.S Rifle, Caliber .30-06, Model 1903", or that the standard-issue .45 pistol is a "Model 1911 .45 ACP pistol" after reading these terms 50 times? Does Griffin do this because he thinks we like reading the full designations over and over, or because that's the way a military novel should read, or does he simply have to reach a required word count? I enjoyed the story, but wish there was less unnecessary and repetitive detail and more information about what actually happened in the Philippines during the war.
Rating:
Summary: Great story, horrible writing
Review: W.E.B. Griffin picked a fascinating topic - the establishment of a guerrilla operation in the Philippines during WWII. The difficulties involved in planning and supporting such an operation make for a great story. Unfortunately, the writing is horrible. Griffin has the exasperating habit of providing the same "detail" about people and weapons over and over. Characters that have been central figures throughout the entire book are still named by their full name, including middle initial (or NMI for "No Middle Initial"), rank, and service throughout the book. For example, one of the central figures is referred to as "Captain Robert B. Macklin, USMC", for what seems like the 100th time, when there are only 5 pages left in the book! And who could forget that the proper designation for a Springfield rifle is "U.S Rifle, Caliber .30-06, Model 1903", or that the standard-issue .45 pistol is a "Model 1911 .45 ACP pistol" after reading these terms 50 times? Does Griffin do this because he thinks we like reading the full designations over and over, or because that's the way a military novel should read, or does he simply have to reach a required word count? I enjoyed the story, but wish there was less unnecessary and repetitive detail and more information about what actually happened in the Philippines during the war.
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