Warning of War: A Novel of the North China Marines

Rating:
Summary: "Fact, Fiction or Fantasy?"
Review: "Warning of War" which takes place pre-World War II, tells the story of a mission to round up all the Marines manning outposts in China. But is it "Fact, Fiction or Fantasy?" Brady does not answer this question leaving it for the reader to decide.
FACT: Marines of the 4th Marines and the Legation Guard were stationed from Shanghai in the south to Peking in the north. Some shipped out to the Philippines, some were captured and spent the war as POWs and some may have been members of "Billy Port's Ride".
FACT: The march of the 4th Marines through the streets of Shanghai, down Bubbling Well Road to the docks for boarding on the "Harrison" for transport to the Philippines happened.
FACT: The actions of 2ndLT Huizanga and Chief Gunner William Lee also happened.
FACT: LT. Huizanga, WO Lee, Col. Samuel Howard and Captain Jack White were "real" Marines stationed in China.
FACT: There is no mention of this mission in any of the written histories of the Marine Corps nor is there any recording of this mission in the official records of the United States Marine Corps.
FICTION: Is it within the realm of possibility that such a mission was formed to gather the far-flung pockets of Marines? Certainly. AND--
FANTASY: Visions of being a part of an adventure such as this lives in the hearts of all who breathe adventure. So why not?
James Brady weaves the mood and emotions of the times as did artist/author Col. John W. Thomason Jr.'s chronicles of the Chinaside Marines of the 1930s. Great tales recommended to readers of adventure. Brady uses words spiced with salty, macho language. Grand stuff used by those in positions of leadership in all walks of life.
This story reads as a "National Geograhic" article with insightful, factual backgrond such as the detailed descriptions of the Legation at Peking, the Ritz Hotel in Boston, the gates of and The Great Wall with tour guide narration of the countryside for added flavor. The lesson in geography is worth the price of the book.
As in his stories on the Hamptons the names of the famous (General "Black Jack" Pershing, General Lewis "Chesty" Puller), the infamous (Pancho Villa, Rapputin), the rich (Prince Yusopov) and the ordinary (Dr. Han, Father Kean) appear throughout the story adding a degree of truth to the fantasy(?).
"Warning of War" contains sidebars of love and romance which are related without the need for the micro details of sex crowding the litrature of today. Also four letter words are few and far between used only occasionally in the dialogues of these tough, salty and macho men. Col. Thomason also wrote in this antiseptic but welcome style.
Approximately halfway into this fast-paced adventure tale the mood slows to a beautifully written scenario of Christmas as experienced by the members of "Billy Port's Ride". Carols, sincere holiday greetings, scenes of stars in the heavens pointing(?), all bringing a tug at the heart strings as good, or better, than any attempt at sentimentality written by the fantasy industry in California. This scenario brought pause to this reviewer's train of thought as he remmebered his Christmas in Korea, standing sentry duty, hearing Jo Stafford's rendition of "White Christmas" flow warmly over the newly fallen snow at his position. Memories, sad but mostly good.
This "Smell the Roses" pace is quickly absorbed back into the rapid flow of the story.
To those searching for history, read "Warning of War" for the love of adventure, not factual information. To all others, this fast-paced narrative may bring back memories and could provide you your own answer to the question presented by "Warning of War".
Is it "Fact, Fiction, or Fantasy"? It could be nothing more than a reading of a great tale of high-spirited adventure.
What more could you be looking for?

Rating:
Summary: A great story but with a few holes
Review: ***WARNING - Nitpicking Plot points ***

Again James Brady gives us a great story about Marines in action against unbelievable odds. Again, his book will probably disappoint military history buffs due to bad editing.

Though I loved the story of Captain Port and his ad-hoc group struggling to get out of China, as a military history buff, I couldn't get past some of the glaring inaccuracies.

Marine Officers' swords have never been strong enough to behead a man with one chop.

Marine Infantry units didn't carry flamethrowers until well into 1943.

Even fanatical 1st Sergeants will set aside uniform regulations to take care of their Marines.

His intercepted radio reports talked about things happening in the weeks following Pearl Harbor that didn't really occur until well into 1942.

Am I nitpicking? Probably. But if you're going to write a piece of historical fiction, then its crucial to get the facts straight. Even though its a great story, it lacks credibility because of these holes. I enjoyed reading it except when these errors popped up.

Great story for people who want to root on the good guys. Not so good for military history buffs. Try reading the first novel in "The Corps" series by WEB Griffin instead.

Rating:
Summary: No Guns of Autumn
Review: I was disappointed in this book. The story is of a detachment of Marines getting themselves and any other Marines they can get to join them out of China after war with Japan breaks out.

Since there is nothing from the author about how much of this tale is true, I am assuming that much of it is fiction and thus the lower grade. Along with the Marines come fortuitous stragglers including a paleontologist who seemingly knows every inch of Mongolia - as well as the language There is also a White Russian prince who aids and abets the detachment when they get to Russia as well as teaching the Marines the handy dandy Molotov cocktail when it happens to be the perfect weapon.

Thus the story seems contrived. Additionally, the star of the book, Captain Port, does something in the end of the book that does not fit the Marine's personality at all and truly seemed contrived.

If I could believe more of this book were true, it would be much better in the truth stranger than fiction genre. As pure fiction, however, I found it lacking. There was some good background material about China and the times that made it more palatable and worth finishing. For those who, like me, loved Guns of Autumn, this was a major letdown.

Rating:
Summary: Stick to non-fiction, Mr. Brady
Review: If an author is going to write military fiction, it should be assumed that the readers who pick up their book have more than a passing interest in military history. And that's the problem here. Once again, I want to stress that I realize that this is a novel, but Brady insists on inserting real characters and locations and so it is jarring when inaccuracies occur.

For example, he has Captain Billy Port, the derring-do hero, ask about air cover for his intrepid band of Marines as they embark on their mission. You guessed it. The Flying Tigers are mentioned (after all, the setting is China and everyone is familiar with Chennault's fliers) and their reputation for fighting discussed -- in spite of the fact that the Flying Tigers were not operational until after the outbreak of war. Further, having been stationed in Shanghai, Port should have known about the lack of available air cover. There are other errors too as he tries to broadbrush the early war in the Pacific. His mentioning other battlefronts like Singapore, the Phillipines and Wake Island is both gratuitous and frequently wrong as he misrepresents what happened there. Doesn't anyone edit for facts anymore?

The story also plods in the middle. Oh, there are occasional fire fights, strafings and run-ins with bandit warlords. But there are far too many stock characters. This novel has the plot of a B-movie or a Saturday matinee serial, albeit a shambling one. I have to admit though, Port's unexpected decapitation of a warlord is a nice scene and good touch to highlight that, as Chesty Puller allegedly said of Port, he is a "good killer."

I have no doubt that this book will sell well and, who knows, might even become a movie. If it does, the script will need some doctoring up. Brady wrote an excellent Korean War memoir and I recommend it. However, he should leave fiction alone. Of course, the fault my be mine. I have a tremendous respect for the Marines and their exploits and to see them lackadaisically treated, even in fiction and by one of their own no less, offends me.

One last issue. The book jacket contains a blurb by Dan Rather (yes, that Dan Rather), who compares the novel to something by Hemingway or Clancy. It is painfully clear that Rather has read neither of those authors! The only similarities that I can find is that printed words are used to tell the story and both of the aforementioned authors wrote novels too. Come to think of it, maybe that's what he meant... Surely he wasn't comparing style or pace.

Rating:
Summary: Warning! You Can't Put it Down!
Review: James Brady has once again crafted a fine story and created some memorable characters based around little known historical events.

Like his reluctant hero, Tom Verity, in the Marines of Autumn, Brady has conjured up another believable character in Billy Port. Captain Port's mission is to take a small detachment of Marines and some civilian hangers-on and make his way across the Gobi desert gathering up outlying Marine detachments. The War Warning is in the air and before they make their way to the Great Wall of China, their comrades of the 4th Marines have fallen captive to the Japanese war machine. Port and his men realize they are alone and cut off.

This is a wonderfully paced story, with a lot of detail and insider descriptions. Brady really knows his stuff. You get the sense of the Chinese countryside, the interplay between all of the forces warring on each other "out there' on the other side of the Great Wall. But above all, you feel as if you are one of the "China Hands"; the feeling of total abandonment these guys must have felt, but above all the feeling to press on and continue in the Marine Corp way.

There are quick flashes of Griffin's Killer McCoy and his exploits in China and a lot of parallels to McKenna's the Sand Pebbles. But ultimately this book stands on it's own as a great record of a little known time and place in the big picture of WWII.

That is where I think Brady has excelled, he is able to personalize a small moment in history and surround it with momentous world events. He also highlights the professionalism and pride of the Marines that fall into this situations and as in The Marines of Autumn, shows the almost mystical relation between company grade officers and their NCO's.

Semper Fi!

Rating:
Summary: Great Idea Poorly Executed
Review: The premise for this WWII novel is excellent, however the execution is awful. This is just about the worst written historical novel I've ever read, and I've read a bunch. The story is based on a Marine Corps myth, which the author notes there is absolutely no record of, or any of the participants, in any USMC records. A number of readers seem to have totally missed this distinction, and think it really happened! Oh well... the story starts by establishing wartime Shanghai, the far eastern city of spies, where American soldiers mix with British administrators, exiled White Russians, and diplomats of all shades and stripes. When a warning of imminent war with Japan is sent out to all American forces in the weeks prior to Pearl Harbor, it becomes clear that the American units will need to retreat from China, which is largely under Japanese occupation. Although most of these troops are concentrated in various bases, there are a few isolated outposts. This is where Cpt. Billy Port, USMC comes in.

The younger son of a prominent and somewhat notorious Boston family, Port is highly regarded in the Marine Corps for his works with Gen. "Chesty" Puller in Central America. The first part of the book establishes the lush life of Shanghai and his comfortable living, including an "arrangement" with a beautiful young White Russian exile woman, and weekly tennis matches with an American-born, UCLA educated, Japanese officer. No points for guessing that the latter part of the book will pit friend against friend... When the warning of war comes, Port is tasked with traveling across China to gather up the far-flung American units, and lead them to safety. To do so, he handpicks a small unit and sets up a convoy of four trucks and his Bentley convertible for the mission.

The unit he assembles is part central casting, part improbable fancy. There's a Mexican sergeant who's gimmick is that he served with Pershing against Pancho Villa and talks about it incessently. Somehow this manages to be as equally irritating to the reader (because it's not funny), as it's meant to be to the other characters. There's "Sparky" the radio guy, the grease-monkey/mechanic, a big brave lummox carrying the heavy gun, a bunch of anonymous BAR grunts, a college-boy Naval reserve lieutenant, and (I'm not making this up!), his Chinese butler, a world-famous French race-car driver, and a White Russian alternately referred to as "General", "Count", and "Prince" Yusopov. Along the way, they pick up a female Chinese doctor, and a British Catholic priest/paleontologist. Now, an able writer (such as George MacDonald Fraser) could have had a lot of fun with this wild and wacky cast, but Brady just isn't up to it. These characters either seem to serve no discernable purpose (such as the Naval officer), or are very convenient devices (the Russian teaches the Marines how to make a Molotov cocktail and just happens to have a brother at a monastery where sanctuary is available at a critical time, the English priest just happens to know the whole country like the back of his hand and speaks the dialects, etc.).

The bulk of the book is one extended chase scene, as this motley band of brothers makes its way across the Chinese country, skirmishing with bandits, ducking Japanese Zeros, suffering in the elements, and ultimately, racing for the Soviet border. The action sequences are far and away the strongest parts, from ambushing a pursing patrol, to facing down huge bandit hordes, it's good stuff (if somewhat predictable). Alas, the bulk of the book is riddled with cliche, repetition (for example, the term "top sergeant" is explained several times), and awkwardness (for example, every time Port meets with his "staff", Brady feels compelled to run through the roll call of who is present). It's the kind of story that might work better as a film, where one is a little more forgiving of hokiness and the dialogue would be much tighter. In any event, Port's race across China is a promising idea for a story, but this book just doesn't deliver the goods.