Appearance
Retreat, Hell!
Well, "Killer" McCoy , Ernie Zimmerman , George Hart , and "Flem" Pickering are back in action again! I really hate the long waits between the installments of "Thecorps" , but it usually is worth it. And "Retreat,Hell" is no exception to this rule.The novel picks up shortly after the Inchon Invasion has succeeded in a spectacular fashion , with McCoy , Zimmerman , and technical sergeant Jennings on patrol. "Pick" Pickering , General Pickering's son , has been shot down and missing in action as a carryover from the novel , "Under Fire", that immediately precedes the current work. The patrol narrowly misses finding young Pickering , but manages to effect the capture of a North Korean officer thought by McCoy to be a high level intelligence officer.Through many twists and turns of plot , evidence of Communist Chinese , intent to intervene in the war are unearthed by McCoy and Zimmerman. What really keeps us riveted to the book is the unwillingness of those of MacArthur's staff to pay any attention.The interaction of General Pickering , General Ralph Howe , and others with President Harry S Truman keeps us turning page after page.It is not really my intent to give a blow-by-blow synopsis of the book ; it would spoil the outcome for the reader.On my "warts" list , I only comment that WEB sometimes loses touch with the characters he has created : in "Under Fire", Pick Pickering' paramour , Jeanette Priestly , is described as a "lanky brunette" , but in "Retreat, Hell", she removes her cap to release "her long blonde hair"! Whoops!I sadly miss many of the characters WEB introduced and developed so well in the WW-II episodes :Steve Koffler , Robert "Easterbunny" Easterbrook , sergeant Percy Everly , and Jim Weston. Perhaps we'll see these characters all "returned to duty" in the next installment. The Korean War isn't over yet , so there is still lots of potential left in this series.Still my favorite series from my favorite author. As usual , I can't wait for the "next one". I just gotta give it five stars !
Retreat, Hell!
There have arguably never been more substantial real-life characters than Harry S. Truman and Douglas MacArthur. To bring their personalities and significantly different styles to a work of fiction, and do so in a manner that makes the reader feel " in the room" with these men, is nothing short of masterful. To bring the historical significant year of 1950 to life, and then weave through it a tale replete with anguish, danger, intrigue, frustration, elation, humor, heroism, and moral outrage, is nothing short of phenomenal. To develop fictional characters with dynamic and diverse personalities, and bring them to life through dialog, is nothing short of fantastic. A work of fiction that can do all three is brilliant. Retreat Hell! is W.E.B. Griffin at his finest. Retreat Hell! is brilliant, and the W.E.B. Griffin is a literary genius by any standard. This is his best work to date. If you can read this book without laughing out loud, you never served in the military. If you can read this book without tears, you never served in the Marine Corps. If you can read this book without feeling outrage, you must be related to MacArthur. If you can read this book without being thoroughly entertained, then great historical fiction is beyond you. Five Stars!
Retreat, Hell!
W.E.B. Griffin's novelistic account of the Korean Conflict in 1950 teaches even as it entertains. Douglas Macarthur - who is still revered as the hero his president wouldn't listen to by many South Koreans - is primed for glory, but has to deny the massive Chinese presence that awaits his troops if he's going to get there.Enter Ken McCoy, your basic straight-talking grunt who sees clearly, shoots when he has to, and wins the day. Sort of.Not a brilliant literary piece, if that's what you need. But a colorful introduction to the no-win drama of the Korean Conflict and some of its key players, not to mention an interesting insight into the psychology of the Corps when its civilian and military masters wander off the beaten track.
Retreat, Hell!
Just a short observation that WEB Griffin has done it again. For those of us that thoroughly enjoy his writing, and the stories of the Corps, this continuance of the life and times of his characters is exciting and grabs you by your imagination to experience what the characters are actually going through. Great story. Can't wait for the next.
Retreat, Hell!
His books are always good. I really haven't found I read of his I have not enjoyed. If you like the series you will love this book...and find out more about "Pick"
Retreat, Hell!
From the photo of a PFC Paul Ison dashing across the Valley of Death during the Battle of Okinawa on the cover to the quote used for the title, W.E.B. Griffin's tenth installment in the Corps series is 600-plus pages of misdirection and missed opportunity. The only thing this book has in common with the rest of The Corps series is a few character names. The book opens with Malcolm "Pick" Pickering on the run behind enemy lines after he crash landed his Corsair at the end of the last novel. Like all good Americans, the only thing on his mind is getting back to his loved ones, especially the suddenly realized love of his life, Jeanette Priestly of the Chicago Tribune, which is why he can't use a signal mirror though most kids figure our this skill before fifth grade. And that is the end of the action in this book. The rest of it is conversations about how great McCoy is, how horribly unfair history has treated General Edward Almond, and how well-stocked the CIA larders are—everyone drinks top-shelf, single malt Scotch. The title of the book, part of a quote attributed to Marine Corps General O.P. Smith after the First Marine Division is ordered to retreat through thousands of Chinese Communist soldiers from the Battle of the Chosin Reservoir, appears in the author's note after the book ends. Griffin spends so little time on the Marine Corps in this book that the reader unfamiliar with history might come to the conclusion that Marine Corps is an intimate club of men who'd rather be in the CIA. There are way better books out there than this, which actually chronicle the Korean War battles of the greatest fighting force in the history of the world. Don't waste your money.