Hill 112 by Adrian Goldsworthy

On June 30, 2024 By The Unseen LibraryIn Historical Fiction1 Comment

Hill 112 Cover

Publisher: Head of Zeus (ebook – 23 May 2024)

Series: Standalone/Book One

Length: 495 pages

My Rating: 4.75 out of 5 stars

Prepare to dive headfirst into the deadliest of struggles as acclaimed historical fiction author Adrian Goldsworthy provides a captivating look at the Normandy invasions with his epic novel, Hill 112.

Adrian Goldsworthy is an impressive historical fiction author who has been producing some great novels as of late. A respected historian, Goldsworthy made the jump back to fiction in 2011 when he started his Napoleonic Wars series. I had the great pleasure of reading the first few books in the series, including True Solider Gentlemen and Beat the Drums Slowly, and Goldsworthy prove to be an outstanding author who would focus his stories on intriguing historical elements. His Napoleonic Wars series ended up featuring six novels before he dove into Roman historical fiction in 2017 with his Roman Britain series. Starting with Vindolanda and also featuring six novels, the Roman Britain series sounds very awesome, and it is one I need to check out in the future. Due to how much I enjoyed some of Goldsworthy’s previous books, I made sure to grab a copy of his latest release, Hill 112, which provides a compelling examination of the bloody invasion of Normandy during World War II.

June 6^th, 1944. After years of enduring the Nazi onslaught, the Allies are finally ready to begin their campaign to invade occupied France. But to liberate France and free all of Europe, the Allies first must make a perilous landing and brave the full force of the German army waiting for them. The destination for their fateful landing: Normandy!

As the Allies begin their invasion, three young soldiers, former classmates from south Wales, are amongst the troops landing in Normandy. The charismatic James must put his previous experience as cricket captain into practice by leading a troop of Sherman tanks into fray. The athletic Mark is forced to prove himself as the young officer in charge of a platoon of infantrymen, while Bill, the group’s resident firebrand, finds himself in the middle of the fighting as he serves as a private soldier. However, none of these young men are truly prepared for the carnage to come.

The battle-hardened German army is determined to push the Allies back into the sea, and soon both sides find themselves caught up in a brutal battle for survival. Into the middle of this, James, Mark and Bill find their courage and luck tested like never before as they finally experience the horrors of war and the seemingly unbeatable Germans. Their fates, and that of the entire Allied war effort, will be decided in one of the most brutal fights of the Normandy campaign, the battle for Hill 112.

Goldsworthy brings together one of his heaviest and moving novels yet with the incredible Hill 112. A gritty and realistic war story that seeks to capture the experiences of young soldiers during Normandy, Hill 112 was a fantastic and moving novel that drags readers right into the heart of the fighting.

Hill 112 has a great story to it that, while simple in concept, hits the reader hard and provides a powerful look into the realities of war. Told from the perspective of three young soldiers as they experience their first taste of combat, Hill 112 is a very moving war novel that is hard to look away from at times. Starting with the first day of the Normandy landings, you initially follow James, who leads the charge with his tank unit, while Mark and Bill wait back in England for their deployment to the front. While this did make James’s chapters a lot more interesting and exciting than the others’ at the start of the book, I liked how Goldsworthy chose to start the remaining two characters off back in England. Not only was historically realistic, but it allowed you to get to know these two protagonists and other supporting characters before the fighting, while also building up the tension, especially when you compared their experiences with what James was going through on the front.

It doesn’t take long for Mark and Bill to make it over to Normandy, and from there the reader becomes enmeshed in seeing all three protagonists facing the tough campaign in Europe. There is a lot of action and a ton of tragedy in this part of the book, and it was fascinating to see them slowly adjust to the new normal of battle, as they experience the true horrors of war. Goldsworthy continued to keep the three protagonists separated for most of the story, which allows each of them to grow, while also showcasing several different fronts at the same time. Their storylines start to converge as the book continues, especially when they find themselves at the foot of the tactically significant Hill 112. The last third of the book is essentially all out fighting as the three protagonists attempt to survive the desperate battle for the hill. The carnage flies thick and fast in this part of the book, and you are constantly on edge as the three characters fight on, while also trying to understand the necessity and impacts of war. I was deeply captivated for this entire part of Hill 112, and I couldn’t stop reading as I waited to see the fates of all three characters. Goldsworthy did not disappoint, as the ending to this book was extremely shocking and powerful, and you come away wondering about the sacrifices, experiences and emotions of those involved in the fighting. This was a such a great character-driven war story, and I came away very impressed with how it all unfolded.

I deeply enjoyed the compelling and powerful story that Goldsworthy created for Hill 112 that hits all the right notes for the reader. Goldsworthy made the clever choice to provide the reader with a more insular look at the invasion, as the viewpoint is limited to the lower-ranked protagonists, more concerned with their own battles, rather than a look at the large war going on around them. This proved to be an excellent choice of focus, and I deeply appreciated the way in which Goldsworthy was able to get into the mindset of the young soldiers fighting this war. The constant switching between the three main protagonists allowed for a complex and intriguing story, as they experienced different battles while coming to terms with the fighting in their own ways. Goldsworthy has a real talent for showing the chaos of war, and you are thrown into innumerable skirmishes, firefights and large-scale battles, all of which is captured in its full destructive glory. You can honestly feel the bullets flying and the shells landing as you pour through Hill 112, and the constant conflict, danger and excellent portrayal of the fighting ensures that readers have a very hard time pulling their attention away from this amazing book.

Goldsworthy clearly did an exceptional amount of research for Hill 112 as this book is loaded with historical detail as the author meticulously covers key events of this initial invasion. While the main regiments featured in Hill 112 are fictitious, Goldsworthy bases them on actual participants of the fighting, and you get incredibly detailed depictions of the early days of the Normandy campaign for the English and Canadian forces. This includes events that followed from the initial landings on Normandy all the way to the conclusion of the fighting around the titular Hill 112, a key historical battle. Readers get a very compelling and intensive look at how the campaign unfolded, and it was interesting to see how hotly contested this initial fighting in France was, especially as most modern war movies/television series usually show swift victory the moment the allies are off the beaches. The battle of Hill 112 was naturally a compelling part of the book which the author covers in heavy detail, noting the movement of all the relevant units and the various attacks. I got so engrossed in Goldsworthy’s recounting of this battle, and readers are left haunted and amazed that so much death occurred for a simple hill in the countryside.

The author really did not spare any detail when it comes to the fighting, and you get a comprehensive vision of the potential experiences of the participants in these battles. Goldsworthy really dives into every single aspect of the solider experience, and you come away with insights into the conditions, equipment, training and attitudes of the troops, all of which greatly adds to the gritty realism of the story. This is particularly true in the battle scenes, and it was very compelling to see how the soldiers would have fought, as well as other factors that came into play, such as the Allies’ overwhelming artillery. I especially enjoyed the many scenes that focused on vehicular combat as one of the protagonists spends most of the book inside a Sherman tank, fighting against German armoured units. The sequences in the tank are always a high-strung affair, and Goldsworthy expertly captures the cramped conditions, fast-paced fighting, and constant peril that the British crews experienced. The author further increases the authenticity of the book by having his protagonists experience various incidents that were recorded to have happened during these invasions. The author cleverly retells these events to feature his characters, and the various experiences, some of which are quite hellish, add a lot of intensity to the book. Goldsworthy really pulls no punches when it comes to showcasing the experiences of Allied soldiers in Hill 112, and it proves hard not to deeply appreciate his ability to utilise a massive amount of historical detail to tell a good story.

I must also highlight the intriguing characters featured within Hill 112 who added a lot to the impact of the book. The three main characters, James, Mark and Bill, are all quite intriguing in their own way, and I appreciated how they ran the gambit of young people who would have joined the war effort after leaving school. Goldsworthy ensures that each of these main characters have a compelling backstory which contrasts in a moving way to their current experiences, and it was moving to see them grow up throughout the course of the horrendous ordeals they find themselves in. These three main characters are also accompanied by a huge supporting cast of fellow soldiers, officers, tank crews and other figures, each of whom travel with the protagonists to engage in the fighting. Many of these supporting characters are exclusive to the chapters told from the perspective of a particular protagonist, allowing for unique interactions, and Goldsworthy often provides relevant backstories for these supporting characters as well. This cast of additional characters gets quite extensive as the book continues, which can make remembering everyone a little hard at times. However, that proves to be a short-term problem at best, as the supporting players usually doesn’t last too long in the fighting. This proved to be an excellent and intense character-driven novel, and I really appreciated how well Goldsworthy captured the experiences of these young soldiers in war.

Adrian Goldsworthy once again brings the past back to haunt his readers in the outstanding and moving novel, Hill 112. A highly detailed and impressive war novel, Hill 112 does an incredible job capturing the experiences of young soldiers in the Normandy campaign and you will quickly become absorbed in the resulting story. Highly recommended, especially for those fans of military history, Hill 112 was such an amazing read.

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Throwback Thursday – Warhammer 40,000: Honour Guard by Dan Abnett

On April 21, 2023 By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Extended Universe, Science Fiction, Throwback Thursday, Tie-in Novel, Warhammer12 Comments

Warhammer 40,000 - Honour Guard Cover

Publisher: Black Library (Audiobook – July 2001)

Series: Gaunt’s Ghosts – Book Four

Length: 10 hours and 12 minutes

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Amazon

Welcome back to my Throwback Thursday series, where I republish old reviews, review books I have read before or review older books I have only just had a chance to read. For this week’s Throwback Thursday I’m still in a Warhammer 40,000 mood, so I decided to dive even further into Dan Abnett’s classic Gaunt’s Ghosts series with the fourth book, Honour Guard.

Readers of this blog will no doubt have noticed a fair increase in the number of Warhammer 40,000 novels I’ve highlighted this year, as this entire grim expanded universe has quite an addictive quality to it. Foremost amongst these books have been the compelling works of veteran author Dan Abnett, who has written so many impressive and key parts of the Warhammer canon over the years. I deeply enjoyed his Eisenhorn trilogy (Xenos, Malleus and Hereticus), all three of which were given pride of place in my recent post listing my favourite Warhammer 40,000 novels. However, his best-known works are his Gaunt’s Ghosts series of books, which catalogue the adventures of the Tanith First and Only regiment of Imperial Guard, better known as Gaunt’s Ghosts. I have had a wonderful time with the first three novels, First and Only, Ghostmaker and Necropolis, as well as the prequel novel The Vincula Insurgency, which showcased the bloody lives of the common soldier in this war-torn universe. I have really gotten attached to this series and when I wanted a quick read, there was nothing I would rather turn to then the next Gaunt’s Ghosts book, Honour Guard.

Throughout the extended, system-spanning Sabbat World crusades, the men of the Tanith First and Only have fought against the dark forces of Chaos in every way imaginable. Led by their heroic commander, Colonel-Commissar Ibram Gaunt, the Tanith soldiers, known colloquially as Gaunt’s Ghosts, have had many victories, but few failures. So, when fighting on the holy Shrine World of Hagia, the Ghosts are devastated when they trigger a disastrous enemy trap that destroys a holy city and creates a psyker beacon that will draw a massive Chaos fleet down on their position.

Troubled by his failures to protect one of the most important planets in the Sabbat Worlds and made a scapegoat by his commander, Gaunt is left a broken man. His one chance to save his career and his regiment is to lead the Tanith and an armoured company as an honour guard to a sacred shrine to recover the holy relics of Saint Sabbat. If he can recover the relics and evacuate them from the planet before the Chaos fleet arrives, he may be able to keep the Ghosts under his command.

Beginning the arduous pilgrimage, Gaunt and his men soon discover that the road to the shrine isn’t as clear as their intelligence indicated. A vast enemy army lies in wait for them, and the Ghosts will have to fight every step of the way to secure their objective and make their escape. However, there are far more mysterious forces at work behind the scenes as Gaunt and some of his men soon find themselves being driven on by religious visions of Saint Sabbat herself. Is the holy saint talking to them, or is something more sinister manipulating them?

Honour Guard was another epic science fiction military adventure that I powered through in no time at all. Skilfully continuing the intriguing Gaunt’s Ghost story, Abnett has produced a thoughtful and intense read that throws the protagonists into a captivating action-packed scenario that really showcases the gritty nature of the Warhammer 40,000 universe.

Honour Guard has a somewhat typical Gaunt’s Ghosts story to it, and if you’ve read the series before then you know that means great characters, intense fights with big set-piece battles, and a compelling look at the common soldier in the Warhammer 40,000 universe. This fourth book follows on from the events of Necropolis, and Abnett quickly and ably shows the changes to the regiment that the previous adventures have wrought, especially with all the new Verghastite recruits. Abnett starts things off with an epic series of battles as the Ghosts attempt to take a Chaos controlled city. This opening sprawl of fights is not only intense but it expertly introduces the new setting, sets up several key story points, and lets the reader know who the main characters of Honour Guard are going to be. From there, the characters, especially the main protagonist, Gaunt, face a major setback as the city is destroyed, their allies are killed, and a massive Chaos fleet has been summoned to destroy the holy planet they are on. There are some great moments in this early bit of the book, especially as Abnett really dives into the impacts of the failure on Gaunt. It also sets up the intriguing story element that Gaunt is likely to lose his command and the Ghosts will be broken up as a result.

With that set up, Abnett then drives into the meat of the story, with Gaunt leading the Ghosts and an armoured regiment as an honour guard to retrieve the sacred relics of one of the Imperium’s most important saints before the enemy fleet arrives. Framed as an easy mission to give Gaunt an honourable send off, the mission naturally goes to hell when the Ghosts discover a vast enemy army between them and their goal. This results in several major battles on the road, and Abnett has a lot of fun combining infantry fighting with tank warfare to make the conflicts even more impressive. Each battle is extremely fun in its own regard, and fans of action and military combat really won’t be disappointed by Honour Guard as a result. At the same time, there is a real focus on the characters, as several of the protagonists are going through different personal struggles, especially Gaunt. Abnett also introduces an intriguing and moving side storyline that sees several long-running Gaunt’s Ghosts characters, who were wounded and left behind, attempt to make their own way to the conflict, guided by religious visions. Everything leads up to a final battle sequence at the objective as the honour guard are trapped with a massive enemy force coming towards them. Abnett naturally spends pages detailing all the bloody fighting, which serves as a great backdrop to the main story elements. While I did think that the big finale of the book was too sudden and coincidental, it did fit into the general theme of faith and miracles that were covered in a lot of the plot. Overall, this was another great, action-heavy narrative that I was able to sit back and enjoy.

As with all Abnett’s work, Honour Guard is extremely well written, and readers who have enjoyed any of the author’s previous books will be aware of what they are in for with this fantastic novel. The author features a great blend of action, universe building and character development throughout his novel, and readers are ensured of constant excitement or intense, character-driven moments. The entire story is told from multiple character perspectives, as the entire cast is well represented. Not only does this allow the reader to get interesting updates from all the intriguing characters, many of whom have been built up in previous books, but it also ensures that you get a wide view of events featured throughout the novel, including several different perspectives of each battle. I do think that the book was lacking a good antagonist perspective (or honestly a real antagonist character), and if Abnett would have included that, the entire story would have felt a bit more complete. Still, the sheer number of perspectives and supporting characters ensures that the reader sees every angle of the action. That is really great, as the battle scenes are some of the best parts of the book. Abnett never holds back when it comes to the carnage, and every massive fight, armoured vehicle engagement and or infantry push is covered in high detail. The author really tries to highlight the brutality and trauma of war, as well as the hell each of the soldier characters goes through, and you ended up riveted to the plot as a result, especially as no side character is safe. I am glad that Abnett keeps up his outstanding writing throughout the Gaunt’s Ghosts series and I ended up getting really caught up in Honour Guard as a result.

This proved to be another interesting addition to both the Gaunt’s Ghosts series and the wider Warhammer 40,000 universe, and fans of both are going to have a pretty great time with this new novel. As with most of the books in the series, Honour Guard can be read as a standalone novel, although starting with the earlier books does give the reader more insight into the characters. Abnett really tries to make each of his novels as accessible as possible, and readers new to the series or Warhammer fiction in general can easily dive in here and have a fun time with all the military action. However, Abnett also has a lot of fun expanding out the canon in Honour Guard, especially as you get to see more regiments of the Imperial Guard in action against the forces of Chaos. One of the most intriguing lore aspects of Honour Guard is the examination of key elements of the Sabbat Worlds, which have been the overarching focus of this series. In particular, there is a focus on the legendary figure of Saint Sabbat, who is a personal hero of many of the characters. This sends the story down an interesting spiral of faith and devotion in the Imperial Cult, as many have their religious beliefs tested due to the earlier events of the story. As such, there are some great examinations of the Imperial religion, and it is fascinating to see the potential spiritual ramifications of several events throughout the novel. I also quite enjoyed the main setting of the planet of Hagia, which is only really featured in this novel. Abnett sets the entire world up very quickly and you soon find yourself caught up in the fight for this religious planet which is completely dedicated to worship of the Emperor and his saints. Abnett works several religious elements of the planet into the story extremely well, and it proves to be quite fascinating backdrop for this awesome novel.

One of the best things about Abnett’s writing is his ability to construct multiple complex and intriguing characters who all go through some great development. This is particularly true in the Gaunt’s Ghosts books, as he has constructed a pretty massive cast of characters throughout the first three books in the series who all come into play in Honour Guard. I really enjoyed all the amazing characters in this fourth novel, especially as there is a very interesting change of dynamics due to the Verghastite recruits joining at the end of the previous novel, Necropolis. Not only does that mean that some of the best new characters from the previous book are once again featured here, but it builds some fantastic rivalries between the soldiers as the new Ghosts attempt to gain acceptance from the men of Tanith. Honour Guard ended up being a fantastic litmus test for Abnett’s expanded cast, especially as it introduces some compelling cultural and gender divides to the regiment, while also ensuring that all the fantastic characters the author utilised in Necropolis don’t go to waste.

Many of these great characters really stood out to me in Honour Guard, but of course most of the focus was once again on the central protagonist of Colonel-Commissar Ibram Gaunt. This was a pretty significant novel for Gaunt, as readers get to see him at his very lowest point after he suffers a devastating defeat. This pushes him into a depressive spiral, which is very surprising after how controlled and confident he has been in the previous novels. Abnett really does a great job of showcasing Gaunt’s lost confidence and internal anger, and watching him overcome it becomes an intense part of the book. The author really dives down deep into Gaunt’s motivations throughout Honour Guard, and you come away feeling a lot closer to the character as a result. It isn’t always easy for an author to show their main protagonist dealing with defeat and loss, but Abnett did a wonderful job of it in Honour Guard, and I think it makes Gaunt a much stronger figure as a result.

Aside from Gaunt, a lot of the other characters are really well utilised throughout Honour Guard, with some great side storylines and adventures. Colonel Corbec’s adventure with long-running Gaunt’s Ghosts characters Dorden, Brin Milo and Bragg, had some excellent moments to it, especially as many of them are still dealing with the loss of loved ones or their planet. Abnett also makes great use of several notable characters introduced in Necropolis like Gol Kolea, Captain Ban Daur and Ana Curth in Honour Guard. It was great to see the author spending time developing storylines around them which will continue to build throughout the series, and I enjoyed seeing them attempting to integrate into the Tanith regiment. Even new characters like Viktor Hark, the regiments new Commissar, the slippery and entertaining killer Cuu, and troubled Trooper Vamberfeld, all added some awesome elements to the overall story. I liked how Hark proved to be a compelling reflection of Gaunt, while Vamberfeld showcased the traumas war can have on a soldier’s mind, while also placing him right in the middle of key events. However, some of the best character work in Honour Guard occurred around the always entertaining Major Rawne. Rawne, who has sworn multiple times to kill Gaunt, bears witness to his commander’s fall from grace after his defeat. However, rather than revelling in it, Rawne ends up having a big confrontation with Gaunt towards the end of the book to snap some sense in him. Watching this cynical character be the voice of reason to Gaunt was just brilliant, and the resulting exchange added some fantastic layers to Rawne that I deeply enjoyed. While I really would have loved some more named antagonists, the characters overall in Honour Guard were pretty exceptional, and I really loved how Abnett worked their unique personal narratives into the wider plot.

I doubt anyone is going to be too surprised that I checked out Honour Guard on audiobook, as that has been my preferred format for all Abnett’s books. This is mainly because the action, characters, and grim setting are always translated across so effortlessly on the audiobook, and you can really appreciate all the cool detail that Abnett includes as a result. Coming in a just over 10 hours, the Honour Guard audiobook has a pretty typical length for a Warhammer book, and I was able to quickly power through it. As usual, I need to highlight the amazing narration of Toby Longworth, who has lent his voice to all of Abnett’s previous books. Longworth has an outstanding voice that really captures the tone of the story and ensures that the reader can envision every single battle taking place. His real talent is his ability to dive into every single character Abnett comes up with and give them a fitting voice that captures their personality and emotions. There is some impressive continuation from the previous Gaunt’s Ghosts audiobooks as Longworth brings back all the voices he previously featured there, which I deeply appreciated. He also employs an intriguing range of accents, which help to emphasise the different planets of origin for the various characters and regiments featured in the book. This attention to detail and impressive voice work helps to make Honour Guard, and indeed all the Gaunt’s Ghosts audiobooks really stand out, and I had a wonderful time listening to the book in this format. Easily the best way to enjoy this fantastic novel.

Honestly, there was no question about me enjoying Honour Guard, considering how much fun I have been having with the previous Gaunt’s Ghosts books. This fourth entry has a great story and some brilliant writing by Abnett, and readers are in for an exceptional experience of bullets, blood and explosions in some the best military fiction in the Warhammer 40,000 universe. This was an outstanding read, and I can give no higher compliment than to say that the moment I finished off Honour Guard, I started listening to the next novel in the series, The Guns of Tanith. I honestly cannot get enough of this incredible Warhammer 40,000 series and it will be very interesting to see what unique storylines Abnett cooks up next.

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Red Metal by Mark Greaney and Lt. Col. Hunter Ripley Rawlings IV. USMC

On August 28, 2019February 2, 2023 By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Five-Star Books, Thriller25 Comments

Publisher: Audible Studios (Audiobook – 16 July 2019)

Series: Standalone/Book One

Length: 21 hours and 21 minutes

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Amazon Book Depository

Get ready for World War III, because bestselling author Mark Greaney has teamed up with Lt. Col. Hunter Ripley Rawlings IV. USMC to create an absolutely incredible military thriller, Red Metal, which looks at how a potential invasion from Russia would unfold.

After years of war in the Middle East, the United States and their allies are preparing themselves for the next conflict. Many believe that this war will occur in the Pacific Ocean against China, especially after the Chinese begin to interfere in Taiwanese politics in an attempt to reunify the island nation with the mainland. As Chinese troops gather just outside of Taiwan and the United States military is rocked by a debilitating scandal, hardly anyone is expecting a move from Russia.

Since the end of the Cold War, Russia has been in an economic decline, and it desperately requires access to various advanced resources to remain a world power. An ambitious Russian colonel has come up with a complex plan to secure a vital Rare Earth mine that has the potential to secure the country’s future. Launching a high-speed and ruthlessly coordinated attack as Christmas falls, Russian forces stream across the border into Europe, crippling NATO and cutting the continent off from the United States. As America and NATO attempt to work out the extent of Russia’s plans in Europe and counter them, they are left distracted from Russia’s true goal as a second Russian army is secretly heading towards the African coast in order to reach the mine in Kenya.

As Russia continues its advance, the fate of the free world lies in the hands of several different individuals. In Washington, a veteran Marine Lieutenant Colonel and his colleagues attempt to decipher the Russian strategy before it is too late, while in Africa, a wily old French Intelligence agent and his Special Forces son must uncover why undercover Russian agents are abroad in Djibouti. In Europe, a mixture of unprepared NATO soldiers, including a young member of the Polish militia, an out-of-his-depth American tank commander and a high-flying US pilot must fight against the odds to push back against the invading Russian force. As epic battles erupt across several countries, one thing is clear: the world will never be the same again.

Wow, just wow. A few months ago, I predicted that along with The Kremlin Strike, Red Metal was going to be one of the top military thrillers of 2019. I am more than happy to report that I was 100 per cent right, as this was an outstanding read that I had an absolute blast listening to. The team of experienced thriller writer Mark Greaney, who is best known for his work on Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan Universe and his own bestselling Gray Man series (make sure to check out my review for the latest book in this series, Mission Critical, here) and debuting author Lt. Col. Hunter Ripley Rawlings IV. USMC, have created a sensational book that I have no choice but to award a full five stars to.

Contemporary military thriller is a genre that I have only started getting into recently, although so far I have enjoyed some great examples, including The Moscow Offensive by Dale Brown, Treason by Rick Campbell and Red War by Kyle Mills. However, in my opinion Red Metal stands heads and shoulders above all of these books and it is probably the best pure military thriller that I have read. The authors of this book have come up with a truly fascinating military scenario that sees Russia sweep across two continents and influence conflict in a third. The Russians in this book have a really clever and effective military strategy that results in a massive, widespread conflict, and the reader gets to see every step of it unfold. This entire plan seems exceedingly realistic, and it is clear that Greaney and Rawlings have put some real thought into how war could break out and how the various participants would react. They really dive into the minutiae of the whole scenario and try to cover all the angles of an invasion of Europe and Africa, including cutting off communications, setting up an alternate navigation system, hacking the US and creating a number of plausible diversions. Never before has a discussion about the different sized rail tracks and rail switching stations in Europe been so fascinating. The scope of this conflict is really impressive, and the authors do a fantastic job showcasing the various types of battle that would occur in this sort of modern-day war between major superpowers. As a result, this book is filled with fighting on land, sea, air, underwater and even in cyber space, in an impressive thought exercise which translates into a compelling piece of fiction.

I really liked how the authors chose to tell this story from a variety of different perspectives, as Red Metal features a huge number of point-of-view characters. While the story is mostly focused on a few key characters, a number of minor characters often get one or two scenes, and the reader gets to see how the war unfolds from both sides of the conflict. As a result, the reader gets a much fuller understanding of how this potential scenario would unfold and how various countries or organisations such as NATO would react to war breaking out. The authors also make great use of the various perspectives to ratchet up tension throughout the book as the readers are privy to the full extent of the Russians plans. This results in the reader being fully aware of all the mistakes that the Americans and their allies are making in this war, and by the time they get their act together it seems like it is too little, too late.

The use of various perspectives also helps to create a number of different characters that the reader can really get invested in. While many of characters introduced only have small roles in the overall narrative, the authors do some detailed explorations of the backgrounds and story arcs of several key characters. Some of these characters have really well-written and have some enjoyable or intriguing storylines. I personally enjoyed the story of Paulina, a young recruit in Poland’s Territorial Defence Force (a volunteer military reserve) the most. Paulina finds herself thrust into the middle of the Russian invasion and is quickly transformed from an innocent girl to a hard-eyed killer in a few short days thanks to the horrors of war. Paulina’s story is extremely captivating, and it is potentially the character that most non-soldiers reading this book are going to identify with as they are left thinking how they would react in a similar situation. It was really quite interesting to see what role people in the various scenarios could potentially play, and I really liked seeing what sort of difference a small group of determined soldiers could make in a conflict such this.

One of the things that I really loved about this story was the realistic portrayal of the various armed forces involved in this book and the detailed examination of everything that needs to be considered in a war. This book is chocked full of military terminology, descriptions of various weapons and tactics, slang, military history and a variety of other complex features. You have to imagine the inclusion of all of these details is largely thanks to Rawlings and his extensive military experience, and I really enjoyed how the authors were able to seamlessly insert all of this knowledge into the story. Having all this information as the story progresses is extremely fascinating and I learnt a lot of cool facts. It also really amped up the realism of the whole story, in my opinion, and I found the story to be a whole lot more compelling as a result.

It is important to point out that Red Metal is not the male character dominated, exceedingly pro-American story that some military thrillers are; instead the writers went out of their way to produce a more balanced story. For example, the book features a number of great female characters, most of whom are involved in the war in some way or another, and it was cool to see how women are utilised in the modern military. The authors also take the time to show Russia’s side of the conflict and explain their motivations for engaging in this battle against the west. While a number or Russian characters are pretty villainous and/or murderous, they do tend to have some reasonable motivations for their actions, and indeed they see themselves as the good guys in this conflict. There are also a few more pragmatic Russian officers featured in the book who are a lot more likeable, especially as they come across as a bit more compassionate and less eager for war and destruction. The United States is also not heavily portrayed as the world’s most awesome country, as some military thrillers do. Instead the country is shown to be extremely unprepared for a Russian invasion, their military command is initially easily manipulated and a response to Russia’s actions is hampered by politics or pettiness from a superior officer. That being said, the book does feature a number of extremely pro-American scenes and sentiments, and there is even a sequence where an American pilot flies into combat shouting “die Commie die”, although to be fair, it is described as a historical military mantra developed in the Cold War to help pilots time their length of fire. The end result of the conflict between America and Russia is also what you’d pretty much expect, but it still makes for one hell of a read.

While the authors have added some interesting depth to this story, at its heart it is a military thriller, and that means that this book is chocked full of action. There are a huge number of fantastic and extended battle sequences throughout the entire book, some of which are truly epic in their size and content. Readers are really spoiled for action in Red Metal, as the authors have included all manner of different types of battles with a huge range of different vehicles and weapons. This book features battles in the air, at sea, underwater in submarines, on the ground with the grunts and in a variety of locations with Special Forces regiments. There are a number of impressive and memorable sequences, including a large amount of tank on tank combat, as two enemy armoured regiments face off against each other. I personally really enjoyed a particularly brutal ambush of Russian tanks in Poland, as Polish militia attempt to defeat a superior force in the middle of a city. The main set-piece has to be an extended battle between a variety of Russian units, and a force of United States Marines down in Africa. This battle down in Africa is particularly impressive, as the authors do an awesome job of bringing the fighting to life, and the sheer chaos of war and the ferocity of both sides as they try to win through any means necessary. All this action is pretty darn amazing, and the authors really outdid themselves with it.

I chose to listen to the audiobook format of Red Metal, which is narrated by experienced audiobook narrator Marc Vietor. I am really glad that I picked up the Red Metal audiobook as it was an amazing way to enjoy this fantastic book. Vietor did an excellent job narrating this book, and I felt that listening to the story brought all the intense action to life and helped place me in the centre of the story. Due to the book featuring a huge number of different nationalities, the story featured a range of character accents, all of which Vietor did extremely well, producing distinctive and memorable voices for each of his characters. The Red Metal audiobook runs for 21 hours and 21 minutes and it is an excellent format to consume this incredible novel.

Red Metal is a tour-de-force from Greaney and Rawlings, who have produced one hell of a military thriller. These two authors are a potent writing team, as Greaney’s experience as a thriller writer and Rawlings’s military knowledge helps create an epic read that just pumps the reader full of intense action, clever storylines and memorable characters. I really hope that these two authors continue to work together in the future, as Red Metal was a really impressive first collaboration. Five out of five stars all the way, you have to check out this book.

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