Behind the Lines: Corps, Book 7 by W. E. B. Griffin
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Summary
World War II. On the island of Mindanao, the Philippines, a man calling himself "General" Fertig has set himself up as a guerrilla leader to harass the Japanese. Army records show that the only officer named Fertig in the Philippines is a reserve lieutenant colonel of the Corps of Engineers, reported MIA on Luzon. Still, the reports filtering out are interesting, and it''s Marine Lieutenant Ken McCoy''s mission to sneak behind the lines and find out if Fertig is for real. With McCoy is a motley group put together as a compromise between the warring factions of Douglas MacArthur and the OSS chief Bill Donovan.
The initial six books of the series were excellently executed. The plot, character narration, all of it. Moreover, they were quite accessible to read along with while listening. However, when it comes to the seventh book, none of these aspects hold true. The narration is subpar, with a different individual than the one in the previous six books, and it becomes difficult to follow the story in the actual book. Surprisingly, the narration comprises over 50 chapters, whereas the book itself only contains 17 chapters.
Seriously? Mar-ay (Mare) Island? Come on. Take a moment to educate yourself and grasp the local dialect. SECNAV (pronounced with a short A sound, not a long A)... find a military veteran for the next time... this narrator is terrible!
I've left similar reviews for the previous books in this series, but I'm still sticking with it because the content, despite the repetitive replays of certain plot points, is actually interesting. Well, mostly.
With that being said, things are a bit too predictable. Every new character seems to encounter the same things: (a) an unfair senior non-com/officer, (b) a problematic family situation, (c) a miraculous deux ex machina that highlights some hidden skill that no one knew about before, and (d) a love interest who initially regrets falling for the Marine hero, but eventually succumbs to their affection in a classic Humphrey Bogart movie style. On top of that, these characters also deal with (e) an internal struggle over perceived cowardice, incompetence, or family issues, leading them to drown their sorrows in copious amounts of Famous Grouse whiskey. And just when you think it can't get any more cliché, they receive (g) an unexpected promotion to the officer corps despite being enlisted for less than a year and not even completing boot camp (thanks to that aforementioned hidden skill).
Unless, of course, you're Macklin. Then you're simply the embodiment of every bad, selfishly ambitious, and bullying officer in the military. You spend all your lines engaging in internal monologues, justifying your despicable actions, while inconveniencing the scotch-swilling heroes and trembling at the mere thought of fulfilling your duties. Your feeble plans are destined to be destroyed by the wrath of the Old Corps Gods, who miraculously come to the rescue of the plucky 6-weeks-from-high school hero 2nd Lieutenants that drive the story.
To be honest, I believe Griffin just uses one of those mix-and-match toddler books with interchangeable plot mechanisms. He flips through the pages randomly, assigns a name to the character, and throws them into the story. This theory actually explains the endless rehashing, as he's not reminding the reader of what's happening, but rather reminding himself because it's all just randomly generated content.
In contrast to the other books in Griffin's Corps series, 'Behind the Lines: Corps, Book 7' appears to be a disappointing replay of the previous two books, which is quite underwhelming.
This book is absolutely amazing! It presents an incredible narrative that combines elements of realism and captivating fiction, all rooted in the historical events of World War II in the Pacific and Asia.
Dick Hill's narration made this audiobook stand out. He has the ability to make even a grocery list captivating.
Having previously listened to another one of Mr. Griffin's books about Gen. Fertig, I expected "Behind the Lines: Corps, Book 7" to continue the story and delve deeper into how the OSS supported him in the PI. I anticipated the characters from the earlier book to make an appearance and provide assistance, but the story took a different direction.
It's a shame that Mr. Griffin didn't narrate his own book, as it would have earned a perfect rating if he had presented his version of history.
Overall, it's still an enjoyable listen, especially if you appreciate Mr. Griffin's books and have an interest in a bit of World War II history.
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