Book Review: The Green Alliance

(See all my Book Reviews and Author Interviews) – Author Andrew J. Rafkin https://andrewjrafkin.com published the novel “The Green Alliance” in 2019. Mr. Rafkin has published seven novels. This is the second novel in his ‘ORCA Adventures’ series.

I received an ARC of this book through https://www.netgalley.com in return for a fair and honest review. I categorize this book as ‘R’ because it contains scenes of violence, mature language, and mature situations. The main character is Reef Johansson, who is an agent for ORCA. ORCA is a private security organization engaged by many countries, including the US.

Tragedy has befallen the US as the political leadership has been simultaneously assassinated. The role of the President falls on the Speaker of the House, Carolyn Dupont. She finds herself in a vicarious situation. China is attempting to extend its control in the South Pacific. The eco-terrorist organization Green Alliance is making matters worse. It is attempting to alter the global climate. Fortunately, she is close friends with the Reef & Alexis Johansson and can call on ORCA.

Reef, his fellow agent, and wife Alexis, and the rest of the ORCA team must save the day. Without ORCA’s elite force and advanced technology, all would be lost. ORCA has two missions to accomplish. First, find those responsible for the assassinations. Second, stop the China power grab in the Pacific. Neither challenge is without peril to the ORCA team.

I enjoyed the 7.5 hours I spent reading this 287-page science-fiction thriller. This is another of those thrillers that are fun as long as you don’t think too much about the plot or science. I like the chosen cover art. I rate this book as a 3.5 (rounded up to a 4) out of 5.

My book reviews are also published on Goodreads (https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/31181778-john-purvis).

Book Review: “The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors: The Extraordinary World War II Story of the U.S. Navy’s Finest Hour”

(See all my Book Reviews and Author Interviews) – Author & historian James D. Hornfischer has just today published the book “The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors: The Extraordinary World War II Story of the U.S. Navy’s Finest Hour”. Mr. Hornfischer has published a dozen books. This is the graphic novel version of his book by the same name.

I received an ARC of this book through https://www.netgalley.com in return for a fair and honest review. I categorize this graphic novel as ‘R’ because it contains scenes of violence.

The book tells the story of the U.S. Navy’s engagement with the Japanese Navy, known as the Battle off Samar. The battle occurred in October of 1944 as U.S. forces began landing on Leyte in the Philippine Islands. The Japanese had lured the US Third Fleet away from Leyte and the vulnerable beachhead. When the Japanese moved to attack Leyte with the 23 ships Center Force only Taffy 3 stood in their way.

Task Unit 77.4.3, Taffy 3, was formed from the U.S. Seventh Fleet. It was made up of just 13 ships. Three Destroyers, Four Destroyer Escorts, and Escort Aircraft Carriers. It was a lightweight unit to stand in the way of the Japanese. The Center Force was led by one of the most powerful battleships in the world, the Yamato.

I enjoyed the 1+ hours I spent reading this 208-page graphic novel. The book was very engaging and the graphics were well done. It makes me want to read the full book. I like the selected cover art. I rate this book as a 4 out of 5.

Further Reading

1. Days of Steel Rain: The Epic Story of a WWII Vengeance Ship in the Year of the Kamikaze
2. Tidal Wave From Leyte Gulf to Tokyo Bay
3. Morning Star, Midnight Sun
4. Storm Over Leyte: The Philippine Invasion and the Destruction of the Japanese Army

My book reviews are also published on Goodreads (https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/31181778-john-purvis).

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If you have an interest in the WWII era of history, you may find these three pages of interest. 

• The “World War II Resources” page is a constantly growing collection of more than 560 links to museums, memorials, websites, Facebook pages, Twitter feeds, and other sources with information on the World War II era in history.
• The “World War II Timeline” page expands almost daily and shows events leading up to WWII, as well as during the war. Events are broken down into the Pacific and European Theaters by date.
• The About WWII page is a collection of links to posts that I have made over the years that are relevant to WWII.

Texas Military Forces Museum Event – WWII Reenactment

(See my other Texas Military Forces Museum related posts) – The living history group at the Texas Military Forces Museum conducts a reenactment each year near Veterans Day. This year ‘G Company” will be presenting “Close Assault: 1944” the weekend of November 6–7, 2021.

G Company is part of the official living history detachment of the Texas National Guard. It operates under the auspices of the Texas Military Forces Museum. The members are all military history enthusiasts and volunteers with the Museum.

The 36th Infantry Division which is what the Texas National Guard was federalized as in WWII saw action in Europe. The Museum contains many artifacts from the WWII period. The reenactment brings to life some of the history from the war.

Further Information

1. Book – From Texas to Rome: Fighting World War II and the Italian Campaign with the 36th Infantry Division

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If you have an interest in the WWII era of history, you may find these three pages of interest. 

• The “World War II Resources” page is a constantly growing collection of more than 560 links to museums, memorials, websites, Facebook pages, Twitter feeds, and other sources with information on the World War II era in history.
• The “World War II Timeline” page expands almost daily and shows events leading up to WWII, as well as during the war. Events are broken down into the Pacific and European Theaters by date.
• The About WWII page is a collection of links to posts that I have made over the years that are relevant to WWII.

Book Review: “Hunt the Bismarck: The pursuit of Germany’s most famous battleship”

(See all my Book Reviews and Author Interviews) – Author & historian Angus Konstam http://www.anguskonstam.com published the book “Hunt the Bismarck: The pursuit of Germany’s most famous battleship” in 2019. He has published more than 50 books.

I received an ARC of this book through https://www.netgalley.com in return for a fair and honest review. I categorize this book as ‘G’.

Most have heard of the WWII pursuit and sinking of the German battleship Bismarck. While I have read this story before, this is the most detailed version I have seen. The book begins with a brief history of the German navy. It then goes into the efforts of the German capital ships during the war. After that, there is a detailed history of the Bismarck, followed by its encounters with the Royal Navy. The book ends with the sinking of the Bismarck.

I thoroughly enjoyed the 8+ hours I spent reading this 229-page WWII history. Unlike so many history books, this one is very readable. Even though it is history, the author makes it read more like a thriller novel. I recommend this book for anyone interested in the WWII Battle of the Atlantic. I like the chosen cover art. I rate this book as a 5 out of 5.

Related Information

1. Book The War for the Seas: A Maritime History of World War II
2. Book U-Boat: The German Submarine Campaign and the Allied Counter Attack 1939–1945
3. Book Bismark: 24 Hours to Doom
4. WW2 Podcast #113 – Sighted Sub, Sank Same

My book reviews are also published on Goodreads (https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/31181778-john-purvis).

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If you have an interest in the WWII era of history, you may find these three pages of interest. 

• The “World War II Resources” page is a constantly growing collection of more than 560 links to museums, memorials, websites, Facebook pages, Twitter feeds, and other sources with information on the World War II era in history.
• The “World War II Timeline” page expands almost daily and shows events leading up to WWII, as well as during the war. Events are broken down into the Pacific and European Theaters by date.
• The About WWII page is a collection of links to posts that I have made over the years that are relevant to WWII.

Book Review: “Deep Cover”

(See all my Book Reviews and Author Interviews) – Author Leo J. Maloney http://leojmaloney.com published the novella “Deep Cover” in 2020. Mr. Morgan has published more than a dozen novels. This is the eighth book in his Dan Morgan Thriller series.

I received an ARC of this book through https://www.netgalley.com in return for a fair and honest review.I categorize this book as ‘R’ because it contains scenes of violence. The primary characters are Black Ops agents Dan Morgan and Peter Conley.

Morgan and Conley are in Turkey to free a scientist from being held in prison. They are posing undercover as arms dealers. They have a deadline for their mission. They need to extract him before his missile guidance system knowledge can be traded. North Korea wants it in exchange for nuclear weapon secrets.

After a shootout with police and a high-speed chase, they find themselves held in the same prison. The plan is for their other team members to compromise the prison computer system. That should facilitate their escape. Of course, nothing ever goes by the plan.

I enjoyed the 2+ hours I spent reading this 114-page thriller. This is one of those thrillers that is fun to read. Just don’t think too much about the plot or reality. This is the fourth book by Maloney that I have read (Rogue Commander, Dark Territory, and War Shadows). The others were also in the Morgan series and have been consistently enjoyable. This one was a little shorter than previous books in the series. I like the chosen cover art. I rate this novella as a 3.8 (rounded up to a 4) out of 5.

My book reviews are also published on Goodreads (https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/31181778-john-purvis).

Book Review: “Agent Jack: The True Story of MI5’s Secret Nazi Hunter”

(See all my Book Reviews and Author Interviews) – Author Robert Hutton https://www.roberthutton.co.uk published the book “Agent Jack: The True Story of MI5’s Secret Nazi Hunter” in 2019. This is his third book and first novel.

I received an ARC of this book through https://www.netgalley.com in return for a fair and honest review. I categorize this book as ‘G. The book is the story of Eric Roberts and his career with MI-5 during WWII.

Roberts was a bank clerk when he was recruited by MI-5 to identify fascists and communists in Britain. At first, he was only working in the evenings for MI-5. Eventually, he became a full-time agent. He had the ability to make people trust him. Later he pretended to be a Gestapo agent hiding in England trying to build a network of Nazi supporters.

The British government feared that they would have to deal wit a German fifth column. This threat was the stimulus for most of Roberts’ later undercover work. He was able to find some in Britain with clear Nazi sentiments. He never found the organized covert support for Germany that the British government feared.

I enjoyed the 10.5+ hours I spent reading this 323-page WWII history. This was a part of WWII history I had not come across before. The real adventures of Roberts read more like fiction than history. The way the author wrote this book made it very readable. It was like reading a novel instead of a history book. I do like the chosen cover art. I rate this book as a 4 out of 5.

My book reviews are also published on Goodreads (https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/31181778-john-purvis).

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If you have an interest in the WWII era of history, you may find these three pages of interest. 

• The “World War II Resources” page is a constantly growing collection of more than 560 links to museums, memorials, websites, Facebook pages, Twitter feeds, and other sources with information on the World War II era in history.
• The “World War II Timeline” page expands almost daily and shows events leading up to WWII, as well as during the war. Events are broken down into the Pacific and European Theaters by date.
• The About WWII page is a collection of links to posts that I have made over the years that are relevant to WWII.

Book Review: “Pandora’s Eyes”

(See all my Book Reviews and Author Interviews) – Author James M. Corkill https://www.independentauthornetwork.com/james-m-corkill.html published the novel “Pandora’s Eyes” in 2016. This is the fifth in his ‘Alex Cave’ series. Mr. Corkill has so far published six novels.

I received an ARC of this book through https://www.netgalley.com in return for a fair and honest review. I categorize this book as ‘R’ because of scenes of violence. The primary character is Alex Cave. He is both a geologist and clandestine special operations agent.

Earlier in the series Cave had discovered alien artifacts. The devices have powerful and largely unknown capabilities. They are potent enough to affect all life on Earth. Three of the four known devices had been taken to a top-secret storage facility. Two of those have gone missing. One has found its way into orbit.

The orbiting artifact has been incorporated into a satellite. It is intended to clear and recycle the junk cluttering space. The use of the devices begins to trigger climate changes on Earth. Their activity also wakes from stasis an alien. He and his ship have been buried deep in the Earth for millions of years. He claims Earth was theirs. This humanlike race is technologically more advanced than humans. They also have a severe bias against people with brown eyes.

Pandora is a beautiful young woman who is a servant on the alien ship. The ship AI takes control of her mind and body so that she may act as a conduit to the humans. The alien and the AI argue that the brown-eyed humans must be exterminated. They want to keep from contaminating their advanced race. When the world powers refuse, a virus is released that attacks all brown-eyed humans.

The infection is rapidly spreading around the world. Cave and his organization must find a way to stop it. Cave and his organization have developed impressive military tech. They become the only hope to keep the aliens from destroying the human race.

I enjoyed the 6.5 hours I spent reading this 270-page thriller. This novel can be read stand-alone, but I recommend reading them in sequence. I had not read the first four novels, so I entered this one without the background. Beyond the main plot, there are other subplots. This is one of those far-fetched science fiction/thrillers that keeps things moving along at a rapid pace. It is a fun read where you don’t want to think too much about the science or plot details. I do like the chosen cover art. I rate this book as a 3.4 (rounded down to a 3) out of 5.

My book reviews are also published on Goodreads (https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/31181778-john-purvis).

Book Review: “The Dark Shah”

(See all my Book Reviews and Author Interviews) – Author Andrew Turpin https://www.andrewturpin.com published the novel “The dark Shah” on the 28th of September. This is the second book in his Jayne Robinson Thriller series and his 9th publication. I was able to interview the author in 2018. You can read the interview here.

I received an ARC of this book through the author in return for a fair and honest review. I categorize this book as ‘R’. The primary character of this novel is Jayne Robinson.

Robinson has worked for MI-6. She is now a freelancer. She accepts work for the CIA, MI-6, or other western intelligence organizations. This adventure begins with a drone attack on an offshore gas platform. It is an Israeli development in the Eastern Mediterranean. US, British, and Israeli officials were on the platform at the time. Many are killed or injured.

Factions within Hezbollah have been responsible for the attack. Robinson is engaged by both the CIA and the Massad to track those behind the attack. Robinson and her colleagues find themselves the target of attacks as they investigate. There is little doubt that one of the intelligence organizations has a leak. She also uncovers information about her father’s death. Those responsible for the drone strike are connected to the bombing that killed her father.

She is teamed up on this mission with two Massad agents. While her romantic partner Joe Johnson has a minor role, this venture is all up to Robinson.

I thoroughly enjoyed the 9+ hours I spent reading this 444-page thriller. This is the fourth novel by Turpin that I have read. The others are The Last Nazi, The Kremlin’s Vote, and The Afghan. They have all been consistently enjoyable. This novel can be read stand-alone, but I would recommend reading The Kremlin’s Vote first. Even better, start with The Last Nazi as the Joe Johnson and Jayne Robinson books are tied together. The author has regularly created very believable and engaging thrillers. I like the chosen cover art. I rate this book as a 4.5 (rounded up to a 5) out of 5.

My book reviews are also published on Goodreads (https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/31181778-john-purvis).