Customer Reviews

A Game for Heroes

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Jack Higgins has written yet another book that I just couldn't put down. This book intertwines the lives of men and women on opposite sides, and whether or not they should trust one another. To help put a stop to the bloodshed still going on in the Channel Islands, they must find this trust, or face the wrath of a S.S. madman still fighting to preserve the war. I highly recommend the book to anyone who loves a book in which the outcome is in doubt for most of the story. This is definitely one of his better stories. A must for any Jack Higgins fan, or for anyone that wants a real page-turner.

It's the end of the war, and no one should expect a wounded commando to put his life on the line one more time, but that's exactly what happens to Higgins' newest hero, Lt. Col. Owen Morgan. He sacrifices his freedom to rescue a German sailor on a mission that has already failed miserably and is almost executed by the embittered Nazi commander of the isolated outpost in the Channel Islands. I don't normally enjoy reading books written in first person--Higgins took me by surprise--but I found myself turning the pages and reading on anyway. Not only has Morgan returned to his island home hoping to reignite the love of his childhood years, he's there to find out if the Nazis can hang onto the Channel Islands for another year after Germany has surrendered and thus cause more havoc on the sea. It turns out to be a fool's mission set up by a jealous boyhood rival who misinforms the British deliberately to betray Morgan and his lady love, but in Morgan's absence, she has fallen in love with a very decent German submariner. Conflict between friends, enemies who becomes friends, and the raging sea becomes the back drop for another hair raising tale by Higgins. The first person narrative reduces it to a four star for me.

I enjoyed this book the first time it came out, too...not to mention that this book was originally published in 1970.

Higgins is the Master. all of his books was read by me. I like them all. He keeps me entertained. This is his best. A Top Drawer. a winner.

i read this book and i just can't understand how somebody can give this book 5 stars, altough mr. higgins is claimed to be an excelent wirter this book is just a hub hub of dreams, there is absolutly no story-line at all..... the book goes like this somebody washed ashore on a lonley island with a mission to destroy the german outpost there.... then bla bla bla the reader discovers that he was part of a bigger group of commandoes which were sent by....?? to destroy the germans... and all of them were captured and imprisoned.... then the story starts draging on on their dayes in prison.... bla..bla. don't you yawn already......
the book drags on without any action at all, the commandos help the germans de-arm the mines they attached to the ships on harbor. bla... bla... bla...
then comes the dramatic "end" of the so called "militery action story" there is a ship out there which is supposed to bring the new german governor to the island (who will order the execution of the commandoes per his orders) and the ship get's cought in a terrible storm and the guy who got washed up ashore (i don't remember his name?!) in conjunction with the commandoes stages a rescue effort?!.... the author spends about 50 pages describimg the terrible storm and the heroic rescue attempt... bla...bla.. with excrutiating boring detail.... then in the middle of it the so called german governor to be dies on the strugling-sinking ship from his wounds. and here the story ends.
maby this book is all about a bizare and nonsense sea rescue then it belongs in a totaly different catagory of sea rescue.. and the title should reflect that. also can somebody explain me why for the heck should those commandoes despretly rescue a german official who is on the way to order there excution.
i mean the whole book is totaly totaly wired.... nothing makes sense, you read it feels like the author was havinng a storemy dream when he wrote this book.

My New Year's resolution was to submit reviews only to books I could give a 4 or 5 to---in order to spread the word on reading treats.

However, this book needs a warning label.

Plodding, boring, tedious, just a chore to read.

Had I not been stuck in a doctor's waiting room for nearly an hour and a half I would have chucked this one and moved on to another book.

The book lacks the usual intiguing plotting Mr. Higgins is known for. Also missing is the normally ferocious pace that makes you almost break your arm turning pages in his novels.

Life is too short for a bad book. Avoid this one. His repertoire is crammed with exciting reads---try one of those.

To be candid, this had to be the worsdt Higgins I've read to date and hard to believe this waste of time came from the writer who gave us The Eagle Has Landed, Storm Warning and so on. This book was a real chore and difficult to get into. More importantly, it was extremely difficult to stay with. I could put it down and not miss it. Eventually, I thought I'd pick it up and finish and finally said, "oh forget it, why waste the time?"

This is not even worth a look as a beach book or if you're snowed in. Try one of his other titles, this is just a plodding, dreary waste of time.