Customer Reviews

They Are Soldiers

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

 

 

This book told a story about a seldom-covered part of our military. It is written from the perspective of an active duty Captain (son of the ubiquitous Scott Dixon) who is assigned to a Virginia National Guard unit in order to quickly bring it up to speed in order to fulfill a mission in the Middle East that apparently only a Guard unit could handle. It gives a godd insight into a side of our military that is seldom written about as a novel, rather than a "history". Having served in both the Regular Army and the Guard, I was impressed with the more personal face this novel put on an entire unit- a subculture, as it were, in our military.
Having said that, I was not impressed with the plot; I cannot believe a semi-raw unit of any kind would be sent into a political powderkeg like duty in Israel involving confrontation with the local Arab terrorist infrastructure. Biological warfare, especially a strain of Ebola? Please- Clancy handled that plot awhile back...

This book is a disappointment. Hastily written and poorly edited, it should never have reached publication in its present form. The story never becomes sufficiently believable for the reader to immerse himself in it. Whenever there might be a chance of this happening some horribly tangled sentence or ludicrous malapropism pops up. It is as if the text has been carelessly dictated, transcribed by a person unfamiliar with the words and never proofread. For instance, "eek out a living" "screw the pouch" and "gapping mauls" (instead of gaping maws) should certainly have been caught before publication.

The book is largely an account of the difficulties of an poorly prepared reserve unit being called for active duty in the Middle East. While a worthy subject, I think most Harold Coyle readers are looking for more action. The small portion of the plot that could be described as an action story is unbelievable to the point of silliness.

I've been a keen and admiring reader of HC for several years.His ability to create powerful military tales is outstanding.
'They are Soldiers'is a real disappointment. HC's understanding of the complex dynamics of the Mid East is surprisingly poor and he creates comic book characters (a senior Mossad agent who uses phrases like "he won't be playing the violin again" after interrogating a palestinian suspected of biochem warfare - come on Harold, do your research; Shin Bet do the interrogations and Israel has returned so many palestinian prisoners each year without any suggestion of torture since 1985. And a Hamas/PLA biochem warfare lab under a Crusader castle in Israel? Get real!

While I generally like Harold Coyle's writing, this is not his best work. It's not bad, and it is topical, but it could have been better.

He spends a great deal of time impressing upon the readers the different thinking of National Guard troops compared to regular and reservists. Don't get me wrong, he does an excellent job at this, but he could have reduced the number of times he brings up the subject.

My second complaint is that nothing really happens until 3/4 of the way through the book. Harold needs to go back and read his own book, Team Yankee, which is probably the finest of the cold-war era military novels, better than Clancy. In that book, things start happening with a few pages, and the action never stops. Here, not so much, as the current hip phrase goes.

Lastly, the book stops, it does not end. Most books come to a well-written ending that wraps up the story. This books just stops. It tries to end, but fails miserably.

I think Harold really needs a new editor.

tedius, cliche-ridden prose. this book is enervating to the point of outright annoyance. an insult to the paper on which it was printed.

As with all of the books in this series on modern military historical fiction, the events in this book could have really happened, and it is a realistic description of the actions of the US and other militaries as well as in various militia/terrorist organizations they were planned, trained for, and envisioned to play out in recent years. This book is best read in sequence after the preceding books in this series, as They Are Soldiers has excellent character development which continues plot lines from prior books, it intertwines multiple plot elements, and keeps a reader thoroughly engrossed in the non-stop action. Although the scenario is based on a historical situation which did not actually happen exactly as written, many actual events in that part of the world are similar to the events within this book and this scenario still could happen. Even more important to readers than the places and events, the themes addressed throughout this book, as is the case throughout the entire series, are timeless in their exploration of personal values, moral and ethical dilemmas, and how each individual must make choices based on their unique combination of experiences and insights. How each character, or reader, answers those challenges, is essential in determining their future path in life. The realities described in this book, which include many aspects of life and death which are not frequently seen by those who have not served in the military during wartime, should be a real eye-opener to America, who has largely grown disconnected from the sacrifices made by our servicemen and women, both in the past and in today's conflicts across the globe. This book merges the reality of the transition from civilian to soldier as National Guard personnel are injected into the world of active service and deal with the may challenges of that transition, and prove they are valuable contributors to our national security.

A plausible setup marred by flawed execution. While Coyles early work (Team Yankee, Sword Point, The 10.000) is among the best (both plots and writing) military fiction I have read this latest work is marred by two fatal flaws, to much emphasis on military procedure which detracts from the action and an seemingly absense of editing after the work was written (which in addition to the writing could have also corrected the former flaw). Also the plot while overal believable - and disturbing - has a fatal flaw. The introduction of a biological weapon is handled so clumsily that it is hard to believe that the author has done any research on the subject let alone spoke to any person with even elementary knowledge of virology or epidemology.
A good read for fans of the genre and this author, otherwise - especially if this is your first outing into military fiction - there are many books that are a lot better. Some of the best mentioned above by this author.

With They are Soldiers, Coyle brings forth a tale that is easily imaginable in today's geopolitical climate. The story follows a National Guard unit from Bedlow, VA as it is called up and deployed on a mission in the security zone currently manned by the Israeli military. The unit is under the command of Nathan Dixon, a character familiar to readers of some of Coyle's previous works. Coyle provides good insight into the unique aspects, both positive and negative, of the National Guard and its role in the overall security of the country. He effectively sets the stage with some action from D-Day in WWII and quickly pulls the reader into the present day. While the story itself seems to get bogged down occasionally, Coyle effectively sets the stage for the climactic end to the book. My biggest complaint was that the whole thing seemed to end very abruptly. This is not among Coyle's best works, but it is certainly worth the time for loyal fans.

As usual a strong well written novel with a familiar storyline.

A word of warning - read 'against all enemies' and God's children' first.

Coyle has been off his game with the Dixon boys since Code of Honor. But this is the best book since then. It just seems that his latest stuff could have been bigger, broader. I liked this book just fine, but I still wish the old Coyle (Team Yankee, The Ten Thousand, Sword Point) were back.