Customer Reviews

The War Mountains (Signet Military Novels)

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

We haven't seen a novel like this in years. John Mannock explores WW II in Yugoslavia. So we have a special SS Muslim Division going after Jews, Christians and most people they do not like.

We have communist partisans under Tito's direction fighting a losing battle as the SS pushes a relentless advance through the mountains.

You get an insight in Churchill, Bill Donovan and others as they plot and counterplot, moving spies around like pieces on a chess board.

There are betrayals, daring feats and odd characters. This reminded me of Alistair Maclean's books about WOrld War II.

This was a superior effort!

I discovered John Mannock's war novels starting with Iron Coffin a couple of years ago. This is the best World War Two historical fiction being written today and I recommend this author's books to any fan of the genre. Clearly, Mannock is influenced by classic World War Two authors of the 50s and 60s like James Jones, Leon Uris, and Alistair MacLean - but this is a good thing. What keeps The War Mountains, The Sen-Toku Raid, and Iron Coffin from being merely derivative is the expert storytelling, characterizations, plotting, and the abundance of new and fascinating (declassified?) information about World War Two. Mannock's writing is truly first-rate, too. It's literate without being dense or preachy. An afterthought: I felt compelled to write this review after reading "Aunt Turtle's" one-star, one-line review below. If you don't like this kind of novel, and are going to diss it with a single snide, uninformative sentence, why review it in the first place? Review the kind of books you like. I'd hate for people to miss out on The War Mountains and Mannock's other excellent novels based upon the rare "review" like the one below (everyone's entitled to their opinion, of course). I suggest browsing readers have a look at the other dozen or so balanced reviews for a more useful assessment of this particular work. Do yourself a favor: if World War Two historical novels are your thing, don't pass over one of the best: John Mannock.

John Mannock, aka, John Mckenna, has really outdone himself with his latest military novel. War Mountains is a definitive classic in every sense of the word.

Hollywood should make such a movie. This reminded me strongly of such classic books and movies such as - The Guns of Navarone, Von Ryan's Express, The Eagle has Landed, just to name a few. And War Mountains is better!!

With rich characterizations, good guys and bad, to engaging dialogue, along with high adventure and explosive action, War Mountains was a true treat to read. Never, ever a dull moment.

as far as I'm concerned, this was the best of the military trilogy of Mannock's thus far. a must read.

The War Mountains is a great World War Two read, John Mannock's third in a row. American and British commandos parachute into the winter mountains of Yugoslavia to help Marshall Tito's Partisans head off the advance of the Nazi SS Division known as "Handschar" - a combat division made up entirely of volunteer Muslims! And it really existed! Just when you think you've heard it all... There's a lot of skullduggery with Hitler, Himmler, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, and deeply buried OSS and SOE operatives, plus the usual great Mannock cast of slightly weird characters. This is a great novel, and you should buy it immediately. Sooner even!

The War Mountains, despite its kind of generic-sounding title, is a fine piece of WW2 thriller writing. It begins with a cryptic intro and then a couple of violent clashes between Nazi SS troopers and Yugoslavian Partisans and civilians, and a wild chase through nighttime Berlin involving Gestapo agents and a mystery man who's just tried to assasinate the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem. This is the leader of the Arab world who actually collaborated with Hitler and Himmler to murder the Jews of Europe and keep them out of Palestine. Mannock works this and other interesting historical items, such as the existence of an all-Moslem SS division called Handschar, into his novel with considerable skill. The rather complex story never bogs down under the weight of too much technical detail or history. Like in his other war novels Iron Coffin and The Sen-Toku Raid, one of Mannock's strengths is achieving a pretty damn good balance between history, tech, and keeping the story moving along without any dead spots. He makes you want to turn the page. Creating great characters is the other thing he does very well. My two favorites in this book are the icy but beautiful young Partisan soldier Sylvia Kozo, who's also a superb rock climber, and the eccentric English professor/independent guerilla Theobald Quisp (what a madcap character!). Throw in the espionage and the fast-moving commando tale and you've got a classic WW2 action and intrigue yarn. I loved this novel. Another really good one from John Mannock.

I am pleased when I encounter a book such as this. As I am an immigrant to the United States, I often see the World War Two history and facts of my part of the world which is Eastern Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean either ignored or misrepresented in American popular writing. This book The War Mountains takes some very real World War Two history from the Balkans and Palestine and presents it in the form of an excellent fiction as well as a history lesson. The role of the Nazis' volunteer Muslim SS division Handschar in Yugoslavia is well remembered by people from that region such as my father. I enjoyed all the characters author John Mannock has created such as the heroic British commando leader Major Walter Merritt and his eccentric and also heroic friend Captain Duncan Throckmorton, a man who holds a jarring secret til the end of the book. A fabulous character is a beautiful young female Partisan soldier who is also a former circus acrobat and a highly skilled rock climber. These are only a few of the excellent characters created in this war novel. This book is very well plotted and very entertaining to read. I think it would be enjoyable for anyone who likes World War Two history and action and a lot of unexpected surprises. A very very good book.

The War Mountains is the third World War Two historical novel from author John Mannock. Once again, this author has produced a fantastic story full of unusual historical facts, compelling characters, and edge-of-your-seat action. I love novels that incorporate known figures from the past so you can see them "come to life". In The War Mountains I was thrilled to see Winston Churchill, OSS head William Donovan, Adolph Hitler and Heinrich Himmler (booo!), and even the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem (a Muslim Nazi collaborator around whose movements some of the plot is based). The fact that there was actually a Muslim SS combat division is something I didn't know. Neither did I know about the strong connections between Nazi Germany and much of the Arab world, connections which have ongoing influence today, particularly with regard to Israel/Palestine. John Mannock is able to weave together actual World War Two history and modern concerns in the context of a thrilling and complex adventure story, just like he did in his previous novels Iron Coffin and The Sen-Toku Raid. Taken together, these are my three favorite novels of the past five years or so. Thanks, Mr. Mannock, for another great read.

This was a good one. So much of WW2 is forgotten by us Americans. We tend think the war consisted only of Pearl Harbor and D-Day. But it was truly a global war and their were endless campaigns and odd theaters of war that are unapreciated today. In "The War Mountains" John Mannock has identified one of the most exotic and disturbing - the use of volunteer Muslims in the Nazi SS to fight a brutal mountain war against Tito and the Partisans in Yugoslavia. Also that much of the Arab world supported Hitler and his policy of erasing the Jews. This novel reminds me of some of Leon Uris's bestsellers from the 1950s and 60s such as "Exodus", "Mila 18", and "The Angry Hills." I give this novel five stars and I highly reccommend this.

The best new author and book about WWII to have come along in A LONG TIME!!!! This book should be made into a movie NOW!!!!!

This is a great book, but what really struck me was how close the storyline matches the film "Force 10 From Navarone". Still a great book and I can't wait to read the other books.