Line of Fire

Rating:
Summary: A lot of insight but too repetitive.
Review: I have read the first five books of "The Corps". The first one set the scene and was interesting, witty and gripping. Alas in the next four, Griffin seemed unable to perceive that his readers would remember what they read and as one goes on he paraphrases his previous books. More should be invested in describing the scenes and in the analysis of the different situations at hand.

Rating:
Summary: A lot of insight but too repetitive.
Review: I have read the first five books of "The Corps". The first one set the scene and was interesting, witty and gripping. Alas in the next four, Griffin seemed unable to perceive that his readers would remember what they read and as one goes on he paraphrases his previous books. More should be invested in describing the scenes and in the analysis of the different situations at hand.

Rating:
Summary: A Waste of Time
Review: I picked up these books hoping to gain some insight into the actions of the Marine Corps in the Pacific during World War II. What I found instead was a sort of soap opera that rambles on for hundreds of pages without getting around to much actual fighting. For example, The Marines don't even get to Guadalcanal (their first major offensive) until the end of book III, some 1200 pages into the story. Those 1200 intervening pages are mostly conversations (ad nauseam) between stateside Marine Corps officers as they sit around headquarters, or go out on the town chasing skirts.

The small portion of the books that is devoted to actual battles is done in such a cursory fashion that you're left with the impression that the author either finds this aspect of the Marines' mission distasteful, or doesn't understand it well enough to write about it. Mr. Griffin could have deleted about 80% of his material, and would have ended up with better books, albeit still not good ones.

If you're the sort of person who likes to watch daytime soap operas, then you may enjoy these books. If, on the other hand, you're interested in military history, the banality of these books will leave you screaming in frustration.

Rating:
Summary: A Waste of Time
Review: I picked up these books hoping to gain some insight into the actions of the Marine Corps in the Pacific during World War II. What I found instead was a sort of soap opera that rambles on for hundreds of pages without getting around to much actual fighting. For example, The Marines don't even get to Guadalcanal (their first major offensive) until the end of book III, some 1200 pages into the story. Those 1200 intervening pages are mostly conversations (ad nauseam) between stateside Marine Corps officers as they sit around headquarters, or go out on the town chasing skirts.

The small portion of the books that is devoted to actual battles is done in such a cursory fashion that you're left with the impression that the author either finds this aspect of the Marines' mission distasteful, or doesn't understand it well enough to write about it. Mr. Griffin could have deleted about 80% of his material, and would have ended up with better books, albeit still not good ones.

If you're the sort of person who likes to watch daytime soap operas, then you may enjoy these books. If, on the other hand, you're interested in military history, the banality of these books will leave you screaming in frustration.

Rating:
Summary: A very excellent, interest keeping book
Review: I'm current reading Line Of Fire and I'm almost done with it and I think its really great I've never had a military book go into such detail, well I take that back this one and one other book I've read has gone in as much detail as this. I really love the way W.E.B. Griffin writes he's really good and I'm gonna read more of his books. I hope those who like stuff on the military (esp., the Corps like myself), will look into the books by W.E.B. Griffon, cause he writes really good.

Rating:
Summary: My First Corps Novel (and hopefully not the last)
Review: This is the first time I've been exposed to Griffin's Corps novels. I listened to this one on tape, and I found it totally gripping! The characters are warm and very believable. Some are larger than life (ie: Major McCoy), but that's required in a novel of this type. One strong character is needed to carry the story along. I loved the inside look at one of the major battles of the Korean War (the attack on Inchon), and I liked the glimpse that we got of some real people, like General Douglas MacCarthur and President Harry Truman. I think Griffin has a really good understanding of the American Armed forces and the way that things are done there, and he tells a whopping good tale! I actually had shivers when I heard James Laughton describe the battle to take the two Korean islands that were required before the landing at Inchon could occur. And that's another thing - James Laughton does a wonderful job of reding this very exciting book. I truly enjoyed it, and am going to read or listen to other books in this series.