The War Mountains

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.

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!

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 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.