World War III

This is great version of black comedy in a wartime setting. Think of it as a novel form of Dr. Strangelove. I won't spoil the plot, but this hits all the war cliche's well and though it seems formulistic at first, it somehow makes it all work. The Yellow Peril, the out-of-control military-industrial complex, MAD, My Lai village, the Commies, the Navy's contraversial use of bioweapons (dolphins), jingoistic media/literature; its all packed in this relatively undiscovered gem. Due to its setting in wartime time China in the mid 90's, with the assumption that communism hasn't fallen (it was written in 1976), it may be a little easier for those who came of age in the 80's or students of history to appreciate the biting humor. However, given the nation's recent "engagements" abroad in the sandbox perhaps all the more it serves as a humorous canary in the coalmine into our times now, much like Dr. Strangelove was for the Cold War Era. The characters are supposed to be stereotyped but Sarge actually has some depth to his character, similiar to his namesake in Saving Private Ryan, he's crusty, he's hard, he's seen-it-all but still has that hidden core of compassion beneath that crust. He's the front-line soldier we all want and makes us proud to be American. The protagonist; the greenhorn private who's an aspiring author cranking out stories in the middle of the Chinese warzone is also well developed. Sarge takes him on as his protege naturally enough. Two real highpoints in the plot you won't want to miss; the utterly gripping, gory description and well-narrated account of a Chinese peasent village getting napalmed in a casually non-descript and detached fashion - it'll either hook you into a all-night read or revulse you to the point of throwing the book down within the first 15 pages....,and Sqaud C-323 the killer chimpanzees on the rampage.....a real parodic romp of a book! Excellent work.