Product Description

The Generals have a mission--to lead America's finest against her most relentless enemy deep in the jungles of Southeast Asia--but it is a new kind of war, one for which the Generals have prepared their new army. Reissue.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #50361 in Books
• Published on: 1986-02-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 6
• Binding: Paperback
• 384 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780515084559
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
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Customer Reviews

Why???
I am an unabashed W.E.B. Griffin fan, having read all of the Corps series as well as some of his other novels. I finally took the plunge a couple of months ago and bought the entire Brotherhood of War series. I am the first to admit that the themes Griffin tends to use are predictable--obscenely rich characters who manage to enjoy all of the finer things in life while still being "regular guys" to all of their comrades, officers who are grossly disrespected or mistreated by others in the military until they are "put in their place" by superiors, etc.--but I enjoy the books nonetheless. As another reviewed has alluded, they are probably more aptly described as historically-based soap operas than "war novels."

All that being said, I have in the past few months made a substantial investment of time in reading through the Brotherhood of War series, and was enjoying the journey. Reaching the end of "The Generals" yesterday was, however, one of the two or three most unsatisfactory, disappointing, and even depressing literary moments I have ever experienced.

To begin with, the book ends abruptly, with the briefest of epilogues that winds up the lives of all of the main characters in a paragraph or two. These are characters, mind you, that the reader has come to know intimately and love or hate over the last six books and 2,400-odd pages. To have the last ten or more years of their lives suddenly abridged into a few sentences is incredibly unacceptable.

Moreover, there are distressing conflicts that are left completely unresolved. Just before the final scenes in the book, which take place in Vietnam, the main character of the entire series is involved in a scandal that results in EVERY one of his closest friends essentially terminating their relationship with him. That conflict is never alluded to in the final scenes of the book, never addressed in the epilogue, and is simply left hanging in the air for the reader to guess at. I can analogize it to having a terminal spat with a best friend and then having that person die before there is any ability to reconciliation. It is extremely unfair for anyone who has pored over these books for weeks or months.

Last, this book--number six in the series of nine--is apparently the last book, chronologically. I say "apparently" because I am so darned mad about the ending that I have not read books 7 - 9. I have, however, skimmed them, and it is pretty clear from the dates in those books that they are actually PREQUELS to this book. What kind of a numbering system is that? Now that I've read the last book, chronologically speaking, in the series and know what happens to every character for the rest of their lives, whether they live or die, not to mention about the horrible unresolved conflict that this book ends with, why in the world would I want to go back and read about events that took place earlier in their lives?

This book should either be renumbered as the last in the series or labeled with a warning that the reader ought to consider reading books 7 - 9 before tackling it, and should also have the ending either rewritten in more detail or have another warning stating that the reader is likely to be left incredibly angry after turning the last page...

Did I mention that I am unhappy with this book?

Abrupt ending is a real let-down
This book was a nice ride -- right up until the sudden ending. I enjoyed the book completely, but you get the impression at the end of the book that Mr. Griffin simply wanted to end the series.

The book ends with a multi-page epilogue that discusses what happens to the main players in later years (hint: the "New Breed" is a "prequel" to this book). I can't tell you how let down I was to see the series come to an abrupt end like this. I've really enjoyed the series and I'd looked forward to seeing players who'd become old friends move onto higher and higher levels of rank in the military.

Enjoy the book, but be prepared for the sudden end. It's like a cold splash in the face.

Nice ride, but...
This book was a nice ride -- right up until the sudden ending. I enjoyed the book completely, but you get the impression at the end of the book that Mr. Griffin simply wanted to end the series.

The book ends with a multi-page epilogue that discusses what happens to the main players in later years (hint: the "New Breed" is a "prequel" to this book). I can't tell you how let down I was to see the series come to an abrupt end like this. I've really enjoyed the series and I'd looked forward to seeing players who'd become old friends move onto higher and higher levels of rank in the military.

Enjoy the book, but be prepared for the sudden end. It's like a cold splash in the face.