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The Dogs of War Frederick Forsyth Books

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The Dogs of War Frederick Forsyth Books

I’ve seen the movie quite a few times, but had never read the book upon which it’s based. It’s excellent. And it holds up after all these years remarkably well. Certainly, the passage of time has changed some things; for example, all bank transfers are done old school with paper letters & telegrams, rather than electronically.

Fascinating, too. The movie – in essence – follows the book fairly faithfully. There are deviations, of course (Hey, it’s Hollywood!) and the fascination lies in those deviations…

The script writers/director certainly made various changes. In view of ‘no spoilers’ I won’t go into them, but it’s certainly interesting trying to discern what may have led them to making the changes. Some for marketing reasons, some for the usual ‘dramatic effect,’ definitely some for streamlining, some so as to adhere to the film maxim of ‘Show, not tell’ and some for, well, you decide. One wee instance I found interesting; they changed the machine pistols from German Schmeisers to Israeli Uzis. Unless you’re a gun fan, you might think “So What?” but this minor detail seems to me to perhaps be a choice leaning toward PC expediency, especially considering the period of the book being not all that long after WW II.

If you’ve seen the movie, but not read the book, you are in for a treat. Oh… yes… Shannon was always meant to be Christopher Walken. He was perfect.


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The Dogs of War Frederick Forsyth Books Reviews

A good procedural for outfitting and planning for coup in Africa.
70’s mercenary story with 90% of the story describing how the merc plans, prepares for the mission...a lot of the book is spent with buying of the supplies, weapons and ship...then the rest of the book is spent getting the cargo to the ship...then a few pages of action
One of my favorite Forsyth books. Interesting characters, a plot that pulls you in and the details of the processes used by protagonist and antagonist to mount their operations always fascinate. Warning do not watch the film based on this book. It is very weak in all respects.
First read this novel as the Reader's Digest condensed version back when I was a kid. The full novel, obviously, has much more to recommend it. Forsyth does his typical thorough job of walking the reader through the intricacies of the plot. I feel, after finishing this, that I am reasonably well-equipped to mount a coup in the Third World. Forsyth does not skimp on action or characters, either. An all-around satisfying adventure.
This re-reading was as interesting and full of flavor as my first read. Seen from the perspective of 30 plus years later, it has become more of a historical novel. No computers, no cell phones, no gadgetry, just good dialogue, simple weaponry, and nicely balanced tension through out.
It seems I return to this book each decade. My first read was at age 15. Each time I truly enjoy it more.
I've always loved the detail in the planning. Savored it all over again. I can't remember when I saw the movie but it didn't have the same impact on me as the book does.
I really want to love this book, but I find it hard to. I suppose I like it, but that's all. Here's why

I absolutely love the whole 1960s/70s African merc era. Every piece of information I can get about it, I devour. I have plenty of non-fiction books about Rhodesia, South Africa, the Congo, and so on. I love The Wild Geese, I've seen Africa Addio. A friend lent me a copy of his DVD of the Dogs of War and I eagerly watched it and had a good time.

Anyways, while that movie isn't an all time classic, this book isn't any better. (Spoilers incoming!)

It starts off great (the mercenaries are escaping doom after losing a war) but then quickly gets bogged down with a description of a man surveying a mountain in Africa. It stays there. Unfortunately, the book never quite picks up until the last few pages. There are a few bits of excitement in between, but it was mostly slogging through details that, while interesting, don't really make for page turners.

About 80% of the novel is spent going from London to Paris to Belgium then to Germany then to Switzerland and back to London. Characters call characters and then hang up to call other characters. End User Agreements. Forgeries. Deposits. Withdrawals. Travelers checks, Swiss bank accounts. See how that's exhausting? The novel is basically all logistics. I felt as tired as Shannon did!

It's certainly interesting. I had no idea what a shell company was, and now I know how to smuggle champagne in between Belgium and France. But it's not very fun.

The final attack takes up the last 30 or so pages of a book that is 436 pages. It's not justified either... the attack wasn't jaw dropping or incredible. It was a little anticlimactic. One merc just gets unlucky and catches a bullet, while another falls victim to friendly fire. I liked when Shannon came out in support of a different ruler to Endean's face, but everything else felt a little weak about the ending and the "where are they now epilogue."

It's fascinating to learn about all the details of the mercenary world. Forsyth did a lot of research for this, and was in the middle of some African civil wars. He may or may not have even been involved with an actual coup!

Ultimately, it would have been better if something went wrong for the gang on the way, or if there was more depictions of combat (maybe flashbacks in the form of the mercs telling stories at the bar) or if the actual attack was longer. It's okay, not great. While I personally enjoyed the descriptions of smuggling (to a point) it definitely gets tedious. I probably wouldn't recommend it to friends, because I know they don't have the attention spans needed for the book.
I’ve seen the movie quite a few times, but had never read the book upon which it’s based. It’s excellent. And it holds up after all these years remarkably well. Certainly, the passage of time has changed some things; for example, all bank transfers are done old school with paper letters & telegrams, rather than electronically.

Fascinating, too. The movie – in essence – follows the book fairly faithfully. There are deviations, of course (Hey, it’s Hollywood!) and the fascination lies in those deviations…

The script writers/director certainly made various changes. In view of ‘no spoilers’ I won’t go into them, but it’s certainly interesting trying to discern what may have led them to making the changes. Some for marketing reasons, some for the usual ‘dramatic effect,’ definitely some for streamlining, some so as to adhere to the film maxim of ‘Show, not tell’ and some for, well, you decide. One wee instance I found interesting; they changed the machine pistols from German Schmeisers to Israeli Uzis. Unless you’re a gun fan, you might think “So What?” but this minor detail seems to me to perhaps be a choice leaning toward PC expediency, especially considering the period of the book being not all that long after WW II.

If you’ve seen the movie, but not read the book, you are in for a treat. Oh… yes… Shannon was always meant to be Christopher Walken. He was perfect.