Tobin's War, No. 1: Dead Sea Submarine

by Alan Caillou

The private army is on the march... against enemies plotting a third world war in the Middle East. Now comes the invincible Colonel Tobin with his hand-picked, hand-trained collection of the hardest, strongest, most efficient fighters in the world - men who live, work, fight, drink, and love like devils; an odd band of angels...and the best damn bunch since the dirty dozen!

Genres: War

177 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1971

Reviews

[Glen]

A low octane Men's Adventure with a great premise of hauling a submarine across the desert to the Dead Sea, to launch missiles at Israel with impunity.

Colonel Tobin and company have to stop the terrorists, but it seems to take them forever.

[Alan]

Do you enjoy movies such as The Wild Geese, The Magnificent Seven, The Dirty Dozen or The Great Escape? Then this book is likely for you. Don't expect a lot of characterization, because there is almost none. Instead like the movies mentioned above you will get a well paced and very well plotted action piece.

Some of the book's politics are dated, as it was written in 1971. Col. Matthew Tobin fields a private army, of the type that today's reader would probably compare to Blackwater. Except Tobin and his his field commander, son Paul, actually have a sense of ethics. The mission-prevent a coalition of Arab governments and factions from getting a submarine into the Dead Sea where it would then launch 12 missiles against Israeli cities.

The sub is moved the way the pyramids might have been built, using rollers, and a dun colored tarp to prevent aerial detection. Just as in the Seven, Dozen or Escape the few soldiers the reader meet for more than a few paragraphs have their specific talent.

Instead of long drawn out battles, or a climax battle that takes a 100 pages, Alan Caillou wraps it up in about 20 pages, in which the plan is carried out. Rick Meyers, whom it is hinted is an Israeli, is the only person who comes close to having a personality, knowing the history of everything.

The elder Tobin gets off a few good observations. When asked by the Israeli diplomat who hires him why does he have an army for hire, Tobin simply states there will always be a demand for soldiers until governments learn to settle things without wars. To the same diplomat the elder Tobin proves he is also a businessman. Tobin considers his soldiers, all of them assets, and he will not waste their on a bad mission, bad intelligence, well bad anything.

Caillou led an interesting life. Besides writing over 50 books, he was a WWII military intelligence officer, a professional hunter and an actor.

[Tom Johnson]

Colonel Tobin’s Private Army #1: “Dead Sea Submarine” by Alan Caillou. The private army consists of the colonel, Matthew Tobin, his Son, Major Paul Tobin, Captain Rick Meyers, Major Bramble, Cass Fragonard, Ahmed Idriss, Edgar Jefferson, and many others that will be used throughout the series. Some will die along the way, but these are pretty well study. In addition, there are two main women, Pamela Charles and Betty de Hass, behind the scenes; Charles is Colonel Tobin’s all-around house keeper and help mate; Betty is a mapmaker. Other women are agents set in many trouble spot, keeping the colonel advised on happenings. In this first adventure Colonel Tobin has been hired to locate a submarine being pulled through the desert by camels, with missiles aimed at Israel. His men are in place, and finally locate its movements and know its destination, the Dead Sea. The Arabs plan on launching the submarine and keeping it underwater until night, then strike at Israel, finally destroying them as a nation. But Tobin’s private army never fails. A really nice read.

[Roslynne Lowry]

Another book with virtual voice. Good story line, bad narration.

[Bruce Nordstrom]

I read this book about 5 years ago. It's an interesting idea, but lacks the political and technical depth to make it really good. The basic premise is that there is a group of former soldiers from around the world who are now serving in Colonel Tobin's private army. And this army is for hire to the correct employers--i.e. countries who cannot afford a full time professional army, or those who lack the technical expertise to handle a particular chrisis. In this case the enemy is a band of Arab terrorists who are planning to destroy the state of Israel by launching a submarine into the Dead Sea and firing ship to shore missals into such cities as Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. (Yes, I thought the plot seemed a little convoluted too. How does one get a submarine across the desert into the Dead Sea? Well....)

Over all I would say this is a fun book to read--first published in the '60s, it is a bit dated--but it has enough action, plot twists, and good wholesome sex to keep you reading. And there are four or five sequels you can read also if you like.