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The Rat Bastards #4
Meat Grinder Hill
Hell's Choir of Killers! The quiet of the jungle is shattered by a single command. The air fills with voices of death. A Texas cattle call. An Apache war whoop. A piercing scream of bloody blue murder. And a killing chorus of zinging hot lead. A mighty green wave surges up the hill. The Rat Bastards are on the rampage, and what the enemy began, they are about to finish…The Rat Bastards.
- GenresMilitary FictionWar
208 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1984
3 people are currently reading
23 people want to read
About the author
Len Levinson
79 books22 followersAKA John Mackie, J. Farragut Jones, Nicholas Brady and Gordon Davis; also has ghost written as Clay Dawson.
Born in New Bedford, Massachusetts, Len Levinson served on active duty in the U.S. Army from 1954-1957, and graduated from Michigan State University with a BA in Social Science. He relocated to NYC that year and worked as an advertising copywriter and public relations executive before becoming a full-time novelist.
Len has had over eighty titles published and has created and wrote a number of series, including The Apache Wars Saga, The Pecos Kid, The Rat Bastards, and The Sergeant.
After many years in NYC, Len moved to a small town (pop. 3100) in rural Illinois, where he is now surrounded by corn and soybean fields ... a peaceful, ideal location for a writer.
Born in New Bedford, Massachusetts, Len Levinson served on active duty in the U.S. Army from 1954-1957, and graduated from Michigan State University with a BA in Social Science. He relocated to NYC that year and worked as an advertising copywriter and public relations executive before becoming a full-time novelist.
Len has had over eighty titles published and has created and wrote a number of series, including The Apache Wars Saga, The Pecos Kid, The Rat Bastards, and The Sergeant.
After many years in NYC, Len moved to a small town (pop. 3100) in rural Illinois, where he is now surrounded by corn and soybean fields ... a peaceful, ideal location for a writer.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
November 22, 2015
John Mackie is a pseudonym of Len Levinson. This particularly story takes place on Guadalcanal in WWII as the American forces make a last push to take the island from a starving and under supplied Japanese army. Here are my thoughts:
Though I’ve only read one volume, I think I can make some general deductions about the series, which runs to at least 16 books. What we have is a kind of “Dirty Dozen” tale. The “Recon Platoon” is made up of misfits, criminals, and barroom brawlers. They don’t like to follow orders but they’re tough as hell and good in a fight. There are a number of characters who fit fairly standard molds. Longtree is descended from Apache warriors and great at stealth. Homer Gladley is a big but not terribly bright farm boy from Nebraska. Frankie La Barbara is a handsome Italian who has a way with the ladies. Then there’s sergeant Butsko, tough as nails and no nonsense. The characters are drawn broadly and behave mostly in expected ways.
All in all, I liked “Meat Grinder Hill” fairly well. It was about what I expected. I may try another volume. I see that most of the series has been released fairly recently for the Kindle and are available on Amazon under the author’s real name.
Though I’ve only read one volume, I think I can make some general deductions about the series, which runs to at least 16 books. What we have is a kind of “Dirty Dozen” tale. The “Recon Platoon” is made up of misfits, criminals, and barroom brawlers. They don’t like to follow orders but they’re tough as hell and good in a fight. There are a number of characters who fit fairly standard molds. Longtree is descended from Apache warriors and great at stealth. Homer Gladley is a big but not terribly bright farm boy from Nebraska. Frankie La Barbara is a handsome Italian who has a way with the ladies. Then there’s sergeant Butsko, tough as nails and no nonsense. The characters are drawn broadly and behave mostly in expected ways.
All in all, I liked “Meat Grinder Hill” fairly well. It was about what I expected. I may try another volume. I see that most of the series has been released fairly recently for the Kindle and are available on Amazon under the author’s real name.
January 10, 2024
Really enjoy this series, it has been awhile since I've read one but Levinson brings you right back quickly and without bogging down the narrative. The guys are still on Guadalcanal, going against the massive fortifications of Japan's last stand on the island. The characters are well drawn and the interaction in the squad between the soldiers is great. Lots of action but again he spends time in developing the characters.
Highly recommended, Levinson is a master of his craft. Its hard to write books with so many characters and to make so many of then stand out. Also to not let the character development slow down the story is also a rare feat.
Highly recommended, Levinson is a master of his craft. Its hard to write books with so many characters and to make so many of then stand out. Also to not let the character development slow down the story is also a rare feat.
October 8, 2021
This series is just great. They are 200 pages and its full of action from start to finish. By now, we have our characters laid out, we have our location and its now a matter of time to see who survives and how long they can keep it up. This book is one of the harder ones to come by, but it's a blast to read.
February 23, 2024
The titular characters, forming a recon platoon on Guadalcanal that gets all the dirty, dangerous jobs, is operating with a new C.O. Sgt. Bannon, who is usually the series' main protagonist, has taken over after veteran Sgt. Butsko was wounded at the end of the last book.
In fact, we get scenes involving Butsko and another wounded soldier recovering back in New Caledonia, but the meat of the story is on Guadalcanal, where Bannon and his comrades try to find a way to punch through a series of Japanese bunkers that are holding up the American advance. Levinson's prose really shines when he's describing brutal combat and the harsh jungle environment, while also letting us know that none of the characters we have gotten to know are safe from taking a bullet. As is always the case in any of Levinson's novels, his action scenes are intense and engrossing.
Bannon's character arc is particularly interesting, as he takes his new role as platoon leader very seriously and keeps comparing his performance to what he believes Butsko would do. I imagine Bannon will be very relieved to give command back to Butsko in the next book, but he does a good job this time around.
In fact, we get scenes involving Butsko and another wounded soldier recovering back in New Caledonia, but the meat of the story is on Guadalcanal, where Bannon and his comrades try to find a way to punch through a series of Japanese bunkers that are holding up the American advance. Levinson's prose really shines when he's describing brutal combat and the harsh jungle environment, while also letting us know that none of the characters we have gotten to know are safe from taking a bullet. As is always the case in any of Levinson's novels, his action scenes are intense and engrossing.
Bannon's character arc is particularly interesting, as he takes his new role as platoon leader very seriously and keeps comparing his performance to what he believes Butsko would do. I imagine Bannon will be very relieved to give command back to Butsko in the next book, but he does a good job this time around.
December 19, 2022
The boys are at it again. The characters in this series are so much fun. This definitely an over the top military fiction. But if you're a lover of non-stop action men's adventure fiction. Then this will be your cup of tea. It picks up right after the events in book 3. So if you enjoyed book 3. This will not let you down!
March 30, 2025
4 AND 1/2 STARS
The 4th book in The Rat Bastards series continues the story of a recon platoon and their unique characters trying to win the war on the Guadalcanal against the Japanese. I really loved the moving the story from the battlefield on the island to the hospital unit on New Caledonia, allowing us to follow the wounded and get to know their characters even more. The fresh and new battlefield skirmishes are peppered with clever strategies that put the reader on the front lines of this historic war. Intense and bloody, author Levinson continues his creative vision of what these days in hell must have been like. My only real complaint is some of the bunker pushes felt repetitive, but understandable given the strategy to overtake them. The epilogue with Butsko, for me, was truly outstanding and Len Levinson set it up perfectly throughout the book, leading to a very satisfying ending.
Outside of the story, I was very disappointed in publisher, Bold Venture, to allow so many typos this time. While a handful of errors is in each prior book, this one had many more, over two dozen at least. The book credits Rich Harvey as the editor for this updated version and I can only hope he is either fired or does his job on the next book in the series. Poor editing aside, this entry, Meat Grinder Hill, proves that the series is still going strong and I cannot wait for book #5, Down and Dirty.
The 4th book in The Rat Bastards series continues the story of a recon platoon and their unique characters trying to win the war on the Guadalcanal against the Japanese. I really loved the moving the story from the battlefield on the island to the hospital unit on New Caledonia, allowing us to follow the wounded and get to know their characters even more. The fresh and new battlefield skirmishes are peppered with clever strategies that put the reader on the front lines of this historic war. Intense and bloody, author Levinson continues his creative vision of what these days in hell must have been like. My only real complaint is some of the bunker pushes felt repetitive, but understandable given the strategy to overtake them. The epilogue with Butsko, for me, was truly outstanding and Len Levinson set it up perfectly throughout the book, leading to a very satisfying ending.
Outside of the story, I was very disappointed in publisher, Bold Venture, to allow so many typos this time. While a handful of errors is in each prior book, this one had many more, over two dozen at least. The book credits Rich Harvey as the editor for this updated version and I can only hope he is either fired or does his job on the next book in the series. Poor editing aside, this entry, Meat Grinder Hill, proves that the series is still going strong and I cannot wait for book #5, Down and Dirty.
June 30, 2014
More war stories from Guadalcanal WWII 1942-43.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews