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The Rat Bastards #14
Suicide River
The Japanese are staging a surprise attack. But a bigger, bloodier surprise is waiting for them! Whoever controls New Guinea can turn the tide of the war. That's why the Japanese are mounting a bold sneak attack designed to wipe out the Americans. But the Rat Bastards know when and where the enemy plans to strike. Can they quit thrill-hunting and fighting each other long enough to become the killer combat until the Yanks need to survive? The Rat Bastards.
- GenresWar
208 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 17, 2014
About the author
Len Levinson
77 books23 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 - 3 of 3 reviews
August 28, 2025
It’s funny how certain things in day-to-day life make you remember a series you have been reading. I started with the rat bastards when I first started getting into reading and read the first 10 or so books in a row. I then started jumping into different genres and checking out different series and put the rat bastards on hold. Occasionally, I would come back to the rat bastards and then again take a break.
Recently, I’ve been on a Stephen King kick and halfway through the last Stephen King book I read something made me think of the rat bastards. I decided after the next Stephen Ling book I would jump back into the series and jump in to book 14. I picked up suicide River and started to read and the warm feeling of seeing old friends returned.
There’s something about this series that is truly enjoyable that I can’t explain. Taking your time with the series coming back to it over and over again you get the feeling of the never-ending war that they’re in. You remember characters from the past who didn’t make it remember current characters who are still there and introduced a new members of the rat bastards.
Suicide was probably one of my favorite rap bastard books so far we spend the first 150 pages waiting and anticipating the upcoming battle. We wonder if this will be the end of most of our rat bastards and if they’re going to make it out at the end of the battle. That anticipation is finally met with 50 pages of nonstop bloody action. It’s a typical rap bastards book but if you’ve gotten this far and enjoy the whole series, you’ll love this one.
There’s only two more left in the series for me to go and I think I’m gonna do what I always do. Take a break. Read a few more books and come back to the rat bastards an old familiar friend. Five stars.
Recently, I’ve been on a Stephen King kick and halfway through the last Stephen King book I read something made me think of the rat bastards. I decided after the next Stephen Ling book I would jump back into the series and jump in to book 14. I picked up suicide River and started to read and the warm feeling of seeing old friends returned.
There’s something about this series that is truly enjoyable that I can’t explain. Taking your time with the series coming back to it over and over again you get the feeling of the never-ending war that they’re in. You remember characters from the past who didn’t make it remember current characters who are still there and introduced a new members of the rat bastards.
Suicide was probably one of my favorite rap bastard books so far we spend the first 150 pages waiting and anticipating the upcoming battle. We wonder if this will be the end of most of our rat bastards and if they’re going to make it out at the end of the battle. That anticipation is finally met with 50 pages of nonstop bloody action. It’s a typical rap bastards book but if you’ve gotten this far and enjoy the whole series, you’ll love this one.
There’s only two more left in the series for me to go and I think I’m gonna do what I always do. Take a break. Read a few more books and come back to the rat bastards an old familiar friend. Five stars.
October 4, 2025
Another strong entry in the series. The titular recon platoon is still on New Guinea, running patrols behind Japanese lines. They bring information back in the form of both captured documents and a prisoner, all of which points to a huge Japanese counter attack at a specific place and on a specific night.
The book is stuffed with the usual action, but also spends time exploring the nature of command, with various generals and colonels debating the validity of the intelligence that's been collected. Is it real or a trick of the Japanese? If its for real, how do we know if the Japanese have changed their plans? Some officers make decisions based on what's best for their men; some make decisions based on wishful thinking; some make decisions based on what they think will further their careers.
The extended climactic battle scene is the Japanese attack, which forces the American troops back into a last stand situation, desperately hoping that reinforcements will arrive before its too late. Amongst all the chaos, Sgt. Butsko (still recovering from a wound suffered in the last book) is organizing a desperate defense of an army hospital, using orderlies and walking wounded for his troops.
Just two more books to go in this series. I'll be kind of sad when it ends.
The book is stuffed with the usual action, but also spends time exploring the nature of command, with various generals and colonels debating the validity of the intelligence that's been collected. Is it real or a trick of the Japanese? If its for real, how do we know if the Japanese have changed their plans? Some officers make decisions based on what's best for their men; some make decisions based on wishful thinking; some make decisions based on what they think will further their careers.
The extended climactic battle scene is the Japanese attack, which forces the American troops back into a last stand situation, desperately hoping that reinforcements will arrive before its too late. Amongst all the chaos, Sgt. Butsko (still recovering from a wound suffered in the last book) is organizing a desperate defense of an army hospital, using orderlies and walking wounded for his troops.
Just two more books to go in this series. I'll be kind of sad when it ends.
December 5, 2017
War pulp. Ridiculously silly war pulp. Cpl Bannon is back but only gets in one kill. Sgt Butsko kills 20 and more Japs and also finds time to have sex with a nurse. For a rare time in this series there is no knock down, dragged out fight between any members of the Rat Bastards. Surely Frankie La Barbara will have his nose broken yet again. Are our boys getting soft? Say it's not so.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews