The Dogs of War in Espionage Aficionados

Jun 18, 2023 Michael Martz rated it really liked it

Frederick Forsyth has a deservedly great reputation for well-researched thrillers and 'The Dogs of War' is a fine example of his early work, coming on the heels of The Day of the Jackal and The Odessa File. It's a bit tedious at times but the story is a fascinating one with a nice twist at the end.

The condensed version of the plot is this: an amoral, rich Brit businessman, James Manson, discovers a huge, as in multi-billion dollars worth, deposit of platinum in a small African country. He determ Frederick Forsyth has a deservedly great reputation for well-researched thrillers and 'The Dogs of War' is a fine example of his early work, coming on the heels of The Day of the Jackal and The Odessa File. It's a bit tedious at times but the story is a fascinating one with a nice twist at the end.

The condensed version of the plot is this: an amoral, rich Brit businessman, James Manson, discovers a huge, as in multi-billion dollars worth, deposit of platinum in a small African country. He determines the only way to get control of it is to stage a coup to overthrow the current government and install a guy who'll do his bidding. The only way to do that is to utilize mercenaries, which is where the main character, 'Cat' Shannon, comes in. Shannon is an experienced mercenary leader who has worked in Africa and has numerous contacts and fellow mercs to pull on. Manson hires Shannon through a cut-out (so Shannon doesn't know for whom he's actually working), Shannon builds his team and plan, and the remainder of the novel involves mainly the logistics of funding and sourcing everything needed to pull off the act. Included also are a number of sub-plots such as Shannon's affair with Manson's young daughter, the interest of the Russians in exploring the same platinum source, and the attempted assassination of Shannon by a competitor. There's a rather abrupt ending, taking just a few of the 400 pages of the book, but it is a bit of a shocking one.

Dogs of War is a very solid thriller that is slightly burdened by Forsyth's desire to get into more detail than most readers may want. He does a fantastic job detailing what Shannon must source, how much it costs, how he gets the funding, what's involved legally in his purchases, how the stuff will be moved across an ocean without alerting authorities.... etc. I personally enjoy that type of thing but I admit I did reach the point where I skimmed some of the pages with copious detail just to get to some action. Forsyth expertly develops Shannon, who comes across as a laconic, detail-obsessed killer-with-a-conscience and the other characters are mostly one-dimensional but still effective. I don't think he closed out the sub-plots very well but in the end they didn't impact the conclusion. The Dogs of War is a thriller that'll teach you all you want to know (and more!) about what's involved in taking down an African government by force. ...more

3 likes · Like · see review