ARA Review by joelder of The Warramunga's War

[joelder]

[Following is an OnlineBookClub.org ARA Review of the book, The Warramunga's War.]

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3 out of 5 stars

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Jamie Munro is wounded in a WWII battle in the Egyptian desert while fighting the Vichy French. Jacko O'Brien, one half aboriginal and one half white Australian, is the soldier with an uncanny sense of direction who rescues him. The two become friends and, while recuperating from their war-wounds, are assigned to M16, the British spy network in Cairo tasked with seeking information on Rommel's war plans. A serial killer complicates their work as one of Jamie and Jacko's informants becomes a victim. In time, the suspected killer turns out to be a fellow Australian they have confided in. With the help of a dancing girl and a waitress, the pair uncover a German spy network and use the confiscated short wave radio and codes to send false information to confuse Rommel's army during their push toward El Alamien in Libya. After the Germans are defeated in north Africa, Jamie and Jacko are assigned to fight the Japanese in south Asia. Following the war's conclusion, they join the Australian CIS to root out German war criminals still residing in their country. Jacko's half sister, an Aborigine, helps them track a fugitive gang across the formidable Australian Outback near Tennant Creek.


The story is well researched and the situations Jamie and Jacko find themselves in are presented in interesting fashion. The author uses much imagery to present a well-rounded story: "Bonjour, monsieur." The deep voice belonged to a trim man in his fifties who had walked into the living room and now had his hand outstretched in welcome. He stood very upright and below a salt-and-pepper hairline a pair of shrewd blue eyes studied Jacko with some curiosity. In another section he aptly describes a tense situation: In the dim light of her office at the Casino Opera, Badea stared at the two officers with a look half way between anger and despair.


However, in many cases the dialogue is rather stilted and drawn out, causing the reader to skim sections. Much of the technical information is repeated and descriptions of localities are exceedingly long.


I did enjoy reading the story and rate it at three out of five stars. I deducted 1 star for the already mentioned flaws in the dialogue and another since the ending is anti-climatic.


Readers of historical fiction will enjoy this novel, especially if they are intrigued by WWII weaponry and logistics.

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