William P. McGivern made a career out of writing hard-boiled, two-fisted detective stories. He wrote pulp fiction, but it was good pulp fiction. Soldiers of '44 is different. It's a very insightful and intelligent novel. The plot concerns a small U.S. Army anti-aircraft unit that finds itself behind German lines during the Battle of the Bulge in December 1944. On the mountain ,with the unit, is a crashed ME-262. The first practical German fighter jet and a real prize for Allied intelligence - if the Germans don't get it back first.
Now on the surface the plot doesn't sound all that special. Pretty typical actually. But get into the story and you'll quickly discover that this was a labor of love for Mr. McGivern. He served in an U.S. Army anti-aircraft unit in France in 1944/45. He experienced war and this book comes from his personal experience. The soldiers (on both sides) in the book are real. They aren't super-charged heroes. They are scared, tired, hungry, very cold and just want to make it home alive. The war is so close to being over, but not yet. Not yet.
Once again I find myself having to use a very overused term. This novel is truthful . Yes it is suspenseful and yes it does have a well written action sequence, but it also has intelligence, a strong sense of place and well developed characters. It's a very well written novel. To me it's apparent that Mr. McGivern wasn't writing pulp with this book. He was writing about his life and the effect that World War II had on his generation.
Now on the surface the plot doesn't sound all that special. Pretty typical actually. But get into the story and you'll quickly discover that this was a labor of love for Mr. McGivern. He served in an U.S. Army anti-aircraft unit in France in 1944/45. He experienced war and this book comes from his personal experience. The soldiers (on both sides) in the book are real. They aren't super-charged heroes. They are scared, tired, hungry, very cold and just want to make it home alive. The war is so close to being over, but not yet. Not yet.
Once again I find myself having to use a very overused term. This novel is truthful . Yes it is suspenseful and yes it does have a well written action sequence, but it also has intelligence, a strong sense of place and well developed characters. It's a very well written novel. To me it's apparent that Mr. McGivern wasn't writing pulp with this book. He was writing about his life and the effect that World War II had on his generation.
