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Book ReviewsIron Coffin |
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Book: Iron Coffin
Written by: John Mannock |
Publisher: Signet
Average Customer Rating: 5.0 / 5
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A cut above "a good summer read"
Rating:
5 / 5
This is a whale of a good book which I enjoyed all the way through. I had never read this author but gave it a try on the strength of an interesting blurb on the back cover: Briefly put, a German U-boat, patrolling the waters of the American coast, is badly damaged and must seek harbor in the bayous of Louisiana. Here, the crew encounter the isolated Cajun trappers that live in the swamp and have little to do with the outside world. The Cajun clan will help the Germans for a price. Time is very short. Every day the U-boat lays in the heat-filled swamp, they risk detection. There is also a battle of wits and wills between the German U-boat captain, Kurt Stuermer, and the ruthless, mad leader of the Cajuns, Papa Luc.
The great strength of this novel is its involved but smooth plotting, which the author, John Mannock, handles very well. Mannock introduces many characters from many backgrounds, included a British officer, a Cajun witch, a German U-boat captain, and a war-wounded American tug boat captain in a downward spiral of self-destruction, together very nicely. Although the book takes many turns and surprises (and I do mean many), Mannock brings the reader along at just the right pace so the work never feels either rushed or sluggish. This might be considered a "techno-thriller" as the technical aspects of sub life are important in the telling of the story (and interesting to a Submarine fan like me), but really the characters, not the gadgets, are the focus and interest of this author (unlike Clancy who always casts hardware in the starring roles). Mannock is too much of an old-fashioned storyteller to spend too much ink on the metal.
This book delivered on the interesting back cover blurb in spades. I found myself very much caught up and pulling for several of the characters at once. There are interesting stories-within-stories here that really make this a great, meaty summer read - and maybe just a bit more. - Mykal Banta
Took Me Off Guard.
Rating:
5 / 5
I entitled this comment on IRON COFFIN "took me off guard" because that's exactly what it did. I'm not used to having a lump in my throat and a tear squeezing out of my eye as I read the last sentence of a novel, but that is exactly what this one did. Only SAVING PRIVATE RYAN and BAND OF BROTHERS gave me the same feeling. Thank you, Mr. Mannock, for your powerful, eloquent story.
A Must-Have Modern Classic of the Second World War
Rating:
5 / 5
"Iron Coffin" was so superior a World War Two novel that I had trouble believing it was written in the 21st century. Or that it wasn't written by a veteran of that war. Very few war novels of any type have entertained me, or moved me, like this one. From the descriptions of desperate U-boat warfare to the film-noir tensions between opposing characters to the poignant and unlikely bayou romance between a young U-boat officer and a lonely Cajun girl, this book has it all. Like my fellow reviewers, I give John Mannock's "Iron Coffin" my highest recommendation. What a delight to pick up a novel on a whim and most definitely not be disappointed. If there's any justice, this story will be made into a movie soon, and a good one. I've already ordered this author's next Second World War novel, "The Sen-Toku Raid". I can't wait!
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