The Captains

The Brotherhood of War Series, Book 2

By: W. E. B. Griffin

Narrated by: Eric G. Dove

Length: 12 hrs and 57 mins

Publisher's Summary

It was more than an incident: It was a deadly assault across the 38th parallel. It was the Korean War. In the fear and the frenzy of battle, those who had served with heroism before were called again by America to man the trenches and sandbag bunkers. From Pusan to the Yalu, they drove forward with commands too new and tanks too old, brothers in war, bonded together in battle as they had never been in peace....

©2009 W.E.B. Griffin (P)2012 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Excellent second book

I had not expected to write this review. I had already reviewed the first book in this series, The Lieutenants, and the rest of the volumes in the series, in print at least, were every bit as great as that volume when I first read them. There seemed to be nothing I could add about this volume that would contribute anything new.

The characters are vivid and interesting, their life stories seem both real and representative of people I knew when I served in the military and the environment they live and work in feels real enough to me to almost touch. I am alternating one book of this series with one other book although is hard to force myself not to read through all 9 volumes in a row. So why did I write this review?

I realized, after completing my review of The Lieutenants, that I had not made clear that these books are not books about war. They are stories about the lives of a group of soldiers from their entry into the US Army through the remainder of their careers. While there are incidents where people are shot and where other violence occurs, the books are not primarily about that violence but rather about their individual lives as they progress through their careers and about the special relationships that exist between soldiers who may, at any time, have to go into hazardous duty and their wives and fellow soldiers and it is the story of the military environment in which they live and work.

There is no gratuitous violence in any of the books and I felt it was important to point that out to those who may not have yet had the pleasure of reading a book of the series. This review is probably a little late to mention it since most people who are thinking about buying The Captains have probably already read The Lieutenants, but I did want to make this point.

The Captains

I like it. I can't wait till Audible has the rest of the books in this series available. I just love this type of series.

Korea Here We Come

This series definitely concentrates on different aspects of the war and peace time story delving more into the non-battle scenes and more of what makes an officer & a gentleman.

I enjoy books that take a group of fictional characters and plop them down somewhere in history and this series does not disappoint.

While it is still not my favorite Griffin series, it is still much better than the most reads out there, hence the 5 stars. On a a purely Griffin scale I would give it 3.5-4 stars.

The Brotherhood of War series superbly captures the times, people, and military of from the tail end of WWII through the Vietnam War.

Soldier's Stories that hold on to you!

The second in the Brotherhood of War series that picks up on our favorite characters and moves them along in our hearts and mind. I am addicted to this W.E.B Griffin series, and I can only express satisfaction with this listening experience. The narration by Eric G. Dove continues to be superb in the delivery of character voices. If you like military stories, such as the Band of Brothers, etc, then you will enjoy these books.

Absolutely excellent!

Very hard to stop listening at any point. The strong and characters are engaging throughout. I can't wait to start the next in the series!

Brotherhood of War

Would you listen to The Captains again? Why?

This entire series from The Lieutenants to The Generals is excellent, as are the books. The Captains is my favorite. You will feel you personally know the main characters by the time you are finished.

What did you like best about this story?

Great all round story. Good military research to provide the background the story takes place in.

Have you listened to any of Eric G. Dove’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No.

Does the Narrator Get Paid?

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Good Story

What did you like best about this story?

The Story

What three words best describe Eric G. Dove’s performance?

LAME LAME LAME

This guy has no business narrating military stories. 2000hrs is not 2 thousand! An M1 Garand rifle is pronounced with the second "a" vowel long! Ga-ran-d! Pusan ROK the "a" is short! Seriously!!!!!!!!!!!!

Could you see The Captains being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

No

Any additional comments?

Find a narrator who would at least research his work

Sheesh! Terrific!

Wow, these first two of the series are so smart, so true, so thrilling, so rich with sociology, psychology, culture, humanity, and history. Not to mention the page-turning plot. I am enthralled! How have I never heard of this author until now?!?

Griffin Hits His Stride

Griffin has found his stride in this novel. The Korean War starts and his protagonists from the last book, plus an African American lieutenant who played a small role in the first novel, all find themselves in harms way (or, in the case of the Medal of Honor winner, trying to get into harms way when the army doesn’t want him there because it would be bad public relations if he got killed). In addition to Griffin’s signature “dealing with the army bureaucracy” scenes, there are tough moral decisions and a decent amount of action. We all see more of the West Point alums protecting each other and their careers at the expense of non-West Pointers and usually against America’s interests in the war. (This sort of thing comes up enough in Griffin’s novels that I sometimes wonder if he dislikes the military academies, but it is probably just his attempt to show how those who are connected take care of themselves no matter what the cost.)

There’s a tragedy in the middle of this novel which I think Griffin handles very well, but mostly what I like about this series is Griffin’s insights into why the military functions the way it does—the good and the bad.

Brotherhood of War Series

This is a very good series. However, the person reading this needs to learn the proper pronunciation of military words.