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Into Hell's Fire
A Deadly Game Played In The World’s Most Dangerous City - Sarajevo
Daring, dangerous, and dramatic, Into Hell’s Fire is a novel that pushes the boundaries between fact and fiction.
Lucas Martin, a retired agent of the U.S. government, is recalled to duty to assist Washington in deciding its Balkan policy at the beginning of the Siege of Sarajevo. Hired to accumulate accurate intelligence and monitor the crisis as it unfolds, little time passes before he is entrapped in a game of life and death with a sinister Serbian general. Crossing regional borders, flanking battle lines and dodging sniper fire, Lucas uses his wits and experience to meet his Serbian foe head on.
Daring, dangerous, and dramatic, Into Hell’s Fire is a novel that pushes the boundaries between fact and fiction.
Lucas Martin, a retired agent of the U.S. government, is recalled to duty to assist Washington in deciding its Balkan policy at the beginning of the Siege of Sarajevo. Hired to accumulate accurate intelligence and monitor the crisis as it unfolds, little time passes before he is entrapped in a game of life and death with a sinister Serbian general. Crossing regional borders, flanking battle lines and dodging sniper fire, Lucas uses his wits and experience to meet his Serbian foe head on.
382 pages, Paperback
First published July 4, 2012
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86 people want to read
About the author
Douglas Cavanaugh
8 books7 followersVideo book trailers for my novels can be viewed at:
www.douglascavanaugh-novels.com
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
July 3, 2016
The Balkan conflicts of the early 1990’s would seem ideal fodder for an action / spy novel, yet with Into Hell's Fire, Cavanaugh has delivered a novel that I can best describe as having a hybrid style - it is a mix of an action novel and a history book.
This stylistic choice is an interesting one and has resulted in me pondering this review more than usual and being far more analytical in it than others I’ve written.
Lucas Martin is a former Vietnam veteran and retired covert operative for the US. Lucas’ extensive experience has seen him involved in numerous conflicts and having done in depth work previously within the Balkans and having predicted, in his final report, the future potential problems in the area.
The State Department recalls Lucas to active duty in order to gather information for them. This then is the catalyst for the ensuing adventure. Lucas has emotional ties with the region, having been born in Croatia, and he reconnects with old contacts in the pursuit of his mission. What follows is an intricate tale entangling his objectives, the necessity of helping a friend and a horrendous web of political lies and corruption.
The political situation within the Balkans has always been complicated and the author does an admirable job of explaining the myriad complexities of the region by integrating some solid history sections within the narrative. Most of this occurs within the first third of the novel. However, it is these sections that I didn’t enjoy within the story, primarily because several of them are long and resemble “info” dumps. There was also a tendency within Cavanaugh’s writing to detail every action of the characters, even where this was not necessary. These two traits had the effect of “telling” me the story and taking me “out” of the narrative and any connection I was making with the characters deteriorated. I do believe these sections could have been “tightened” up and this effect lessened.
I debated the author’s choice of putting these history sections in, but, given that he has lived in the Balkans for 20 years, I suspect his own connection to this area may have meant that he wanted to remain “true” to the area and history. It is very easy to sensationalise events and storytelling (here I'm thinking pure "Bond" style spy stories) for pace and in doing so sometimes diminish other story elements that deserve recognition.
Perhaps putting these sections in served not only to explain the complicated history to those unaware of it, but to ensure that a ring of truth remained within the narrative, which is a praiseworthy aim. So, though they detracted from the experience for me, they may prove hugely helpful to other readers.
Fortunately, in this early section there is a simply brilliantly scripted scene between Lucas and a State Department official, Morton Riggs. This scene convinced me of the quality of Cavanaugh’s writing and made me persist with reading Into Hell’s Fire.
In the latter half, the novel really hits its stride. The problems I encountered with the story largely evaporated in this section. Cavanaugh provides us with an excellent array of characters, with detailed backstories, whose tales really highlight the tragedy of this conflict.
I loved the intricacies of the politics - both within the Balkans and with the US and NATO. The various plot arcs are interwoven very well and there are some fine action sequences and scene setting with the author’s detailed knowledge of the area adding to the realism of the story. I could clearly visualise the bombed out cities and beautiful coastlines – the irony of the changing conditions so close to each other was not lost on me.
All in all I did enjoy Into Hell’s Fire, I wasn’t as engrossed in the story as I hoped to be, but it was definitely worth the read I can see many readers loving it.
I’ve debated about how to rate this book 3.5 or 4 stars, I’m leaning toward 3.5. If you love spy / action / thriller novels and history, then take a look at Into Hell’s Fire.
This stylistic choice is an interesting one and has resulted in me pondering this review more than usual and being far more analytical in it than others I’ve written.
Lucas Martin is a former Vietnam veteran and retired covert operative for the US. Lucas’ extensive experience has seen him involved in numerous conflicts and having done in depth work previously within the Balkans and having predicted, in his final report, the future potential problems in the area.
The State Department recalls Lucas to active duty in order to gather information for them. This then is the catalyst for the ensuing adventure. Lucas has emotional ties with the region, having been born in Croatia, and he reconnects with old contacts in the pursuit of his mission. What follows is an intricate tale entangling his objectives, the necessity of helping a friend and a horrendous web of political lies and corruption.
The political situation within the Balkans has always been complicated and the author does an admirable job of explaining the myriad complexities of the region by integrating some solid history sections within the narrative. Most of this occurs within the first third of the novel. However, it is these sections that I didn’t enjoy within the story, primarily because several of them are long and resemble “info” dumps. There was also a tendency within Cavanaugh’s writing to detail every action of the characters, even where this was not necessary. These two traits had the effect of “telling” me the story and taking me “out” of the narrative and any connection I was making with the characters deteriorated. I do believe these sections could have been “tightened” up and this effect lessened.
I debated the author’s choice of putting these history sections in, but, given that he has lived in the Balkans for 20 years, I suspect his own connection to this area may have meant that he wanted to remain “true” to the area and history. It is very easy to sensationalise events and storytelling (here I'm thinking pure "Bond" style spy stories) for pace and in doing so sometimes diminish other story elements that deserve recognition.
Perhaps putting these sections in served not only to explain the complicated history to those unaware of it, but to ensure that a ring of truth remained within the narrative, which is a praiseworthy aim. So, though they detracted from the experience for me, they may prove hugely helpful to other readers.
Fortunately, in this early section there is a simply brilliantly scripted scene between Lucas and a State Department official, Morton Riggs. This scene convinced me of the quality of Cavanaugh’s writing and made me persist with reading Into Hell’s Fire.
In the latter half, the novel really hits its stride. The problems I encountered with the story largely evaporated in this section. Cavanaugh provides us with an excellent array of characters, with detailed backstories, whose tales really highlight the tragedy of this conflict.
I loved the intricacies of the politics - both within the Balkans and with the US and NATO. The various plot arcs are interwoven very well and there are some fine action sequences and scene setting with the author’s detailed knowledge of the area adding to the realism of the story. I could clearly visualise the bombed out cities and beautiful coastlines – the irony of the changing conditions so close to each other was not lost on me.
All in all I did enjoy Into Hell’s Fire, I wasn’t as engrossed in the story as I hoped to be, but it was definitely worth the read I can see many readers loving it.
I’ve debated about how to rate this book 3.5 or 4 stars, I’m leaning toward 3.5. If you love spy / action / thriller novels and history, then take a look at Into Hell’s Fire.
November 20, 2016
This thriller is really intense. It has so much action and so much intrigue. I enjoyed the way that Douglas Cavanaugh wrote the story that took you across the globe and into a situation that was so powerful.
To be the first book by the author is really amazing. This was so well written and kept me interested and involved the entire time. There was no lull in the thrills.
To be the first book by the author is really amazing. This was so well written and kept me interested and involved the entire time. There was no lull in the thrills.
April 27, 2016
Excerpt from Review by ScottyDog -Guest Reviewer - on www.crimebookjunkie.co.uk
Douglas arrived in Croatia in 1996. An American by birth, he spent more than 18 years in Croatia. When he first landed there, the war in neighbouring Bosnia and Herzegovina had just finished, but the effects of that conflict were far from over.
Amazon notes that during an author interview Douglas said, “Post-traumatic stress syndrome in Croatia was epidemic. Many people I knew well had immediate family members who had been killed. Countless others had been separated from their families and friends who had relocated to other parts of the world as refugees. That sort of a forced separation can be brutal on an individual. And more than a few people told me how they had lost everything they owned, and how it all seemed to have happened overnight.”
It seems that Douglas well and truly had is eyes prised open for him, whether he wanted them opened or not. His daily contact with those whose lives had been changed by the conflict prompted him to set his novel, ‘Into Hell’s Fire,’ in that region during the time of the begining of the Siege of Sarajevo. After all, don’t they say, ‘write what you know?’ And boy oh boy, you can bet Douglas knows his subject matter here.
‘Into Hell’s Fire’ (great title, eh, CrimeBookJunkies?) is the story of Lucas Martin, who the US State Department considers to be a ‘trusted source of reliable information within the borders of ex Yugoslavia.’ In 1984 the State Department placed Lucas in the Balkans as an observer and security specialist. Lucas retired in 1991, but when the Siege of Sarajevo begins Lucas watches with horror, the events on TV and is pressed back into service by a government desperate to utilise his knowledge of the area and its people.
‘Into Hell’s Fire’ see Lucas return to the region to gather intelligence, investigate reports of concentration camps . . . and to receive a handsome $25k per month for his trouble. Hell, I’d do it for half that, but probably not nearly as well as Lucas.
You see, Lucas clearly has Douglas Cavanaugh’s affinity for the region, as well as a sense of obligation to a project he had previously committed to. As a reader I really could feel Lucas’ affection for a part of the world which he clearly knew intimately. The first third of the book is quite heavy with regional history and back story and, to be honest, the amount of history might not be to everyone’s taste. That’s what I thought at first, but I soon came to realise that the history is there to make a point. You see, Sarajevo isn’t just a place where Lucas and his antagonist Serbian military officer spar with each other – I felt that Sarajevo is one of the characters. I like this novel because it pushes you to think that little bit more.
As with all good thrillers the action is well done and is, er, thrilling. From speaking with a few author pals, writing action scenes can be very hit and miss, and isn’t something all authors can do well. Douglas Cavanaugh can do it. From the mortar shells raining down on cars speeding towards the city, to the utterly sublime way Lucas entered a building to take out Serbian snipers who were targeting civilians, it was one hell of a ride.
Die hard fans of crime novels should not be put off by this, or dismiss this book as a war story. It isn’t. It’s a novel for the thinker, for someone who wants to be immersed in something new, something out of their comfort zone. Give this book a try and you’ll discover some real little gems buried in amongst a good, solid novel . . . like the interaction child Lucas has with a downed American pilot during WW2, the superb way that Lucas was granted admission to the West Point Military Academy and, my personal favourite . . . the US Marine who won the Congresional Medal Of Honour, who, at the medal awards ceremony, asked the visiting US Congressman for a job upon leaving the military! Regular CrimeBookJunkies will know that I don’t like to give spoilers in my reviews, so trust me when I say that you’ll find these hidden gems a true delight, buried there by an author who writes very well and shows superb promise.
I genuinely hope that Douglas Cavanaugh writes more. Douglas, we thank you for getting in touch with CrimeBookJunkie, and I thank you for making my daily commute to ‘pest control central’ that little bit more bearable. We salute you, sir, and ask you to keep writing.
Douglas arrived in Croatia in 1996. An American by birth, he spent more than 18 years in Croatia. When he first landed there, the war in neighbouring Bosnia and Herzegovina had just finished, but the effects of that conflict were far from over.
Amazon notes that during an author interview Douglas said, “Post-traumatic stress syndrome in Croatia was epidemic. Many people I knew well had immediate family members who had been killed. Countless others had been separated from their families and friends who had relocated to other parts of the world as refugees. That sort of a forced separation can be brutal on an individual. And more than a few people told me how they had lost everything they owned, and how it all seemed to have happened overnight.”
It seems that Douglas well and truly had is eyes prised open for him, whether he wanted them opened or not. His daily contact with those whose lives had been changed by the conflict prompted him to set his novel, ‘Into Hell’s Fire,’ in that region during the time of the begining of the Siege of Sarajevo. After all, don’t they say, ‘write what you know?’ And boy oh boy, you can bet Douglas knows his subject matter here.
‘Into Hell’s Fire’ (great title, eh, CrimeBookJunkies?) is the story of Lucas Martin, who the US State Department considers to be a ‘trusted source of reliable information within the borders of ex Yugoslavia.’ In 1984 the State Department placed Lucas in the Balkans as an observer and security specialist. Lucas retired in 1991, but when the Siege of Sarajevo begins Lucas watches with horror, the events on TV and is pressed back into service by a government desperate to utilise his knowledge of the area and its people.
‘Into Hell’s Fire’ see Lucas return to the region to gather intelligence, investigate reports of concentration camps . . . and to receive a handsome $25k per month for his trouble. Hell, I’d do it for half that, but probably not nearly as well as Lucas.
You see, Lucas clearly has Douglas Cavanaugh’s affinity for the region, as well as a sense of obligation to a project he had previously committed to. As a reader I really could feel Lucas’ affection for a part of the world which he clearly knew intimately. The first third of the book is quite heavy with regional history and back story and, to be honest, the amount of history might not be to everyone’s taste. That’s what I thought at first, but I soon came to realise that the history is there to make a point. You see, Sarajevo isn’t just a place where Lucas and his antagonist Serbian military officer spar with each other – I felt that Sarajevo is one of the characters. I like this novel because it pushes you to think that little bit more.
As with all good thrillers the action is well done and is, er, thrilling. From speaking with a few author pals, writing action scenes can be very hit and miss, and isn’t something all authors can do well. Douglas Cavanaugh can do it. From the mortar shells raining down on cars speeding towards the city, to the utterly sublime way Lucas entered a building to take out Serbian snipers who were targeting civilians, it was one hell of a ride.
Die hard fans of crime novels should not be put off by this, or dismiss this book as a war story. It isn’t. It’s a novel for the thinker, for someone who wants to be immersed in something new, something out of their comfort zone. Give this book a try and you’ll discover some real little gems buried in amongst a good, solid novel . . . like the interaction child Lucas has with a downed American pilot during WW2, the superb way that Lucas was granted admission to the West Point Military Academy and, my personal favourite . . . the US Marine who won the Congresional Medal Of Honour, who, at the medal awards ceremony, asked the visiting US Congressman for a job upon leaving the military! Regular CrimeBookJunkies will know that I don’t like to give spoilers in my reviews, so trust me when I say that you’ll find these hidden gems a true delight, buried there by an author who writes very well and shows superb promise.
I genuinely hope that Douglas Cavanaugh writes more. Douglas, we thank you for getting in touch with CrimeBookJunkie, and I thank you for making my daily commute to ‘pest control central’ that little bit more bearable. We salute you, sir, and ask you to keep writing.
February 22, 2020
"Douglas Cavanaugh managed to create an outstandingly vivid, engaging story and handled a sensitive subject in a tactful manner," - Nikolina Demark, contributing reporter at total-croatia-news.com, January 20, 2018.
IMPORTANT UPDATES:
1. Author Douglas Cavanaugh is pleased to announce that Into Hell's Fire is prominently featured in The Balkan War section of the new documentary book entitled, Docu-Fictions of War, written by Dr. Tatiana Prorokova. Tatiana is a postdoctoral researcher and lecturer in the Department of English and American Studies at the University of Vienna. Her book was published by the University of Nebraska Press and is available for purchase at all major outlets on May 01, 2019.
2. Into Hell's Fire has been selected to be translated into Croatian! It will be available to readers within Croatia sometime in 2020.
IMPORTANT UPDATES:
1. Author Douglas Cavanaugh is pleased to announce that Into Hell's Fire is prominently featured in The Balkan War section of the new documentary book entitled, Docu-Fictions of War, written by Dr. Tatiana Prorokova. Tatiana is a postdoctoral researcher and lecturer in the Department of English and American Studies at the University of Vienna. Her book was published by the University of Nebraska Press and is available for purchase at all major outlets on May 01, 2019.
2. Into Hell's Fire has been selected to be translated into Croatian! It will be available to readers within Croatia sometime in 2020.
December 17, 2014
After a recent vacation to various locations in Croatia, as well as two short days in Sarajevo, I found myself wanting to read more about the region. This book has a suspenseful plot that takes place during the Balkan wars of the early 1990s. It is a sublime mix of history and spy novel that is a true page turner (or button pusher since I read it on my Kindle). Sarajevo is a beautiful and fascinating city that I cannot wait to explore further, and coastal Croatia is too charming and beautiful to even put into words. This book captured the essence of both while educating the reader in a history that is so immensely tragic, it too seems like it should be fiction. It is truly painful when you recognize that the historical subject matter is such a recent reality. Thank you Mr. Cavanaugh.
December 5, 2017
"It seems as though all hell has broken loose in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the administration is more than a little perplexed about how best to proceed."
Lucas Martin is a retired U.S. government agent who is asked to come out of retirement to help prove that the Serbian militia is murdering Croatians and Muslim people in Bosnia. His Croatian family ties and contacts from earlier government assignments in the Balkans help him infiltrate the country. However, the task is nearly impossible with dire consequences for anyone being caught by the militia. Will he get the intel in time for the U.S. government and the United Nations to step in and help the people in Croatia?
Serbian General Stevan Parenta is the ruthless antagonist who is Lucas’ worst adversary. His personal mission is to kill Croatians and anyone who gets in his way of making a profit from the war including Lucas Martin who is a threat to his plans. What is the general’s plans and will Lucas be able to stop him?
See my complete review at The Eclectic Review
Lucas Martin is a retired U.S. government agent who is asked to come out of retirement to help prove that the Serbian militia is murdering Croatians and Muslim people in Bosnia. His Croatian family ties and contacts from earlier government assignments in the Balkans help him infiltrate the country. However, the task is nearly impossible with dire consequences for anyone being caught by the militia. Will he get the intel in time for the U.S. government and the United Nations to step in and help the people in Croatia?
Serbian General Stevan Parenta is the ruthless antagonist who is Lucas’ worst adversary. His personal mission is to kill Croatians and anyone who gets in his way of making a profit from the war including Lucas Martin who is a threat to his plans. What is the general’s plans and will Lucas be able to stop him?
See my complete review at The Eclectic Review
Currently reading
February 18, 2020Cavanaugh is quite a story teller. To read his story, one would think he grew up in "ex Yugoslavia." Cavanaugh leads you down the paths of "ex Yugo," like he has been every little village in his story. Gangsters galore in Croatia and Bosnia were the ordinary in the 90's. It's easy to tell that Cavanaugh personally knows some of them. I wonder what his next book will be, and will the surviving gangsters of "Into Hell's Fire" be in it? A definitely good read, and every day you read more pages than the previous day. I am waiting on the sequel.
November 23, 2020
I was not sure how I was going to react to this book because it hits home. Having lived through the war in Bosnia in the '90s, I was afraid that the book might bring out negative memories of the hell we survived but it didn't. The author does touch upon many actual themes that occurred during the war but he does it in such an interesting way that it was the first time I actually enjoyed reading a book that deals with the theme of war in this region. I would love to see this turned into a movie!
Great job Doc Cavanaugh....
Great job Doc Cavanaugh....
January 26, 2023
Engrossing, hard to put down. The author writes with authentic experience. Enjoyed it immensely.
October 20, 2016
Douglas Cavanaugh’s first novel, Into Hell’s Fire is a fast-paced espionage-meets-action tale set during the civil wars erupting in the Balkans in the 1990s. Leaving the “normal” horrors of war to one side, the former Republic of Yugoslavia was tearing itself apart from the inside. And to help justify it, Serbian authorities turned against the Muslim communities, committing an incredible level of genocide to purge the republic of them.
Having read the blurb for Into Hell’s Fire, I settled in, looking forward to an entertaining espionage escapade. Lucas Martin, an American-Croat is recruited out of retirement to help the US Government to find any intelligence from inside the combat zones that might just force the UN and NATO to take strong military action to end the war. As the story unfolds, it is clear there is more to war the control. War can be very profitable, and certain elements are out for financial gain, so seek to prolong the war, even if they cannot win it.
Cavanaugh sprinkles historic account throughout the book, building up the story of what took place prior to the war. I liked this idea as it gave context to everything, and it was a nice touch to learn about the subject matter as the story unfolded. Into Hell’s Fire throws the reader into the action alongside Lucas Martin, and carries us through the streets of Sarajevo and the Balkan states.
The story starts with Lucas being sent on a reconnaissance exercise: specifically to gather intelligence that would force the United Nations and NATO into taking action to halt the genocide that was growing as a result of the Serbian bombardment of Sarajevo and systematic slaughter of their own citizens. Events conspire against this, leading to an all-out action scenario. While the story was entertaining with a great tempo to it, the one thing in my view that stopped it jumping up to a four star rating is simply the mix of an espionage story and an action book. If blended well the two genres could well work. My issue was the way the book moved from espionage into action, rather than a seemless blend.
All around, Into Hell’s Fire is a brilliant first entry from Douglas Cavanaugh, and I will be looking forward to future books from him.
Having read the blurb for Into Hell’s Fire, I settled in, looking forward to an entertaining espionage escapade. Lucas Martin, an American-Croat is recruited out of retirement to help the US Government to find any intelligence from inside the combat zones that might just force the UN and NATO to take strong military action to end the war. As the story unfolds, it is clear there is more to war the control. War can be very profitable, and certain elements are out for financial gain, so seek to prolong the war, even if they cannot win it.
Cavanaugh sprinkles historic account throughout the book, building up the story of what took place prior to the war. I liked this idea as it gave context to everything, and it was a nice touch to learn about the subject matter as the story unfolded. Into Hell’s Fire throws the reader into the action alongside Lucas Martin, and carries us through the streets of Sarajevo and the Balkan states.
The story starts with Lucas being sent on a reconnaissance exercise: specifically to gather intelligence that would force the United Nations and NATO into taking action to halt the genocide that was growing as a result of the Serbian bombardment of Sarajevo and systematic slaughter of their own citizens. Events conspire against this, leading to an all-out action scenario. While the story was entertaining with a great tempo to it, the one thing in my view that stopped it jumping up to a four star rating is simply the mix of an espionage story and an action book. If blended well the two genres could well work. My issue was the way the book moved from espionage into action, rather than a seemless blend.
All around, Into Hell’s Fire is a brilliant first entry from Douglas Cavanaugh, and I will be looking forward to future books from him.
January 5, 2016
Into Hell's Fire
Douglas Cavanaugh
Action / Spy Thriller
326 pages
Rating 5 stars out of 5
In the opening chapters of Into Hell's Fire we meet the antagonist, Serbian General Stevan Parenta. The Bosnia war is being fought in the early 1990s. Before the conflict, the General was a low ranking bank employee, but through ruthless acts against the Croatian and Muslim peoples he has advanced in only two years to head the Serb Army.
Across the world, retired, middle-aged Lucas Martin has retired and is living in Thailand. Before retirement, Lucas was a go-to fixer for the U.S. State Department. He is an expert on Yugoslavian politics and worked under-cover as a free-lance reporter to gather information. He stays in good physical shape and isn't adverse to killing when necessary.
Into Hell's Fire is a well written and intriguing account capturing the horrors of war between the Serbian, Croatian and Muslim citizenry. The politics of war are soon overshadowed by the personal greed for power and money by government officials and high ranking military officers. That's when the gist of the story unfolds.
Lucas accepts a lucrative offer to go back into Yugoslavia to document suspected war crimes being committed by the Serbian Army. He is soon drawn into the heart of the conflict where the action is plentiful and vividly staged.
The plot of this story is captivating, and the editing is very well done; it's not perfect but the errors are few and minor.
Sentence structure is good, and the details are painted with vivid color to build clear images of the people and their surroundings.
Main and supporting characters are artfully developed and leave lasting impressions of the good guys vs. the bad.
I heartily recommend this thrilling account of a senseless war.
This review was made in exchange for a free copy of the book.
Vigilant Reader Book Reviews.
Douglas Cavanaugh
Action / Spy Thriller
326 pages
Rating 5 stars out of 5
In the opening chapters of Into Hell's Fire we meet the antagonist, Serbian General Stevan Parenta. The Bosnia war is being fought in the early 1990s. Before the conflict, the General was a low ranking bank employee, but through ruthless acts against the Croatian and Muslim peoples he has advanced in only two years to head the Serb Army.
Across the world, retired, middle-aged Lucas Martin has retired and is living in Thailand. Before retirement, Lucas was a go-to fixer for the U.S. State Department. He is an expert on Yugoslavian politics and worked under-cover as a free-lance reporter to gather information. He stays in good physical shape and isn't adverse to killing when necessary.
Into Hell's Fire is a well written and intriguing account capturing the horrors of war between the Serbian, Croatian and Muslim citizenry. The politics of war are soon overshadowed by the personal greed for power and money by government officials and high ranking military officers. That's when the gist of the story unfolds.
Lucas accepts a lucrative offer to go back into Yugoslavia to document suspected war crimes being committed by the Serbian Army. He is soon drawn into the heart of the conflict where the action is plentiful and vividly staged.
The plot of this story is captivating, and the editing is very well done; it's not perfect but the errors are few and minor.
Sentence structure is good, and the details are painted with vivid color to build clear images of the people and their surroundings.
Main and supporting characters are artfully developed and leave lasting impressions of the good guys vs. the bad.
I heartily recommend this thrilling account of a senseless war.
This review was made in exchange for a free copy of the book.
Vigilant Reader Book Reviews.
February 20, 2016
Into Hell's Fire is a masterfully written political thriller that's bound to keep you on the edge of your seat from beginning to end. Douglas Cavanaugh paints a vivid picture of the bloody Balkan war, taking the reader on an educational action-packed adventure.
When we first meet the protagonist, Lucas Martin, he is enjoying early retirement (or "permanent vacation") while living in Thailand in an apartment overlooking the Patong Bay. His dreams of nonstop traveling and sightseeing across Southeast Asia are suddenly put on hold when a man from Martin's past calls him up asking for his help.
As it turns out, the United States government never read the briefing Martin had written before he entered his early retirement, now they wish they had. Their failure not to has left them unsure of how to proceed with their involvement, and position on, a new war beginning to unfold. As fate would have it, Martin is asked to get back in the game working undercover as a photographer within the boarders of ex-Yugoslavia. His mission is to report the facts about whatever is really happening on the ground, allowing the United States to better understand how they can be of help in the region.
The book first sucks you in with a gripping beginning sequence, then carries on that momentum in supercharged fashion to the very end.
I found this book to be an incredibly fun read and managed to finish it in a short weekend. Those unfamiliar with the territory, like myself, will turn the final page and walk away with a much better understanding of what the war was really about, and who was effected by it. The author displays wonderful pacing leading up to a climatic ending that begs for more. I hope for a squeal, as I'm sure you will too!
When we first meet the protagonist, Lucas Martin, he is enjoying early retirement (or "permanent vacation") while living in Thailand in an apartment overlooking the Patong Bay. His dreams of nonstop traveling and sightseeing across Southeast Asia are suddenly put on hold when a man from Martin's past calls him up asking for his help.
As it turns out, the United States government never read the briefing Martin had written before he entered his early retirement, now they wish they had. Their failure not to has left them unsure of how to proceed with their involvement, and position on, a new war beginning to unfold. As fate would have it, Martin is asked to get back in the game working undercover as a photographer within the boarders of ex-Yugoslavia. His mission is to report the facts about whatever is really happening on the ground, allowing the United States to better understand how they can be of help in the region.
The book first sucks you in with a gripping beginning sequence, then carries on that momentum in supercharged fashion to the very end.
I found this book to be an incredibly fun read and managed to finish it in a short weekend. Those unfamiliar with the territory, like myself, will turn the final page and walk away with a much better understanding of what the war was really about, and who was effected by it. The author displays wonderful pacing leading up to a climatic ending that begs for more. I hope for a squeal, as I'm sure you will too!
April 27, 2016
I received a free copy of this in exchange for an honest review.
The only thing about the Balkans that I remember from GCSE history is the phrase 'powder keg', but that seemed to serve me well while reading this tense, highly descriptive novel.
I dislike giving books a gender, but I think this is definitely a man's book and would appeal to those who remember the time and the conflict especially. I imagine this is a book that my grandad would really be able to get his teeth into and enjoy, and I don't mean that disrespectfully or nastily at all!
It felt like the book switched between fiction and non-fiction and for me that really worked. It was almost as thought there was a factual paragraph about the conflict or the siege of Sarajevo and then a bit more fictional story, with the two going hand in hand. I thought this was very clever and that the book as a whole was very well written.
This wasn't my normal read in terms of content, but I did enjoy it. Into Hell's Fire was very professionally written and was polished and clean, and easy to read. It flowed very well. I would definitely be interested in reading other works by Douglas Cavanaugh.
4*
The only thing about the Balkans that I remember from GCSE history is the phrase 'powder keg', but that seemed to serve me well while reading this tense, highly descriptive novel.
I dislike giving books a gender, but I think this is definitely a man's book and would appeal to those who remember the time and the conflict especially. I imagine this is a book that my grandad would really be able to get his teeth into and enjoy, and I don't mean that disrespectfully or nastily at all!
It felt like the book switched between fiction and non-fiction and for me that really worked. It was almost as thought there was a factual paragraph about the conflict or the siege of Sarajevo and then a bit more fictional story, with the two going hand in hand. I thought this was very clever and that the book as a whole was very well written.
This wasn't my normal read in terms of content, but I did enjoy it. Into Hell's Fire was very professionally written and was polished and clean, and easy to read. It flowed very well. I would definitely be interested in reading other works by Douglas Cavanaugh.
4*
May 4, 2015
In mixing facts to fiction, Douglas Cavanaugh succeeded to produce a novel that is completely concise and believable. From the story to its characters everything is so real. Using dry prose and action-centered style the plot follows the story of an Croatian-American character, Lucas Martin, in his mission through Croatia and Bosnia during the period of war. With a little help from his friends and allies and with a good dose of luck Lucas succeeds to bring to an end his mission leaving a sort of to-be-continued sensation at the end. If you are into war-action themes this is the right novel do dive into. Good reading!
February 14, 2016
An excellent story which was told so well, it made me feel like I was in a war-ravaged country instead of merely reading a story. I would definitely read other stories by this fantastic author.
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