The sixth and final book in Eric Meyer's acclaimed new series on the REAL story behind the SS in Vietnam. The war in Vietnam is over. Yet the descendants of those who fought there are pulled into a new war. A war in a country whose name has come to mean unending conflict, unending brutality, and unending killing. Afghanistan. Into this tortured land flies the civilian pilot Max Hoffman. Out of luck and out of money, he is easy prey to the CIA who recruit him to join their hidden war. Hoffman soon discovers the American intelligence officers have a hidden agenda – personal gain and profit at any cost. And they have no qualms about who gets sacrificed in pursuit of their ruthless aims. Yet they discover that Hoffman is no pushover. His ancestor was the leader of the famed Vietnam fighters, the Devil’s Guard. And Max discovers he too has a talent for warfare that makes him every bit as devious and deadly as the enemy. Hoffman discovers he has entered the shadow war, a war where death can come at the hand of friend or enemy alike. This is a story about a struggle that sucks in men, both military and civilian, and spits them out as battle hardened veterans. Or corpses. It is the story of bitter, bloody fighting, of the struggle to survive in the cauldron of Afghanistan. A story of both regular soldiers, and private contractors. For these are the killers-for-hire once known as mercenaries. The Devil’s Guard has returned.
This review is from: Devil's Guard Afghanistan (Devil's Guard Book 6) (Kindle Edition)
In my opinion this is the worst book in Eric Meyers DEVIL'S GUARD series. The main character Max Hoffman carries a French passport until a few pages later when he carries a Thai passport as he is a citizen of Thailand. He reflects that the French are leery of issuing a passport to anyone named Hoffman. This is apparently because of his grandfather, Jurgen Hoffman, which makes no sense as Jurgen served with distinction in the French Foreign Legion. He did nothing to embarrass or antagonize the French government.
Then there is the matter of Max's military service. At various places in the book he served in the Thai special forces even killing a Vietnamese soldier in a border incident. At other places in the book, he had no military experience and needs coaching from a mercenary leader. The same confusion is present about his firearms knowledge. Despite his service in the Thai army, the only weapon he knows how to use is the M1911 .45 pistol. Near the end of the book he is carrying one of these uncocked in combat. Obviously he wasn't trained very well in the use of the M1911.
There are other continuity problems, but the plot is silly as well. Despite no combat experience and, at this point in the book, the author writes that he has no military experience at all, an American infantry platoon and a group of experienced mercenaries known as the Devil's Guard quickly agree to follow him in combat. Apparently on the sole strength of his grandfather being Jurgen Hoffman. There is more such as the unfinished issues at the end of the book, but I have hit the high points.
Audiobook: I was as entertained by this story as much as the others in the series. I liked how the author picked up Jurgen Hoffman's story by adding a story which featured his grandson, Max Hoffman. I appreciated that Max's story was featured in Afghanistan since the war in Vietnam was over. It made me sad that the government, the military, and private contractors were caught up in a dangerous and complex situation due to the greed of some. I was entertained by Gary Roelofs' narration as his performance was pleasant. I was given a copy of the audiobook. I volunteered, without financial gain, to post this review which reflected my honest opinions regarding this audiobook.