The Mercenaries

Ira Penaluna #2

by John Harris

Ira Penaluna, First World War pilot, sees his airline go bankrupt in Africa and grabs at the chance to instruct pilots in China. But Ira hasn’t reckoned on the beat-up, burnt-out wrecks he is expected to teach his students in, or on the fact that his pupils speak no English. Though aided and abetted by an enthusiastic assistant, an irresponsible Fagan and his brooding American girlfriend Ellie, Ira finds himself playing a deadly game, becoming embroiled in China’s civil war. The four are forced to flee but the only way out is in a struggling pile of junk flown precariously towards safety. Will they make it?

Genres: Fiction

320 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1969

About the author

John^^Harris
Pseudonyms: Max Hennessy; Mark Hebden

Image is a self caricature from the late 1970s.

From Wikipedia:
John Harris was a British author. He published a series of crime novels featuring the character Inspector Pel, and war books. He wrote with his own name, and also with the pseudonym of Mark Hebden. His 1953 novel The Sea Shall Not Have Them was the basis for a feature film of the same name in 1954. He was the father of Juliet Harris, who published more Inspector Pel books under the name of Juliet Hebden.

Reviews

[Chuck · Rating 4 out of 5]

WWI is finally over and Ira Penaluna is deciding what to do after the War. He decides to stay with the RAF and ends up in Russian helping the White Army, then to Africa where he starts a freight transportation business on a shoe string budget, only to see it collapse. He and his young friend Sammy are approached by an American who makes them an offer to come to China and get paid for putting together a small air force for one of the war lords, as well as train young Chinese men to fly.

The book covers all of their adventures while in China during the Boxer Rebellion and the Chinese taking control of their own country. Many adventures throughout the book.

[Munawar · Rating 4 out of 5]

I remember reading this when I was in eighth grade and it left a mark on me, which is more than one could expect from a good story. There is something about the carefree, throw-caution-to-the-winds attitude of the protagonist that strikes a chord with the latent daredevil in every man.

There is no story as such, there is no big climax, they don't end up stopping the war or even making a big impact. The journey is the destination. It's very refreshing that the book is devoid of any commentary on the morality of war. It was a great book about a great adventure.

[Frederick Tan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read.