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Hell to Pay
This riveting, true-to-life war novel has more to offer than combat. Aside from treating the reader to the thrill of flying, one experiences the stressful life of a pilot far from his family in a frantic war. Folded skillfully into the tale are romance, history, espionage, government corruption and much more. It has been well received by women as well as men.
Captain "Hal" Kirby, USN, is a pilot's pilot and damn glad to be on the leading edge of a war held in balance by Naval air power. The North Korean Army wants South Korea at all costs and Kirby's Air Group on the USS Valley Forge must hold them at bay until U.S. forces can be mobilized.
Also nagging at Kirby's subconscious is Lieutenant Commander Luther Garr's six-year-old promise to get even with Kirby. Garr's happenstance assignment to the USS Valley Forge allows him to put his devious mind to work in destroying Kirby`s career and marriage as well as bringing the Navy to its knees.
As the story unfolds, the North Koreans, Garr and the temptations of a woman named Marmette are not Kirby's only challenges. He will be faced with many life-changing experiences that impact his professional and personal life ominously.
The multifaceted plot weaves its path away from Korea and back, Kirby becomes an unknowing victim of government corruption. This thrusts him deep into a political incident with the Soviet Union that will ultimately test his courage and tenacity as a POW.
362 pages, Paperback
Published December 1, 1999
93 people are currently reading
18 people want to read
About the author
Peter J. Azzole
13 books22 followersRetired U.S. Navy Officer. Secondary careers in the defense, commercial aviation and healthcare industries.
Currently residing in NC.
Currently residing in NC.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
January 11, 2019
Great story of Korean War
Great historical fiction of navy pilot in the beginning of Korean War. There is a good storyline with realistic characters. Level of detail was very good making it an interesting and intriguing novel that was difficult to stop reading. His other books about navy intelligence during WWII were great reads as well
Great historical fiction of navy pilot in the beginning of Korean War. There is a good storyline with realistic characters. Level of detail was very good making it an interesting and intriguing novel that was difficult to stop reading. His other books about navy intelligence during WWII were great reads as well
July 29, 2018
Ok. Lots of background information.
I chose four stars because the author took more than his share of poetic license. Nonetheless, an absorbing read. Will definitely read his other works.
I chose four stars because the author took more than his share of poetic license. Nonetheless, an absorbing read. Will definitely read his other works.
December 8, 2018
Well written military history
They may be fiction but they are well told stories with rich characters and deliciously convoluted plots. The author used his personal military experience to write believable stories... Highly entertaining!
They may be fiction but they are well told stories with rich characters and deliciously convoluted plots. The author used his personal military experience to write believable stories... Highly entertaining!
August 13, 2022
Extra, extra: Tension flare, rockets fly, as the North threatens to take all the Korean pie!
While this headline may seem pulled from recent news, it was also heralded by newspapers in the 1950’s, as a war-weary world prepared for another potentially devastating international conflict: This time, on the Korean Peninsula. It is this familiar environment, that of “The Forgotten War,” that author Lieutenant Peter Azzole vividly revives in “Hell to Pay.”
“Hell to Pay” is an historical fiction recounting of the role of U.S. Naval aviators in The Korean War. The author served aboard ship in active duty capacity, thus is able to create a potent protagonist in Captain Hal Kirby: A man who, at first, seems to enjoy his job and the perks that come with it (such as getting to sit in on mission briefings with historical figures like the redoubtable Douglas MacArthur and having “[his engine run] up to red-line” by the admiralty’s Administrative Head Marmette Clements whose “cover-girl” face and honey-blonde-haired looks are Rita Hayworthy). Make no mistake though, it’s Kirby’s opening air attack on Pyongyang and at Wonsan that catch both general’s and admiral’s eyes and make him a man on his way up in the world, literally and figuratively.
However, as Admiral Hawkins puts it, “Those new eagles you’re wearing [Captain Kirby] have put you into another league.” As such, much of the novel is about Captain Kirby maneuvering not just over Communist territory, but through the capitalist “politics and personality” conflicts of the war. For example, an old nemesis from Kirby’s past, Lieutenant Commander Garr, tries his professionalism early on; while later, another foe threatens the Captain’s very life and changes his point of view.
But for those who think this is just a camouflaged homage to James A. Mitchener’s Korean War classic “The Bridges at Toko-Ri,” it’s truly not. While that story has more of an anti-war tone, “Hell To Pay,” for the most part, is about Kirby and company “getting it in gear” enough to carry out the mission. Though we know the ultimate outcome of the war now, the author keeps the perspective wonderfully in the moment; so there seems to be a lack of widespread vitriol read in some Vietnam or modern-day war sagas. This accurately reflects the times in which The Korean War was fought: The early 1950’s. While the world was rebuilding from World War II, there was still a good deal of public trust in higher authority to get the job done. So the atmosphere in “Hell to Pay” is quite different than most war stories the causal reader may be accustomed to. It reads more like working through an everyday job than an epic undertaking. This isn’t a “Top Gun” aviator’s tale, in other words.
If there is a chink in the armor of “Hell to Pay” it is this: It could have been a great deal shorter, in terms of trimming the size and scope of the mission. There are a great many characters and descriptions, including a cameo by President Harry S Truman, that seemed unnecessary and slow down the pace. While there are still thrills aplenty, they’re strung out between sometimes over-detailed briefings and romantic interludes between Kirby and the few female characters. On that note, those accustomed to modern sensibilities take heed: The story is set 5 years after World War II. And while there were, by some estimates, between 50,000 and 120,000 women who served in Korea, the female characters here are largely, though support staff personnel, eye candy. At one point, they’re even dressed in yukata—"informal kimonos.”
On a minor note, it felt awkward to have the maps and photographs that explain critical elements of the story as a prologue. This information would have been better placed as a glossary instead. A simple explanation of how The Korean War began would have sufficed as a lead-in.
Nevertheless, “Hell to Pay” is a thoughtful flight of historical fiction that gets 4 stars for creation of a thoroughly complex and memorable hero in Captain Hal Kirby; an extraordinary sense of place on land, sea, and air; and of good use of American politics and personality conflicts to create a fascinating existential threat that often proves more formidable than the will of the Communist adversaries.
While this headline may seem pulled from recent news, it was also heralded by newspapers in the 1950’s, as a war-weary world prepared for another potentially devastating international conflict: This time, on the Korean Peninsula. It is this familiar environment, that of “The Forgotten War,” that author Lieutenant Peter Azzole vividly revives in “Hell to Pay.”
“Hell to Pay” is an historical fiction recounting of the role of U.S. Naval aviators in The Korean War. The author served aboard ship in active duty capacity, thus is able to create a potent protagonist in Captain Hal Kirby: A man who, at first, seems to enjoy his job and the perks that come with it (such as getting to sit in on mission briefings with historical figures like the redoubtable Douglas MacArthur and having “[his engine run] up to red-line” by the admiralty’s Administrative Head Marmette Clements whose “cover-girl” face and honey-blonde-haired looks are Rita Hayworthy). Make no mistake though, it’s Kirby’s opening air attack on Pyongyang and at Wonsan that catch both general’s and admiral’s eyes and make him a man on his way up in the world, literally and figuratively.
However, as Admiral Hawkins puts it, “Those new eagles you’re wearing [Captain Kirby] have put you into another league.” As such, much of the novel is about Captain Kirby maneuvering not just over Communist territory, but through the capitalist “politics and personality” conflicts of the war. For example, an old nemesis from Kirby’s past, Lieutenant Commander Garr, tries his professionalism early on; while later, another foe threatens the Captain’s very life and changes his point of view.
But for those who think this is just a camouflaged homage to James A. Mitchener’s Korean War classic “The Bridges at Toko-Ri,” it’s truly not. While that story has more of an anti-war tone, “Hell To Pay,” for the most part, is about Kirby and company “getting it in gear” enough to carry out the mission. Though we know the ultimate outcome of the war now, the author keeps the perspective wonderfully in the moment; so there seems to be a lack of widespread vitriol read in some Vietnam or modern-day war sagas. This accurately reflects the times in which The Korean War was fought: The early 1950’s. While the world was rebuilding from World War II, there was still a good deal of public trust in higher authority to get the job done. So the atmosphere in “Hell to Pay” is quite different than most war stories the causal reader may be accustomed to. It reads more like working through an everyday job than an epic undertaking. This isn’t a “Top Gun” aviator’s tale, in other words.
If there is a chink in the armor of “Hell to Pay” it is this: It could have been a great deal shorter, in terms of trimming the size and scope of the mission. There are a great many characters and descriptions, including a cameo by President Harry S Truman, that seemed unnecessary and slow down the pace. While there are still thrills aplenty, they’re strung out between sometimes over-detailed briefings and romantic interludes between Kirby and the few female characters. On that note, those accustomed to modern sensibilities take heed: The story is set 5 years after World War II. And while there were, by some estimates, between 50,000 and 120,000 women who served in Korea, the female characters here are largely, though support staff personnel, eye candy. At one point, they’re even dressed in yukata—"informal kimonos.”
On a minor note, it felt awkward to have the maps and photographs that explain critical elements of the story as a prologue. This information would have been better placed as a glossary instead. A simple explanation of how The Korean War began would have sufficed as a lead-in.
Nevertheless, “Hell to Pay” is a thoughtful flight of historical fiction that gets 4 stars for creation of a thoroughly complex and memorable hero in Captain Hal Kirby; an extraordinary sense of place on land, sea, and air; and of good use of American politics and personality conflicts to create a fascinating existential threat that often proves more formidable than the will of the Communist adversaries.
February 14, 2020
Absolutly riveting.
First off this is a must read for all miltary fans. From the beginning all the way thru to the end of the book,it has you in it's grip the way it is written you almost feel like you are there. This is one of my all time favorite reads.
First off this is a must read for all miltary fans. From the beginning all the way thru to the end of the book,it has you in it's grip the way it is written you almost feel like you are there. This is one of my all time favorite reads.
January 15, 2021
Must Read
Written in a real life and believable style that pulls the reader in and hangs on until the last page. The characters are all so real that you almost feel as though you may meet them or have before. A great book and extremely well authored. Thanks Peter.
Written in a real life and believable style that pulls the reader in and hangs on until the last page. The characters are all so real that you almost feel as though you may meet them or have before. A great book and extremely well authored. Thanks Peter.
April 12, 2020
Great read with intrigue and action!
Good read with intrigue and action to match historical plot line.
Highlights hardship on family life of our military personnel!
Good read with intrigue and action to match historical plot line.
Highlights hardship on family life of our military personnel!
June 14, 2019
Interesting developments
As I am of that age and served my country during this time, it gave me some new perspectives as what may have been going on, other than the fighting ground action.
As I am of that age and served my country during this time, it gave me some new perspectives as what may have been going on, other than the fighting ground action.
July 9, 2019
A great ,fast moving novel
A very well written, realistic book that provides very interesting details to the Korean air war. An integrated approach to the US Army, US Navy, and CIA. This book will be hard to put down.
A very well written, realistic book that provides very interesting details to the Korean air war. An integrated approach to the US Army, US Navy, and CIA. This book will be hard to put down.
February 19, 2019
Ugly and beautiful
This book portrays the valor of our men and also the betrayal which is bred from greed. Simplistic and complex at the same time. Fiction and truth.
This book portrays the valor of our men and also the betrayal which is bred from greed. Simplistic and complex at the same time. Fiction and truth.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews