The Blackguards

by Richard Murphy, David Niall Wilson

Nick O’Malley has come home from Vietnam, but with more questions than answers. His unit, the 173rd Airborne, had orders to close the port of Cam Pha—which should have crippled supply lines and might have ended the war. Instead, just before Nick transferred out, the orders were cancelled. Nick later learns his entire unit was then dropped in behind enemy lines, and wiped out. A mistake? Or something darker? With the help of his father, and a Chicago journalist, Nick heads back in country to try and find answers—both to the fate of his unit, and of the President of the United States. The Blackguards is a story of politics and big business as Nick races to uncover the truth, facing violence and danger at every turn. The characters are tough Americans up against near-impossible odds, making The Blackguards a relevant, good-versus-evil thriller with just enough facts and reality.

204 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2012

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

Richard Murphy was one of Ireland’s most distinguished poets. He is particularly known for poems that draw on the landscape and history of the west of Ireland. His Collected Poems (Gallery Press) was published in 2000, his acclaimed autobiography The Kick (Granta Books) in 2003. His awards include the Cheltenham Award and the American-Irish Foundation Award.

‘Richard Murphy’s verse is classical in a way that demonstrates what the classical strengths really are. It combines a high music with simplicity, force and directness in dealing with the world of action. He has the gift of epic objectivity: behind his poems we feel not the assertion of his personality, but the actuality of events, the facts and sufferings of history’ (Ted Hughes).

Source: http://www.qub.ac.uk/schools/SeamusHe...

Reviews

[Joseph · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is pretty interesting. Kept me engaged through the whole book and developed the characters nicely. However There are a few things that I did not care for.... For example in one scene the guy used a digital camera..... in the 60’s?! Um I don’t think so. Also I felt the ending was weak and kept you hanging.