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Dogs of War
Eight battle-hardened World War II commandos on a quest for a mysterious black box meet a familiar enemy with a terrifying new face -- these Nazis are werewolves. So begins the war within the war, a battle for survival -- and ultimate possession of the coveted box.
288 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2005
12 people want to read
About the author
Steve Ruthenbeck
7 books6 followersSteve Ruthenbeck was born in Minnesota. He grew up on a farm surrounded by corn and soybean fields. One of his earliest memories is hearing about a boy who got lost in a cornfield.
Ruthenbeck went through the standard K-12 school program. There, he read a book about a mutant goldfish. It inspired him to write his first horror story, which had a similar theme. Ruthenbeck eventually attended South Dakota State University and graduated with a degree in journalism. In between classes, he wrote a column for the college newspaper. Sometimes the column was good. Sometimes the column was bad. Once the column got him in trouble with the fraternities...
After college, Ruthenbeck began work in the communications field, where he has earned numerous Spotlight on Excellence awards. He also started selling short stories here and there. His first novel, Dogs of War, was published by Harbor House in 2005. DogSS of War is his preferred version of that story.
In his spare time, Ruthenbeck enjoys movies, sports, video games and spending time with his family.
Ruthenbeck went through the standard K-12 school program. There, he read a book about a mutant goldfish. It inspired him to write his first horror story, which had a similar theme. Ruthenbeck eventually attended South Dakota State University and graduated with a degree in journalism. In between classes, he wrote a column for the college newspaper. Sometimes the column was good. Sometimes the column was bad. Once the column got him in trouble with the fraternities...
After college, Ruthenbeck began work in the communications field, where he has earned numerous Spotlight on Excellence awards. He also started selling short stories here and there. His first novel, Dogs of War, was published by Harbor House in 2005. DogSS of War is his preferred version of that story.
In his spare time, Ruthenbeck enjoys movies, sports, video games and spending time with his family.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
March 4, 2022
A group of American soldiers, each the last of their ill-fated platoons, are sent on a suicide mission to retrieve a mystical artifact in an abandoned town guarded by Nazi werewolves.
What else is there to say? That synopsis is just irresistible. Somehow the book actually lives up to that promise too.
I don’t really like the term “guilty pleasure” since you should unabashedly enjoy what you enjoy and it perpetuates the high culture vs low culture dichotomy that has plagued the art world for centuries, but this is a perfect example of one. It feels like the ultimate big-budget version of one of those outlandish 1980s horror movies you find at a video rental store as a kid.
The characters actually get some dimension to them, the writing is surprisingly good, and that climax is a sight to behold. It’s taking all of my willpower not to start gushing and spoiling everything.
If you’re a fan of historical horror, read this book.
If you’re a fan of werewolves, read this book.
If you’re a fan of Nazis… specify you mean Nazis *in fiction* before saying it in public… then read this book.
What else is there to say? That synopsis is just irresistible. Somehow the book actually lives up to that promise too.
I don’t really like the term “guilty pleasure” since you should unabashedly enjoy what you enjoy and it perpetuates the high culture vs low culture dichotomy that has plagued the art world for centuries, but this is a perfect example of one. It feels like the ultimate big-budget version of one of those outlandish 1980s horror movies you find at a video rental store as a kid.
The characters actually get some dimension to them, the writing is surprisingly good, and that climax is a sight to behold. It’s taking all of my willpower not to start gushing and spoiling everything.
If you’re a fan of historical horror, read this book.
If you’re a fan of werewolves, read this book.
If you’re a fan of Nazis… specify you mean Nazis *in fiction* before saying it in public… then read this book.
December 30, 2009
DOGS OF WAR, by Steve Ruthenbeck; Harbor House, 2005; 300 pgs.; $16.95
Take eight battle-hardened commandos, stir them into a mysterious secret mission, and shake in a pack of Nazi werewolves and you have first-time Minnesota novelist’s new book, DOGS OF WAR.
“A barrage of 20 and 7.92 millimeter slugs punched through the airplane’s sheet metal skin. The wind howled through the perforations like a banshee being drawn and quartered.”
The book opens with a kettle drum roll of thunder and a blast of Messerschmitt machine guns. A “zombie squad”, the leftovers of a what ever shot-up units were available at the time, are assembled for a secret mission behind enemy lines in World War II Europe. Their objective is a secret box which is believed to carry a treasure of incalculable value. Unfortunately for the commandos the box is guarded by the aforementioned pack of Wermacht werewolves.
The story reads a little like a mix between KELLY’S HEROES and DOG SOLDIERS, with a little DIRTY DOZEN thrown in for good measure. The prose is rapid fire and hard hitting. Sometimes too hard in spots. It could have stood with a better editor and a bit of judicious pruning. The author is sometimes guilty of an over-dependence on heavy handed similes, driving them into the reader’s skull like a blind man swatting a mosquito with a twelve pound post maul.
I found myself wondering what this werewolf pack was actually doing so far behind the lines, but perhaps I missed something. Still, one would have thought that a post-D-Day German army, hard pressed by the advance of the Allies, might have wanted their Uber-soldiers a little closer to the front.
Despite these few glitches I heartily enjoyed this novel. I am, in all honesty, a sucker for a well told historical horror; especially one that takes place in World War II. It’s a fine first effort for a writer whom I hope to hear a lot more from in the not-so-distant future.
I recommend it highly to fans of testosterone fiction and World War II horror.
Yours in storytelling,
Steve Vernon
Take eight battle-hardened commandos, stir them into a mysterious secret mission, and shake in a pack of Nazi werewolves and you have first-time Minnesota novelist’s new book, DOGS OF WAR.
“A barrage of 20 and 7.92 millimeter slugs punched through the airplane’s sheet metal skin. The wind howled through the perforations like a banshee being drawn and quartered.”
The book opens with a kettle drum roll of thunder and a blast of Messerschmitt machine guns. A “zombie squad”, the leftovers of a what ever shot-up units were available at the time, are assembled for a secret mission behind enemy lines in World War II Europe. Their objective is a secret box which is believed to carry a treasure of incalculable value. Unfortunately for the commandos the box is guarded by the aforementioned pack of Wermacht werewolves.
The story reads a little like a mix between KELLY’S HEROES and DOG SOLDIERS, with a little DIRTY DOZEN thrown in for good measure. The prose is rapid fire and hard hitting. Sometimes too hard in spots. It could have stood with a better editor and a bit of judicious pruning. The author is sometimes guilty of an over-dependence on heavy handed similes, driving them into the reader’s skull like a blind man swatting a mosquito with a twelve pound post maul.
I found myself wondering what this werewolf pack was actually doing so far behind the lines, but perhaps I missed something. Still, one would have thought that a post-D-Day German army, hard pressed by the advance of the Allies, might have wanted their Uber-soldiers a little closer to the front.
Despite these few glitches I heartily enjoyed this novel. I am, in all honesty, a sucker for a well told historical horror; especially one that takes place in World War II. It’s a fine first effort for a writer whom I hope to hear a lot more from in the not-so-distant future.
I recommend it highly to fans of testosterone fiction and World War II horror.
Yours in storytelling,
Steve Vernon
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