The Glasshouse Gang

The Glasshouse Gang

by Gordon Landsborough

The Glasshouse screws came for Offer in his cell in the early morning, two of them in steel-tipped boots, with swagger sticks and their own fists. They left him senseless, a mauled and bleeding heap as they had left so many others. But even as he struggled back to consciousness, Offer was planning his revenge. He organised his campaign with military precision. With British arms and British vehicles, and the plunder of British stores and depots, he would wage his own war in the desert, and his enemies would not be Rommel’s Afrika Korps, but the British Army... Praise for Gordon Landsborough “An exiting, tough, fast and moving novel” – Times Literary Supplement “It has everything…supremely good characterisation, descriptive brilliance, and masterly in its simplicity" - Birmingham Post "A punchy tale coupled with plenty of action - an engaging read!" - Philip McCormac Gordon Landsborough was a publisher, author and bookseller. In the 1950s to 1980s, the publishing industry went through significant changes. Landsborough found himself at the forefront of this and used this opportunity to bring forth his innovative ideas. Other works by Landsborough included, The Violent People (1960), The Dead Commando (1976) and Black Death (1951), among many more.

193 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1967

About the author

(1913-1984)

Landsborough was a publisher, author and bookseller. Writing tales about the exploits of gun-toting cowboys fighting out on the arid sands of the Wild West, Landsborough was himself a pioneer in the English paperback publishing world of the 1950s.

Reviews

[Nick Brett · Rating 2 out of 5]

An oddity. Written about 45 years ago and very much “of its time”.
It’s set in the North African campaign of WW2 and has an odd choice of characters that it is hard to emphasise with. We start in a British military prison and are introduced to some pretty rough inmates and brutal prison staff. Eventually there is a break out and a Unit of ex-cons start roaming around the desert. Their goal is to pretend to be an official unit, but in reality are just hiding out and enjoying the spoils of thievery. And that’s kind of the book, the guys are interested in nobody but themselves and are pretty unpleasant individuals. You would assume that this bunch of misfits would eventually gel and be forced to take the war to the Afrika Corps, er no. They remain criminally minded and just want to hide out for the duration of the war.
So, an oddity. Do you root for what are essentially bad guys? The writing is slightly odd as well, a kind of observational style that takes a little getting used to.
So okay, but not sure I want to read any more in the series.

[David John Cook · Rating 5 out of 5]

War time adventure where the "bad " guy's are the good guy's.

This is a different take on the classic desert war in North Africa novel.
Set during the seesaw period before El Alamein. A group of soldiers who have experienced the rough side of military justice decide to sit out the rest of the war in the desert avoiding both the British Army & the Afrika Korps.
Unfortunately nobody told either the British or the Germans, which leads the GGCU to fight for their lives & their continued liberty & in doing so fight for the very Army that .sent them to jail.. This is the 1st in the series of 4 books that promise to give you a different view on what motivates soldiers to fight.

[Vojzola · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good story based on facts, sort of! The Brit sarcastic humour and piss taking that is the normal banter of all squaddies

comes through, very enjoyable. The editor needs to help the author on repetitions and correct Arab wording, but otherwise it’s good.

[barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Started off ok but when it come to stealing trucks drinks army gear thought bit far fetched and plot was very weak didn't do anything for me .I didn't finish the book just got to much .

[Mick · Rating 4 out of 5]

First class

Brilliant read definitely a free I will stay with.Once started I could not stop until the end looking forward to the next one

[Anthony King · Rating 5 out of 5]

Egyptian escape

Five stars for the description of the brutality of the Glasshouse. It also covers the rest of the story, in all a riproaring read! When is the next one due?

[Ian Kemp · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great reading getting next

[Mr Shaun Harraway · Rating 4 out of 5]

great storyline

A different take on traditional ww2 stories. Some interesting characters involved. Can’t wait to see what is in store for them next.

[Tim Deforest · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first of a four book series with an interesting premise. The main characters begin as inmates in the Glasshouse, a British military prison located in Egypt during World War 2. The prison is a brutal place, with the inmates treated in a violently sadistic manner. When former officer John Offer gets out after a term for theft, he wants revenge.

With other former inmates, he forms what comes to be called the Glasshouse Gang Commando Unit. They track down and beat up several of their former guards and eventually even stage a raid on the prison itself, exacting vengence on the prison's commanding officer and recruiting more members.

In the meantime, Offer has shown his intelligence and audacity by hiding the G.G.C.U. in plain site, setting up tents and supplying themselves via night-time raids on depots and pay centers. They thus blend in with the myriad other British units in the area.

Eventually, the military police get suspicious and the gang shifts location out into the desert, where several of the gang are captured by Germans. A rescue mission is necessary, leading to a very exciting climax involving a machine-gun equipped truck being chased by a number of machine-gun equipped German vehicles.

John Offer is an interesting protagonist. There are sociopathic aspects to his personality, but he's also a good leader, able to plan missions and improvise under pressure. The book draws on the same anti-authoritarian vibes that classic WWII movies such as "The Dirty Dozen" and "Kelly's Heroes" used so effectively. There's a counterpoint to this, though, as Offer also has to depend on giving structure and order to his gang of thugs so he can ensure their freedom and survival. There's a real tension there--Offer earns the respect of most of the men, but a number of hardcases don't take orders willingly. This becomes an increasingly important plot point as the story progresses and brings an interesting sense of irony to the book's anti-authoritarian attitude.

[John Davies · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was expecting something different from this book. It's not a bad story, about a group of British soldiers accused of various crimes managing to escape from the prison they are being held in during the North African campaign of the Second World War, and going on the run from both the British and Germans in the Siwa Oasis.

There's not a lot of fighting (apart from prison guards) and a P.O.W. release from the Germans towards the end of the book. The book draws you in though, and I found myself wanting to know more about these characters, and why they were like they were. Some are out and out villains, but some seem to have redeeming qualities, and I think that's why the story works, because you hope that they will turn out to be the proper soldiers they could be.

There are four books in the series, and I'm looking forward to reading them all.

[Matthew · Rating 2 out of 5]

This one has a bit of a slow start. Hopefully now that the characters and their situation has been established, the series will pick up a bit.