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The Rat Bastards #11
Nightmare Alley
War brings them to life! Send them out on leave and they're a ragged band of losers who will tear any town apart. Bring them back and they're the most efficient bloodletting machine the Japanese have ever had to face. The Rat Bastards. The MPs can't bust them because the Army needs them to win the war. This time they're faced with their bloodiest challenge ever, as the brass sends them on a trip to the closest thing to hell on earth, the Pacific war zone known as Nightmare Alley.
The Rat Bastards.
The Rat Bastards.
208 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published March 1, 1985
3 people are currently reading
18 people want to read
About the author
Len Levinson
79 books21 followersAKA John Mackie, J. Farragut Jones, Nicholas Brady and Gordon Davis; also has ghost written as Clay Dawson.
Born in New Bedford, Massachusetts, Len Levinson served on active duty in the U.S. Army from 1954-1957, and graduated from Michigan State University with a BA in Social Science. He relocated to NYC that year and worked as an advertising copywriter and public relations executive before becoming a full-time novelist.
Len has had over eighty titles published and has created and wrote a number of series, including The Apache Wars Saga, The Pecos Kid, The Rat Bastards, and The Sergeant.
After many years in NYC, Len moved to a small town (pop. 3100) in rural Illinois, where he is now surrounded by corn and soybean fields ... a peaceful, ideal location for a writer.
Born in New Bedford, Massachusetts, Len Levinson served on active duty in the U.S. Army from 1954-1957, and graduated from Michigan State University with a BA in Social Science. He relocated to NYC that year and worked as an advertising copywriter and public relations executive before becoming a full-time novelist.
Len has had over eighty titles published and has created and wrote a number of series, including The Apache Wars Saga, The Pecos Kid, The Rat Bastards, and The Sergeant.
After many years in NYC, Len moved to a small town (pop. 3100) in rural Illinois, where he is now surrounded by corn and soybean fields ... a peaceful, ideal location for a writer.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
February 4, 2024
The Rat Bastards Nightmare Alley is book #11 in The Rat Bastards series, and man what a great read! This is the second time in the series, where the story takes place on base in Hawaii and not in the jungle. It is such a different pace, and give you an idea of what WW2 was like when men were not in battle.
There are many storylines happening, that all end up connecting together, that make the story fly by! I was wondering if the boys would end up back in the jungle, and right at the end, you get a 40+ page chapter of blood and guts that you’ve grown to love in the Rat Bastards series.
Your favorite characters are back, and this time we get a heavy Frankie La Barbara story along with lieutenant Breckinridge which was a fun change of pace.
I really enjoyed this one, and forgot how action packed this series is. If you’ve enjoyed books 1-10 you’ll love 11! Easy 5 stars.
There are many storylines happening, that all end up connecting together, that make the story fly by! I was wondering if the boys would end up back in the jungle, and right at the end, you get a 40+ page chapter of blood and guts that you’ve grown to love in the Rat Bastards series.
Your favorite characters are back, and this time we get a heavy Frankie La Barbara story along with lieutenant Breckinridge which was a fun change of pace.
I really enjoyed this one, and forgot how action packed this series is. If you’ve enjoyed books 1-10 you’ll love 11! Easy 5 stars.
November 14, 2017
War pulp. Lt. Breckinridge takes the lead over Corporal Bannon in greatest number of Japs killed in a single armed combat event, >35, using a carbine, bayonet, hand grenade, Jap pistol, and samurai sword. Try to keep count of how many Japs have their nuts kicked/kneed in Chapter 10. Yet again, more than a few of the Rat Bastards face sudden, imminent death only to have a fellow platoon member shoot or bayonet attacker at last moment. Don't place any money on the new guy surviving. New guys rarely survive in the Rat Bastards. And speaking of Corporal Bannon, where in the hell is he?
March 22, 2019
Missed many of the main characters
Even though many of the main characters from the recon platoon were missing from this one, it was still a fun read.
Even though many of the main characters from the recon platoon were missing from this one, it was still a fun read.
April 27, 2025
Like one of the early entries in the series, this one is set largely in Hawaii, with the main characters resting their between combat assignments. And when they find out they will soon be leaving for New Guinea and more combat... well, they really don't want to go.
Sgt. Butsko is still in the hospital, recovering from wounds suffered in the last book. Without him to keep the platoon in line, half-a-dozen of them get drunk and decide to go AWOL. About two-thirds of the book deals with this--with Lt. Breckenridge risking getting court-martialed himself while he covers for the AWOL men and works to get them back to the platoon. The situation escalates to the regimental commander, but the value of these men as fighters is too large to ignore. Eventually, all are dragged back to duty.
When they get to New Guinea, the story concludes with a long battle-scene as the regiment holds off a Japanese night-attack. Here we get the intense combat scenes that Levinson is so good at--rifles, machine guns, grenades, bayonets and captured samurai swords--along with many, many kicks to the groan--all play a role in the bloody hand-to-hand combat taking palace.
Sgt. Butsko is still in the hospital, recovering from wounds suffered in the last book. Without him to keep the platoon in line, half-a-dozen of them get drunk and decide to go AWOL. About two-thirds of the book deals with this--with Lt. Breckenridge risking getting court-martialed himself while he covers for the AWOL men and works to get them back to the platoon. The situation escalates to the regimental commander, but the value of these men as fighters is too large to ignore. Eventually, all are dragged back to duty.
When they get to New Guinea, the story concludes with a long battle-scene as the regiment holds off a Japanese night-attack. Here we get the intense combat scenes that Levinson is so good at--rifles, machine guns, grenades, bayonets and captured samurai swords--along with many, many kicks to the groan--all play a role in the bloody hand-to-hand combat taking palace.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews