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The Rat Bastards #1
Hit The Beach
They love to fight and live to kill!
Start with an insane sergeant with a genius for leadership and a lust for blood. Add a bank robber. A racketeer. A guy who goes berserk on the battlefield. A gun-happy Texan. A silent Apache. A movie stuntman who swings from trees. Put them all together and you have the killing machine known as…
The Rat Bastards.
Start with an insane sergeant with a genius for leadership and a lust for blood. Add a bank robber. A racketeer. A guy who goes berserk on the battlefield. A gun-happy Texan. A silent Apache. A movie stuntman who swings from trees. Put them all together and you have the killing machine known as…
The Rat Bastards.
- GenresWarMilitary Fiction
187 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1983
15 people are currently reading
100 people want to read
About the author
Len Levinson
79 books20 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 - 19 of 19 reviews
June 16, 2021
Len Levinson is one of the great action/adventure novelists. During a career that spans more than 40 years, he has penned scores of high-octane books under his own name and over 20 pseudonyms. He has launched popular book series in several genres, including Westerns, war, and spy novels. HIT THE BEACH is the first of the 16 novels in his World War II series, RAT BASTARDS, originally written under the house name John Mackie. Simply put, it’s among the best, grittiest, most engrossing war novels I’ve ever read. I bought and loved the print edition back in the ‘80s and recently listened to and loved the Audible edition, which is well-narrated by Ray Porter. If you were awed by the Omaha Beach landing scenes in the movie SAVING PRIVATE RYAN, you’ll be awed by the opening Guadalcanal beach landing scenes in HIT THE BEACH. Levinson makes them an equally jaw-dropping, immersive experience, but in words instead of film. The novel follows a platoon of mostly raw recruits over the course of a few hellish days after the landing, through a series of bloody encounters with Japanese troops and a mind-blowing Banzai charge. It’s an amazing book, with great GI characters that have a “Dirty Dozen” feel, insightful portrayals of Japanese officers and soldiers, and awesome battle scenes. Highly recommended!
October 2, 2022
I loved this book. I couldn't but it down. If you are looking for a book with non stop action. If you love military fiction I highly recommend this book. Being former military I could relate with this book. It wasn't over the top and most things seemed like they could have happened. The members of the squad the the story revolves around made me smile and remember guys I served with. It was a lot of fun and can not wait to start the next one!
April 28, 2011
"Hit the Beach!” by John Mackie is a thinly veiled metaphor for the Japanese – American economic relationship in the early 1980s. An exerpt about the devaluation of the US dollar vs the Yen:
"The Jap knew he was in trouble now and fought back like a wild animal. Bannon kept slamming him in the face with the Nambu, and the Jap's struggle diminished. His face became a bloody pulp, and you couldn't even tell where his mouth was anymore. Bannon leaned back and fired the blood-splattered Nambu at close range. The Jap's head blew apart, blood and brains flying in all directions."
Mackie doesn’t hesitate to criticize Detroit in this scathing indictment of Ford’s failure to keep pace with Toyota’s quality programs, especially the Kaizen continuous improvement initiative. Note this interaction:
“Longtree thrust his rifle and bayonet forward. Colonel Hodaka felt it pierce his tunic and in the next instant saw his ancestors seated on their thrones in Buddha land."
Overall a must read for anyone trying to get a better understanding of the dawn of the global economy during that decade.
"The Jap knew he was in trouble now and fought back like a wild animal. Bannon kept slamming him in the face with the Nambu, and the Jap's struggle diminished. His face became a bloody pulp, and you couldn't even tell where his mouth was anymore. Bannon leaned back and fired the blood-splattered Nambu at close range. The Jap's head blew apart, blood and brains flying in all directions."
Mackie doesn’t hesitate to criticize Detroit in this scathing indictment of Ford’s failure to keep pace with Toyota’s quality programs, especially the Kaizen continuous improvement initiative. Note this interaction:
“Longtree thrust his rifle and bayonet forward. Colonel Hodaka felt it pierce his tunic and in the next instant saw his ancestors seated on their thrones in Buddha land."
Overall a must read for anyone trying to get a better understanding of the dawn of the global economy during that decade.
October 13, 2022
Do not look for character analysis, emotional depth or psychological understanding in this novel. It is purely war at its most savage, with butchery and mayhem galore. And it is a blast! Five thumbs up! Urah!
May 26, 2023
A green army unit lands at Guadalcanal to reinforce the Marines holding Henderson Field. That unit becomes experienced very quickly. In a book that covers barely two days, there's an extraordinary amount of action. The author does expertly weave in character moments, so we get to know the members of the squad on which the story centers. But this doesn't slow down the almost non-stop battle that rages through the novel.
The squad is strafed and bombed by the Japanese while they are landing. They almost immediately encounter Japanese infiltrators and a couple of snipers. They are moved into position on the defensive perimeter surrounding the vital airfield. They encounter more Japanese while on a recon patrol, endure a deadly barrage fired from Japanese battleships, drive back an attacking Japanese regiment, counter-attack and get cut off, then battle yet another Japanese attack.
Breathless, brutal action from start to finish. Len Levinson had amped the action in "The Sergeant" (his previous WWII series) up to 11. With the Rat Bastards, he takes that action several points higher.
The squad is strafed and bombed by the Japanese while they are landing. They almost immediately encounter Japanese infiltrators and a couple of snipers. They are moved into position on the defensive perimeter surrounding the vital airfield. They encounter more Japanese while on a recon patrol, endure a deadly barrage fired from Japanese battleships, drive back an attacking Japanese regiment, counter-attack and get cut off, then battle yet another Japanese attack.
Breathless, brutal action from start to finish. Len Levinson had amped the action in "The Sergeant" (his previous WWII series) up to 11. With the Rat Bastards, he takes that action several points higher.
September 30, 2024
5+ STARS
Hands down, this was the most exciting book I've read in a long time. Levinson writes brutal, fast-paced action, focusing on a small group of men during World War 2 in the Guadalcanal in the South Pacific. The entire book takes place over one long and horrifically violent day and is the first of sixteen novels in the "Rat Bastards" series. However, this is a complete story, so reading the others is not needed, although I'm definitely going to take read them (I already bought the first five). There is no wasted filler in this story and each of the characters are unique and realistic. Being very R rated, I would strongly caution readers of the insane level of violence and gore - it's war, after all. Author Len Levinson smoothly moves from one scene to the next, putting our protagonists in seemingly impossible situations over and over. His descriptions are so spot-on, I felt as if I was there fighting along side them, out of breath and exhausted. I loved this book so much and cannot wait for the next one. So glad I took a chance and picked this one up! This gets my highest recommendation.
Hands down, this was the most exciting book I've read in a long time. Levinson writes brutal, fast-paced action, focusing on a small group of men during World War 2 in the Guadalcanal in the South Pacific. The entire book takes place over one long and horrifically violent day and is the first of sixteen novels in the "Rat Bastards" series. However, this is a complete story, so reading the others is not needed, although I'm definitely going to take read them (I already bought the first five). There is no wasted filler in this story and each of the characters are unique and realistic. Being very R rated, I would strongly caution readers of the insane level of violence and gore - it's war, after all. Author Len Levinson smoothly moves from one scene to the next, putting our protagonists in seemingly impossible situations over and over. His descriptions are so spot-on, I felt as if I was there fighting along side them, out of breath and exhausted. I loved this book so much and cannot wait for the next one. So glad I took a chance and picked this one up! This gets my highest recommendation.
January 12, 2019
A solid 3 star action adventure. There is more blood ‘n’ guts, action and violence packed in this short book than in three average adventure novels. Simple yet satisfying, it does exactly what it promises; hard-core war action with GI’s in the Pacific theatre. Pulls no punches, gives you some real ‘rat bastard’ characters to cheer for in a truly non-p.c. story. Definitely a product of it’s time, but if that doesn’t bother you, read and enjoy. I don’t think I’ll read another for a little bit, but I have six more on my shelf and I’m sure I’ll get to them soon. Recommend.
October 4, 2022
Great book of WWII in the Pacific. Straight action with a great core group of characters. They are a green army platoon seeing their first action other then a crazy sergeant who has been around. They end up in the frontlines of a major Japanese offensive on Guadalcanal and get tested quickly. However they all seem to adapt quickly and somehow form an effective fighting force. Has sort of a Dirty Dozen approach since none of them are what you would call a good soldier but again they are effective.
Highly recommended, will definitely be reading more of the series.
Highly recommended, will definitely be reading more of the series.
October 8, 2021
Book #1 gets right into the action, and quickly sets up you with your cast of characters. By the middle of the book a major character is introduced and it just keeps getting better from there! Very graphic book, and reads like a Great War movie. I finished this book and immediately bought book 2. Quick and easy, action packed and a lot Of gore.
November 15, 2018
This is one of the best, most well written, engaging books I have ever read! The characters and story drew me in and I couldn’t put it down! My only criticism is that the book is so short, I really didn’t want the story to end. Thankfully there are 15 more in the series.
August 31, 2017
A horrid example of war at the personal level. They were soldiers and Guadalcansl was their target. The Japs held it but the USA needed it. This is that story.
March 5, 2021
Great action scenes
Well realized characters but where the book stands out is in the brilliantly written battle scenes. Outstanding. I'll be reading more in this series.
Well realized characters but where the book stands out is in the brilliantly written battle scenes. Outstanding. I'll be reading more in this series.
May 8, 2023
Decent military pulp.
September 15, 2023
Great action and really like the details. Looking forward to reading more.
June 13, 2024
Great story with great narration by Ray Porter.
July 7, 2016
I read most of this series back when it first came out, starting with Book 4, unfortunately. I finally got my hands on Book 1. I reads pretty much like every other book in the series. Not great, but nonstop action. '80s pulp.
August 20, 2012
Good if you like blood and guts war books
July 9, 2013
Please find my review here: http://audiobookreviewer.com/Audioboo...
June 30, 2014
War stories from Guadalcanal WWII 1942-43. Very good writing, wonderful characters that you come to know very well throughout the series (which is quite long), and Ray Porter makes it great.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews