The Five Fingers

by Gayle Rivers

Book by Rivers, Gayle

Genres: Fiction, Military Fiction, War, Historical Fiction, Thriller, Action

353 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published March 1, 1978

Reviews

[Bob Mayer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this many years ago, prior to my own time in Special Operations. I found the concept intriguing-- sending a mission into China and building the team with one member each from various Special Operations Forces. Some elements of the story have the ring of authenticity. It's hard for those outside the community to understand the extreme paranoia those who work in that environment have. For example, as soon as we got a mission packet and the briefers left the isolation facility, the first thing we put on the table was whether the mission as briefed was the real mission or if it was a cover for some other mission.

Sounds paranoid, but it's happened. I've reviewed another book: Bodyguard of Lies (even titled one of my books with that saying by Churchill). The one about covert ops in World War II shows the extremes various agencies went to in order to deceive the enemy, sometimes deceiving their own people in the process.

I recommend this book for anyone wanting an exciting story about spec ops.

[John Hardin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Why has this book never been made into a movie? A high-octane action-adventure that puts many in the genre to shame. The violence is unrelenting, and you can feel the adrenaline flowing through your system as you read and wonder if the team will make it back alive. The author is, supposedly, an anti-terror warrior who's led a very active life, post-Vietnam. This belongs on the shelves of anyone who has a thirst for action.

[Glen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gayle Rivers is a controversial fellow. He's written a number of books, claiming that they are autobiographical in nature, and many say he's a fraud. I'm agnostic on the question.

In the Five Fingers, he is recruited to an outfit late in the Vietnam War, which is going to hike through Vietnam, Laos, and China, to assassinate General Giap, and some other targets at a meeting. It all follows a familiar formula.

Believe it or don't, it isn't a bad read.

[Mrs. O'Rourke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Genre/Quick Summary (No Spoilers): Seven men are sent into the jungles of eastern Asia to ambush and assassinate high level Chinese and North Vietnamese officers during the Vietnam War. They are a part of the top secret mission, “Operation Five Fingers”.

Quote: “We were in a hell of a state… seven guys, half carrying, half pushing one another alone… parts of us hanging off… a lot of blood… a lot of bone.”

Quote Explanation: This quote really shows just how torn up these soldiers got. They knew if they had taken a quick rest to tend to the wounded, the Viet Kong would be all over them in a few seconds. It shows how the soldiers were very persistent and strong as a group of brothers. The theme of the book also comes out with the quote; gritty, violent, and exciting.

Main Message/Theme: The book is meant to tell the story of operation Five Fingers and the brave men who were a part of it. It shows how war is hell, and what soldiers must go through every day to keep us free. It is a very intense military thriller.

Recommendation/Rating/Why: I highly recommend this book, 5/5 stars. The book will keep you on the edge of your seat with some actual adrenaline pumping moments. There is quite a lot of violence, but if you liked Saving Private Ryan or Lone Survivor, you will love this book. Even if you don’t like to read, this was a really intense book with just the right amount of action.

[Evan]

Green Beret types sent on top-secret mission all the way into China to assassinate Chinese and North Vietnamese higher-ups during the Vietnam War. The book is written by authors with pseudonyms because, supposedly, this is a true story "that can only be told as a work of fiction," the jacket sleeve informs us. Nixon and crew are mentioned by name. As the team is crossing the border, Washington gets cold feet, orders "abort" on the mission and abandons them to their own devices; able to cite plausible deniability that the mission and its grunts do not exist, etc.

Knowing the way the US operates, many elements of the story seem plausible; it also sounds influenced by "Mission Impossible" and "The Dirty Dozen."

I fished this out of the trash of a local bookseller, and it sounds like a fun story. Hope to do an actual review soon.

[Manohar Venkat · Rating 5 out of 5]

If it's real, than it's mind-blowing, if it's fiction, then still is mind-blowing how much a mind can conceive. But it sounds real to me. It is told in a bland way, just presenting the facts in a detached, yet brutal way. The description of the war in Vietnam and a covert plan to take out a big guy in the Vietnam army is fantastic. The things they undergo, show us that soldiers are humans too, they too feel pain, longing, lust, and that these feelings aren't switched off in the middle of war. Definitely recommended.

[Herman · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Five Fingers by Gayle Rivers: I recall I read this book well maybe 40 years ago I couldn't really recall anything about the story other than it was a special forces mission during the Vietnam war far behind enemy lines. It is somewhat like Joseph Conrad Journey into the heart of darkness, a exploration of the deepest depths of madness, darkness, and despair, what happens when you go beyond far beyond the civilized into the animal into kill to survive just becoming as basic and barbaric as one can be. Well it achieves this but it lacks all the deeper ethos of a man in war story. I missed that back in the day and now I'm reading the formula of the story but I think it is missing a real human connection how the main character changed and what the changes brought about to his character. Unfortunately the main character is a little two dimensional and what changes might have resulted were left for another book. OK wanted to go back and read this so that I have a more accurate reading list I added this one but it was a little bit of a waste of reading time the book wasn't that good. Two stars.

[Christopher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Still the high water mark of special forces novels. The Five Fingers has a level of verisimilitude unmatched by any other similar work of fiction--or arguably even non-fiction--and for more than 35 years I (and many others) have wondered if this was a real mission disguised as a novel. The question is still unanswered.

A group of seven special operations soldiers are chosen to embark on a top-secret mission to assassinate eleven high-ranking North Vietnamese and Chinese officials, including General Vo Nguyen Giap, commanding officer of the North Vietnamese Army.

The unit outfits, selects weapons, and trains for the mission. The mission then begins as the unit is dropped into Laos. They march for weeks through eastern Laos and into North Vietnam, leaving a very bloody trail of engagements in their wake. Their march continues into China, where . . . let's just say things don't go as planned. Their circuitous exit from China and North Vietnam is even bloodier and more terrifying than the route in, culminating in a nightmarish conclusion.

In the back of the book, the author bio tantalizingly describes Gayle Rivers (a pseudonym) as the team's second-in-command--seemingly confirming the theory that it's non-fiction. Much debate has taken place over the years as to Rivers' actual combat involvement, both here and in his subsequent books. Maybe this is an account of an actual event in which Rivers has made embellishments to enhance or disguise the reality. One thing that jumps out of this novel is that Rivers knows his stuff--it would be very difficult for a layman to invent the kinds of things that are detailed here and do it credibly. Whether Rivers was one of the primaries on an actual mission, we may never truly know, but the book still stands for itself as unsurpassed in the genre. My lingering question is, if it's really fiction, then why hasn't anyone written its equal?

[Douglas · Rating 5 out of 5]

I believe it was released as a work of fiction but sections of it read pretty true to me. The details present in the book enhance the read for me. I know there has been debate about this book over the years as to how much is fiction or truth. There was the Phoenix program in Vietnam to eliminate high-ranking officials and others. So - I believe sometimes things happen in the world theater that we never really know about. In the end - I enjoyed it as solid military fiction.

[Phillip · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit outlandish, but the author does a great job of convincing me he was there. His knowledge and descriptions of combat in Laos, combat in the jungle, and the misery and pain of traveling overland in Laos is pretty convincing.

[Doug · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good story. It is only at the end you become aware the story is true. It is a good look at the soldier in the field being caught between the Military command and the civilian lawmakers.

[Gregory Lamb · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is a great deal of controversy surrounding this book and its author. Regardless, this one will keep you on the edge of your seat if you can stomach the raw violence.

[Practical Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this twenty years ago. I remember liking it very much at the time. Even after all these years I can still recall some details about the mission.

[John Davies · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting book, with a great plot, but I have to admit that it suffers from the long descriptions of the route marched and the firefights the team gets into. On more than one occasion, I found myself skipping forward, simply to see if they were going to get into another firefight, or if they would make camp and rest.

It's a great plot.. Send a team of Special Forces troops at the top of their game north, into North Vietnam, and them further, into China, to assassinate the leader of the North Vietnamese military, and help shorten the war. Everything goes well, all the way to target, except for the commanding officer getting killed, but just as the team starts to plan how they will accomplish the mission, they receive an abort code, and everything changes.

They become paranoid that they have been set up to actually start a war, and so they head back towards Thailand and supposed safety. Along the way, they massacre several villages, and eventually make it into South Vietnam after having to avoid Thailand because the enemy are patrolling too heavily searching for them. They manage to make a radio call for help, and then, just as in the movie 'The Green Berets', one of them triggers a booby trap that supposedly kills all but one of them, the writer of the tale.

In my opinion, James Webb's book, Fields of Fire is a much better book to read about the Vietnam War.

[Josh Hitch · Rating 4 out of 5]

I say its closer to a solid 3.5. Its a compelling story with plenty of action. The characters are pretty well formed with distinct personalities. Writing style is basically non existent, it's basically a running gun battle for most of the book, one direction or the other, and that's hard to keep interesting. They do a decent job at trying to get you interested in the characters so you don't get tired of the same, oh we shot a bunch of guys and we got shot up but we still going, scenario over and over again. The story is basically a crack commando unit is formed to go waltzing through North Vietnam into China to take out leadership of both while they are at a meeting. Well they get the abort signal while set up in China to complete their mission, and now it seems everybody is looking for them, wanting to kill them while they struggle to get back to somewhere safe.

Recommended somewhat, I did enjoy it for the most part but its really longer then it needs to be by like a 100 pages. If you are a big fan of Vietnam era squad based novels then you could definitely do worse then this one.

[Ron · Rating 5 out of 5]

While going through some boxes I came across this book I've been wanting to read again. I first read this book back in 1979. Yeah, I'm that old. I had it on a shelf and then in a box for years. I dug it out to read it. I'm glad I did. I had forgotten how good it was.

The book begins with a group of seven combat veterans being tasked to go on a mission into China (during the Vietnam Conflict). They plan and train for their mission. This is nearly the first third of the book. The rest of the book is them getting to their objective and back again. Some of the battle sequences are brutal, and there are many of them.

Give this book a read if you like this type of story.

[Joseph · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this 40+ years ago when it was loaned to me by a grad school friend. Loved it. Loved it. It is action adventure set in Indochina and involves operators from different services and nations set upon a clandestine mission. The author wove a tight story with reasonably believable details and characters. Dialogue is appropriate for such a tight lipped group. One nice detail is the narrator choosing to carry and use a shotgun as his preferred jungle weapon. The ending left me with mixed feelings and ambivalent desires for more and similar tales. Copies are scarce and expensive; once found it is worth reading.

[Mark P · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a bad read. There were questions about the author being who he said he was regarding another one his books (The Specialist). I knew a quite a few Vietnam Vets from my service days in the early 80's. For those who read it, they were mostly split on the story. They pointed out a few errors that shouldn't have happened since the group were professional soldiers. None of them gave it a glowing recommendation but most enjoyed the story. It was a good read to pass the time while I was deployed. That said, most of my military friends (who did not serve in Vietnam) who read it, loved it. If I were going to recommend it, I would recommend it to someone who served in the military.

[Tanya · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was excited to join the team of special operatives as they carried out a mission that to me seems every bit worth the risk. But as the story and the horror of it progressed I was left only with a grand sense of disillusion. I cried and I became a bit emotionally involved. And then the author cut the story line with his ending and failed to include an afterward. It was a story of political monstrosity that was maddening and anticlimactic in one fell swoop.

Read at your own risk. Rated a hard hard R

[Troy Sehlinger · Rating 5 out of 5]

GREAT BOOK! However I give this 5 star with a slight caveat: the very ending was terrible/not the ending I expected. Kind of felt like the author got tired of writing and just ended the story. Maybe it was not “terrible”, but the book definitely deserved a better, more complete ending. But then again it’s his story and that’s what we got, so you can’t judge a whole novel on a few pages. And justice is not always served and some stories are not meant for “good to trump evil”.

[Artie O’Brien · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book chronicles the experiences of a group of seven soldiers from the United States, England, Australia, New Zealand, and South Korea, collectively known as the "Five Fingers" due to the five countries involved in their mission. It is a testament to resilience. The narrative meticulously recounts the men's journey and the skirmishes they face. I thoroughly appreciated the level of detail and authenticity of the dialogue within the story. I highly recommend it.

[Victor · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a really good and interesting book. The author developes some effects of the war at the people with the behaviour and thoughts of the main character. In my opinion, the only bad thing of the book it's the end, a bit disappointing for me, I was hoping something different

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great military action read. After reading, one has to question how much of this was taken from reality, how much was embellished, and where the line between fact and fiction truly lies. It also makes one question how much of this has gone on since that time.

[David Steece · Rating 4 out of 5]

Honestly like reading an unselfconscious account by a Nazi commando. Extremely violent and offensive but also very realistic in a way. If you recognize it as basically fascist propaganda it's good for what it is.

[Edward Black · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my all time favorite books!

[Mr Roy Davidson · Rating 2 out of 5]

317 pages

[Matthew Dambro · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this at least twenty years ago. I still remember what a page turner it was. I often wondered how much was fact and how much was fiction.

[Doris Draeger · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a true story.It is written by two of the men who actually did it.

[Martín Lopez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excelente libro..muy recomendable!!

[P.J. Fraize]

I knew one of the men on this mission. It is real. He thought he was the only one that survived
until he saw this book.