Trapp's War

Edward Trapp #1

by Brian Callison

In the war-torn Mediterranean the island of Malta is being slowly starved to death by the German navy's savage blockade. Only the SS Charon, a rusty eight-knot coal burner, moves with an ease in these dangerous waters. So the Royal Navy decides to use her. And her captain, Edward Trapp, privateer and professional survivor, with his ramshackle, unorthodox crew, suddenly finds himself fighting for the allies in a strange, harrowing, unorthodox war.

Genres: Fiction, War, Novels

190 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1974

About the author

Brian Callison was a British novelist known for his best-selling thrillers and sea stories. Born in Manchester, England in 1934, he was educated at the High School of Dundee, and went to sea at the age of 16 as an apprentice with the Blue Funnel Line, sailing aboard cargo ships between ports in Europe and East Asia. Callison subsequently studied at Dundee College of Art in Scotland, and went into business. His first published novel, A Flock of Ships, appeared in 1970. In 2008 he completed a three-year appointment as a Fellow of The Royal Literary Fund at the University of Dundee, mentoring staff and students in all aspects of practical writing.
Callison died in Dundee on 5 February 2024, at the age of 89.

Reviews

[Kinga]

Książka znalazła się u mnie w bardzo randomowy sposób, ale pozytywnie mnie zaskoczyła. Krótka, ciekawa historia załogi pewnego bardzo starego statku na usługach Royal Navy.

[Pierre Schutz]

read it twice during my school years and now thirty years later giving it a reread. I remembered it was good but had forgotten just how good.

[Geoff Boxell]

I first read this in 1975 and again in the 1990s, so this is my third read in 2021. I still enjoy this rather skewbald story of mad unconventional mercenary seamen lead by the the even more mad unconventional mercenary Cpt Trapp viewed through the eyes of the disapproving RN Lt Miller.
Trapp the smuggler gets roped into Royal Navy service during the siege of Malta and the North African Campaign of WWII using his knackered rust bucket of a ship that had been converted, without his permission, into Q ship. He even near the end forms an alliance with a similarly piratical Kriegsmarine officer.
Be prepared for a surprise ending.
I read this in6 hours, including an half an hour lunch break.

[Nellyna]

Bogata w dramatyczne wydarzenia i wisielczy humor powieść. Nastrojem i tempem akcji zbliżona do słynnych filmów "Złoto dla zuchwałych" i "Parszywa dwunastka" - ale zaskakująca również nowymi, oszałamiającymi pomysłami....

[Jiří Pavlovský]

Zase výškrabek staré knihovny. Námořní válečný román se sympaticky amorálními hrdiny, ve stylu Tuctu špinavců nebo Kellyho hrdinů.

Protože ano, odehrává se to za druhé světové války, ale Edward Trapp, kapitán rozpadávajícího se parníku Charon, má jediný cíl – vydělat co nejvíc peněz. Jenže ho zajmou Britové a donutí ho, aby bojoval za správnou věc. Jeho vrak je přestavěný na „loď-past“, která sice vypadá stál jako ruina, ale uvnitř jsou skrytá děla, která mají složit neopatrné německé námořníky.
Jenže pak se Trapp dozví o transportu zlata…

Námět je fakt pěkný, ale když jsem to četl, tak jsem mě pořád pocit, že je to spíše jen náčrtek k chystanému filmu. Má to všechny ty správné ingredience: Idealistický hrdina se dostane do posádky těch největších odpadků lidské společnosti, získává si respekt, ale začne chápat i ty mizery kolem, dojde k pár akcím a pár problémům (fór je v tom, že po každém potopení lodi se musí vyvolat pocit, že to udělala tajná spojenecká ponorka), narazí na stejně vyčůraného německého kapitána a spustí se velký plán… aby pak na závěr nastal velký masakr. Klasika. Jen mi tady přišlo, že by to klidně mohlo být rozpracovanější a z dobrodružství na oceánu by se dalo vytěžit víc. Což si asi autor i sám uvědomil a k Trappovi se ve své kariéře ještě několikrát vrátil.

[Craig Templer]

Splendid!

A wonderful tale, week written, evoking both the time and the characters so well! I did not realise the book was so old and I wonder if modern war writers have taken any note of books like this?

[John Milliner]

Brilliant.

[JohnTarpey]

Does what it says on the tin. Easy read adventure story,good characters and preposterous plot.

[Jakub Demianczuk]

Nie jest to, hm, wybitna książka, ale i tak ją uwielbiam, co zrobić.

[Richard Regan]

A rattling good yarn.

[Jim]

I "discovered" BRIAN CALLISON the British author a couple of years ago through A FLOCK OF SHIPS, a cult favorite in Great Britain. I have now read the BREVET CABLE series (A PLAGUE OF SAILORS and A FRENZY OF MERCHANTMEN). I have just finished the five books featuring Captain Edward Trapp (TRAPP'S WAR, TRAPP'S SECRET WAR, TRAPP'S PEACE, TRAPP & WORLD WAR III and CROCODILE TRAPP).

Captain Trapp, Lt. Miller and Gorbals Wullie are the most unusual characters since CATCH 22 in the annals of military fiction. Trapp is highly motivated - by greed. He has an uncanny ability to survive situations that would destroy most people. Miller is his unwilling second in command and a craven coward and yet is a hero. Wullie is a height challenged quartermaster who is even more of a coward than Miller but somehow does stuff that saves the day over and over. There is a changing cast of other crew members who are the greatest collection of misfits I have ever come across. They are perfect foils for Trapp and Miller. The villains are also equally bizarre.

The first three stories are set in World War II. The fourth is set in the 1970s in Libya and the last is set in the 1990s in SE Asia.. Nobody ages. I want what they eat and drink so I will not get older. The satire is very funny. The action scenes rival those of Alexander Kent, Alistair Maclean and other great action writers.

I urge you to read these books. GO! BUY! READ!

[Valerio]

Very interesting, at some points hilarious little pocket book.
The main character, Captain Trapp, is an outstanding example of classic nautical literature with all the trimmings of an antihero.

The book his very easy to read also to those not well acquainted with the historical context and story flows quickly from the very beginning to the (happy?) ending.

[Barry]

WWII. Malta. The allies barely holding on to their last stand in the Med. Enter Captain Edward Trapp and his rust coated coal burning decrepit tramp steamer the Charon. Outrageous.

[Gwyn Owens]

2nd read