Special Ops: A Brotherhood of War Novel (Brotherhood of War)

Under Felter's direction, the Green Berets dispatch a special detachment to the Congo. Their mission is to convince Mobutu of the wisdom of the American plan to discredit and humiliate Che and his Cuban troops, rather than martyr him, and thus bring an end to his plan to export Castro-style communism to Africa and South America. Repelling the Simba insurgents with help from forces led by South African mercenary Mike Hoare, Mobutu accepts the plan, along with the Green Beret's covert assistance, war materiel, and a fighting force manned by many of the characters who peopled The Aviators, Griffin's last Brotherhood adventure. Yes, fans, the good guys are back--especially flying ace Jack Portet, (a pilot drafted into the army right out of Leopoldville, where he was helping his father run a regional airline), George Washington "Father" Lunsford, and Master Sergeant "Doubting" Thomas. And a lot of them are black, a talented crew of African American airmen and specialists pressed into the Special Forces not just because they're brave and able but because they can pass as Congolese soldiers and thereby keep the American presence under wraps.

As a matter of historical fact Guevara failed badly in the Congo, and after retreating to Cuba, tried the same gambit in Bolivia, where he eventually died under fire and gained the martyrdom the U.S. tried so hard to prevent. But Special Ops offers a close-up look at a little-known piece of military history in a gloriously testosterone-pumped epic, seasoned with a touch of sex and romance. That may seem incongruous, given Griffin's clipped, terse writing style, which is punctuated with plenty of military dispatches and a few gratuitous growls at the internecine rivalry among American intelligence agencies. It's even more incongruous when the general's daughter gets the flying ace, and her father's highly placed friends not only get Portet an officer's stripes but fly her to the Congo to stand by her man. But none of that will stop Griffin's delighted readers from snapping up his latest chronicle of men at war. --Jane Adams

Product Description
W.E.B. Griffin first burst upon the national scene with his Brotherhood of War series of the U.S. Army. In 1988, he published the last Brotherhood novel, The Aviators, yet there was always one more story he wanted to tell-and here it is. Craig Lowell, Sandy Felter, Jack Portet, Geoff Craig, Robert Bellmon, George Washington "Father" Lunsford, Master Sergeant Doubting Thomas-they're all back, with the women who love them, in the crackling new novel Special Ops.

In November 1964, Cuban revolutionary Che Guevara went to the Congo with two hundred men, intent on making it his first step in taking over Africa and South America. He failed, thanks in large part to the efforts of an intrepid band of Green Berets. Licking his wounds, he retreated to Cuba to recruit more men and try the same thing in Bolivia. He failed there, too. In fact, he died there, and thus, despite his incompetence, became a glorious martyr to the cause. But who was trying to kill him, really?...and who was trying to keep him alive?

There, Griffin has some surprises up his sleeve, and as he takes us through the twists and turns of Special Ops, he spins a story of devilish cunning and thrilling adventure.

"Brotherhood of War is an American epic."-Tom Clancy

"Special Ops" is about the attempt of the U.S. military to defeat and discredit Che Guevara's revolutionary ambitions in the Congo in the mid-1960s. It might have been a great book had Che been a living, breathing character, rather than being seen only from afar.

Griffin seems tired of his old military heros, the best of whom is Craig Lowell, who is brave, good-looking, intelligent, irresistible to women, and filthy rich. Somehow, despite all that, you still like Craig, whose shortcomings are that he's always in trouble and gets more medals than he does promotions. He is still around in this book, but Griffin focuses on a younger group of soldiers who are only only bleary, second-rate copies of the original Craig Lowell.

Griffin's strong point has been the authenticity he has been able to bring to U.S. military culture. However, in "Special Ops" Griffin seems to have pulled out of a hat all his old literary tricks and reused them, changing the characters and the scenes a bit but relying on the tried and true -- and the now trite for readers familiar with his other books. Moreover, he makes mistakes, probably due to haste, as other reviewers have pointed out.

Don't read this book. Read the first book in Griffin's series, "The Lieutenants" or the first book in his Marine Corps series, "Semper Fi." At his best, Griffin is a great writer about war and the U.S. military, but "Special Ops" is not one of his best books.


Who actually wrote this story   January 25, 2001
21 out of 25 found this review helpful

After reading all the positive reviews for this book, I feel like maybe I don't know what I'm talking about. But I can't help thinking that somebody else contributed heavily to this book. It just doesn't feel like Griffin's dialogue. And who edited this book? Johnny Oliver and Jack Portet get mixed up, and I thought the version of the M16 used by Special Forces soldiers during that era was known as the CAR 15...(Griffin calls it a Car 16) As usual, Griffin has changed the story line from past books to make things fit into this story. (Take a close look with how he has played with Lowell's and Felter's pasts) And why can't Guevara actually be used in the story instead of being referred to in dozens of Top Secret messages? I don't know....I really like Griffin's Corps Series...and all the other Brotherhood books I thoroughly enjoyed...but this one was a struggle just to finish. But it's nice to see the characters brought back to life. I hope that if he does so again the story will flow a little more smoothly.


Griffin is back to his old standard of excellence   January 21, 2001
J. K. Kelley (Eastern WA, United States)
12 out of 16 found this review helpful

Having been critical of some recent Griffin efforts, I wasn't sure what to expect here; rarely does an author reverse a downward trend. The master of military fiction is definitely back, doing everything well that he once did well.

He already had a batch of great characters to work with here, but he takes time to introduce them for those new to this series (which we had all thought was over with years ago), so the book will stand alone well if need be. The premise is interesting even if one does know the ultimate historical outcome. The portrayal of LBJ, in particular, is marvelous. The action is exciting, both human and military, with a number of good old-fashioned Griffin 'senior officer annoyed rants', one of the things he's best at. Griffin has always been good about avoiding excessive ethnic stereotyping, and in a plot that includes strong African American, African and Hispanic characters this talent really shines through. If I could find a weakness to report I'd do so, but there aren't any.

It may be that this book was a long-unpublished manuscript that was gussied up for print; it may also be that Griffin has completely corrected all the recent downward trends of his writing and is back with a vengeance. Either way, this one is his best effort in years--a keeper for sure.


Special Ops is truly "special"   January 26, 2001
Rodger Raubach (Converse County ,WY USA)
8 out of 9 found this review helpful

As a long time W.E.B. Griffin reader,I was pleasantly surprised that he resurrected the "Brotherhood of War" series. Perhaps Griffin's strongest suit is character development,and in this novel he has demonstrated that ability with particular flair. This novel deals with a time period during the so-called "cold war" when Castro's Cuba was just beginning to be perceived as a major threat not only to the Caribbean,but to the entire western hemisphere. It involves most of the characters previously introduced by Griffin in his previous "Brotherhood" series,most notably Craig Lowell and Sanford T."Sandy" Felter. After an action filled Chapter One in which the former Belgian Congo is introduced as the scene of action,the story line pursues the planning,and execution of the plans,developed to effectively neutralize Ernesto "Che" Guevara's efforts to "liberate" the Congo. Several new and interesting personae are introduced,including "jack" Portet and a more highly developed George Washington "Father" Lunsford. We also get a brief "Griffin" glimpse of LBJ. After the Special Forces operation in the Congo concludes,the story line and it's execution become a little nebulous due to many pages worth of extracts of CIA communications,which in turn,lead to a somewhat weak conclusion to the novel. Had the ending been as strong as the rest of the book,it would have rated 5 stars instead of the 4 stars I gave it.


Romance, Intrigue, and Green Berets   February 16, 2001
John W. Bates (Americus, GA United States)
8 out of 9 found this review helpful

W. E. B. Griffin is a very prolific, and very popular, writer. He has five series currently in place: The Brotherhood of War, The Corps, Badge of Honor, Honor Bound, and Men at War. (The Men at War series was published originally under the pseudonym of Alex Baldwin, and was not carried to conclusion. Republished in hardcovers under Griffin's name, it has been very successful-maybe Griffin will now finish the story line.) The Brotherhood of War series really established Griffin as a popular writer, and was carried to its conclusion. He later wrote a new entry, The Aviators, which was roughly coincident with the series' main line book The Berets. He now repeats that with another companion piece set in the 1960's - Special Ops. Special Ops revisits (rehashes) some of the action from both The Berets and The Aviators, but in Griffin's "episodic" style these sections repeating those from the other books fit right in and make the current story coherent. Leaving them out would leave gaps for those who have not read, or have forgotten, the previous books. The "new" story is about a detachment of Special Forces troops, many of whom were met in the other books, who mount a clandestine operation to defeat, and discredit, Che Guevara's attempt to export Cuban communist revolution to Central Africa. Sandy Feltner, one of the ongoing characters in the series, is an intelligence counselor to President Johnson (as he has been to Truman, Eisenhower, and Kennedy). He sees the risk Guevara poses, while the CIA does not, and proposes Army-based covert operations aimed at embarrassing Guevara while foiling him, rather than assassinating him and thus creating a martyr. Griffin's sometimes contemptuous treatment of the CIA is interesting, given his usually favorable treatment of the OSS in Men at War and Honor Bound stories. As always, Griffin honors the warriors and their supporters while spinning an interesting tale. He also connects well with his Argentinean research (the Honor Bound series). The ending is conclusive, if perhaps flawed by relying on printed reports and messages rather than direct narrative. On balance, Special Ops is a very satisfying addition to the Griffin bookshelf, and a nice reminder of the old series. It would be nice to see The Corps brought to its conclusion, however, and save revisiting a "completed" series. And isn't it past time for a new Badge of Honor story?