Until I recently read The Day of the Jackal, I had never really been interested in reading anything by Frederick Forsyth, but after I finished The Day of the Jackal, a book I really enjoyed, I decided to read another Forsyth novel, this time I decided to read The Dogs of War.



A few years ago I saw a film on TV called, The Dogs of War, and despite its well-known cast, which included Christopher Walken and Tom Berenger, the film didn't leave much of a lasting impression, at best, I would describe

Until I recently read The Day of the Jackal, I had never really been interested in reading anything by Frederick Forsyth, but after I finished The Day of the Jackal, a book I really enjoyed, I decided to read another Forsyth novel, this time I decided to read The Dogs of War.



A few years ago I saw a film on TV called, The Dogs of War, and despite its well-known cast, which included Christopher Walken and Tom Berenger, the film didn't leave much of a lasting impression, at best, I would describe it as being "okay". The film is about a group of mainly American mercenaries hired to remove an African dictator from power in a fictional country, and a great deal of time is devoted to the action scenes. At the time, I didn't know this film was actually based on a novel, but when I saw this book on a list of works by Forsyth, I knew which book I wanted to read next, and I can honestly say that I wasn't disappointed.



Often, when a book is made into a film, especially when it's backed by Hollywood, a great deal of the original source material is changed so much so that the final result bears little resemblance to the original book. In this case, this is also true of what happened when The Dogs of War was adapted into a film. Two major differences are that in the film the main characters are mainly Americans, while in the book they are from a number of different European backgrounds. The second major difference is that in the book a great deal of time is spent describing the planning of the military action, while very little time is devoted to the action itself. I accept that if the film-makers had attempted to make a more faithful adaptation of the book few Hollywood studios would have agreed to it, fearing that most American audiences wouldn't be interested in a film where most of the characters weren't Americans. Also, I'm not sure if many people would have been interested in a film where so much time was spent on planning. The reason why I have highlighted these two differences is that, in my opinion, these aspects of the story make this book such a great read.



Forsyth's incredible attention to detail, describing the backgrounds of the characters and the motivations for their actions; and the detailed planning involved in a military operation, how the mercenaries obtain all the different equipment they need from different sources and the lengths everyone has to go to in order to cover their tracks; all helps give the story a more "realistic" feel. Although the story is about toppling a dictator in a fictional country, I can't help wondering how much of it is based on real events. It seems highly plausible that such military operations have been planned, or carried out, in a manner very similar to that described in this book. Despite the fact that this book was written a number of years ago and many things have changed since, especially the use of technology, privately financed wars continue to take place today making this such a relevant topic. Whilst it may not be possible to carry out a military operation in a similar manner today, what I do think is still true is the level of difficulty involved, and overcoming such difficulties still requires a great deal of money and involvement of people in positions of power, this would help explain many ongoing conflicts around the world.



Despite the title of the book, as well its main theme, this is not a book full of senseless violence, I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good read.

