ARA Review by hellonewuser of The Warramunga's War

[hellonewuser]

[Following is an OnlineBookClub.org ARA Review of the book, The Warramunga's War.]

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5 out of 5 stars

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A good book will settle into a genre and enhance it, expand on the main concepts of the genre and add something new or perhaps a sudden twist that had been carefully set up earlier in the book. A truly great book transcends genres, it can fit multiple ideas and concepts into a single volume because it has a specific concept that it is trying to convey to the reader. The Warramungas War is not a book that does any of these. It is a book in search of an identity and as a result, author Greg Kater decided to try to slot his book into multiple genres and fill it mysterious twists and turns that will hopefully entrance the reader. Instead, The Warramungas War, is an overly complicated story filled with jarring twists, interchangeable characterizations and ultimately a plot that, when it finally figures out what the end game is, comes across as simply bland.


The Warramungas War follows the adventures of Jamie and Jacko, 2 Australian soldiers fighting in the Middle East and Egypt during World War II. The topic itself seems very interesting, not a lot has been written about the role of Australia in World War II, which is what drew me to the book in the first place. The main point of view character is Lieutenant James Monro aka Jamie, a young officer in the Australian Army, he is seconded by Sergeant Jack O’Brien aka Jacko, an Australian who is half aboriginal, half-white. Jacko’s dark skin becomes a recurring theme throughout the first half of the book, but at no point does this story become a social commentary on the plight of the Aboriginal peoples of Australia. The initial meeting of these characters starts off like your typical historical novel, those familiar with the works of Bernard Cornwell understand this very well, but then the book abruptly shifts gears.


Due to the fortunes of war, Jamie becomes attached to MI6, bringing Jacko with him. Now the reader is in the midst of a spy novel as our intrepid heroes are tasked with bringing down a NAZI spy ring. Thrown in for good measure are a plethora of characters who are completely transposable. In fact, yet another character is added, whose name begins with a “J”, something that is even commented on by Kater’s other characters. Several women are introduced, but with one or two exceptions, they’re all beautiful prostitutes/belly dancers and none of them are really distinguishable from the others. There is also a serial killer subplot thrown in for good measure (one that is easily solved by the reader); now we have author trying to combine a spy novel with a mystery novel, all under the umbrella of a historical novel. Some writers can successfully pull this off, Kater isn’t one of them.


At about the two-thirds mark, the book abruptly goes through a time jump and we now find ourselves in Australia, where Jamie & Jacko are now police officers. They are hunting down a group of villainous thugs, one of whom may be linked to the killings back in Egypt. Our gallant pair go through a series of villages and conversations, eventually bringing Jacko’s sister, Sarah, into their little merry band. Sarah speaks a hybrid dialect of her native language and English, and while this may be accurate with respect to the people native to her tribe, it is difficult to parse through what she’s trying to say, particularly since, by this point, the book has become a slog. The main confrontation is anti-climactic, and at no point does it seem like Jamie and Jacko are in any real danger.


The real weakness of The Warramungas War, is its’ overall structure as well as the behavior of the main characters. In the middle of a firefight Jamie and Jacko exchange biographies. Whole sections of exposition take place in the worst possible moments: when our characters are supposed to be in danger or when the tension needs to build. There’s also a quasi-mystical element, Jacko can hit targets without being able to see them, but why this is never really explored in detail. It happens once in the first chapter and then again near the end but that is it. Thematically, our characters always seem to be enjoying themselves, which makes the two graphic depictions of rape and murder seem out of place.


The Warramungas War is Greg Kater’s first book, and I imagine that he was excited to be able to write it, but before he first began to write, he needed to decide what kind of story he was trying to tell: the story of courageous war heroes, resolute spies or plucky buddy cops. By trying to combine all three, Kater ends up with a confusing mish-mash of ideas that ultimately leaves the reader disinterested in the fate of his main characters. As The Warramungas War is the first in a planned trilogy, hopefully Kater will able to correct these flaws and draw more reader interest to his native Australia.


This book in my view deserve 5 out of 5 stars.

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