Review by Blue giraffe -- The Warramunga's War

[Blue giraffe]

[Following is a volunteer review of "The Warramunga's War" by Greg Kater.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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The Warramunga’s War is the story of Jamie and Jacko, two Australian soldiers who meet during World War 2 in the Middle East. Jacko is the Warramunga of the story, from a tribe of Indigenous Australians in the Northern Territory. Jacko saves Jamie’s life and this is the start of a friendship and successful working partnership between the two. Once Jamie recovers from his injuries, Jamie and Jacko are transferred to the Commonwealth Investigation Service, or CIS, and that’s where the fun really starts. As part of the CIS Jamie and Jacko track down, follow, and intercept enemy spies in the city of Cairo. Along the way they befriend local exotic dancers who are companions of the spies and they work together to stop the enemy agents feeding information out. Once home in Australia, Jamie and Jacko remain working for the CIS and are on the trail of two German agents. There is a sweet little love story between Jacko and a girl he meets when he is touring the pyramids, but it doesn’t take over and the focus of the story is catching the bad guys.

You don’t have to be a fan of either military or spy books to appreciate this book. The Warramunga’s War is an easy read. It doesn’t claim to be a spy thriller but it is still an intriguing story and an enjoyable read. Greg Kater links plenty of real history into the story but you don’t need to be a war history buff to be able to follow it. The side story regarding the serial rapist and murderer in Cairo becomes important later in the book. I thought it was quite simple to work out who it was, but it was interesting to see how Greg Cater wove the story along and into the finale of the story.

I found Kater’s descriptions of locations interesting, especially once he is on familiar turf in the Outback. His love of the country shines through and I enjoyed his descriptions of the flora and fauna. I felt it made the landscape come alive, and the landscape is as important a part of the story as the characters. I loved his descriptions of people. One gang member is described as having a “face like chewed pencil” and another, a face like “a dog’s blanket”.

I give The Warramunga’s War 3 out of 4 stars. I would have given 4 stars, but the repeated use of one French phrase irritated me. The French women spoke enough English to be used as undercover agents, so why keep repeating “n’est-ce pas?” It just felt as though that was the only French phrase Mr Kater knew. Also, once the story moved along to Australia all they ever seemed to eat was steak. Everything stopped regularly for steak and tea.

The Warramunga’s War is the first of a trilogy. I enjoyed reading it, so I won’t hesitate to look out for the next books. Hopefully they will follow Jacko and Jamie further! I’m interested to see where Greg Kater sets his next book.

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The Warramunga's War
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