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| eBook cover |
First Published: 1984
Pages: 143
The cover of Operation Exocet, the first book in the Strike Force Falklands series, shows the author as Adam Hardy. Hardy was the pseudonym used by the writing partnership of Kenneth Bulmer and Terry Harknett. I recently reviewed a book by Bulmer; Transit to Scorpio (Dray Prescot #1). I was less than impressed, being mainly confused and bewildered by his writing style. Harknett is the author of wildly popular and successful western fiction such Edge and Apache. I've read Edge, and it is fantastic.
I knew Bulmer was the co-author before starting this book. But I was intrigued with my reaction to the Dray Prescot novel. Why did I just not get this? Bulmer was a prolific writer and many readers love his work - is there something wrong with me? Was it just a blip? I just had to try another novel, so I opted for this one. Would Harknett have an influence? Would Bulmer's style overpower Harknett?
This first instalment in the Strike Force Falklands series was written in 1984, not very long after the Falklands 'Crisis' (technically it was an undeclared war) in 1982. Argentina invaded a group of islands in the South Atlantic, collectively named the Falklands Islands. The islands are an archipelago consisting of two main islands, West and East Falklands as well as, amazingly, over 700 smaller islands. Britain did not take kindly to this invasion and sent a Task Force to reclaim the land back from Argentina. Inevitably the two sides engaged in conflict. The Strike Force Falklands series concerns a group of British special forces soldiers and their involvement in this historical event. It is a work of fiction, but I suspect as the books progress the characters will be involved in true life events.
What surprised with this book is that it starts before the main conflict, and does not actually take place in the Falklands. Operation Exocet is an attempt by the Special Strike Force team to penetrate the Argentine mainland with the intention of making their way to an airfield and destroying Exocet missiles being used by the opposing forces air force to attack the British Navy.
Special Strike Force consists of Major Dan Granville, Captain Tom Burnaby, Captain Edward Parkes (Sawbones) and Lt. Chris Smythe (Smyjo). There are also many other members, all with their suitable nicknames like Lawless, Jock, Trampas, Pugsy etc. who add flavour to the close knit group of highly trained soldiers.
Burnaby is new to the group, all of whom have been hand-picked by the Major (The Old Man), and he is the main character throughout the story, although we do see through the eyes of others from time to time. Burnaby doesn't get on well with Smyjo, who is the groups intelligence officer, but he is trying not to let it affect their professional relationship - this is a recurring theme throughout the book.
As you might imagine, the operation in Argentina does not go 100% to plan and they have to adapt and react on the fly. This is handled very well, and kept the plot interesting and moving fast. The book is quite short, so although there is not much time for reflection, its surprising just how much Bulmer and Harknett actually fit in. You get to know Burnaby the most as expected, but some of the other characters get some fleshing out - although ultimately others suffer at the expense of keeping things moving and just become nicknames who make jokes or have two or three sentence cameos.
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| 1984 Futura edition |
Not all the action takes place in the present; as you would expect there is some internal retrospection, so the story does flit back to England, especially by Burnaby who has recently met a woman named Claire Havisham that he finds himself attracted to.
You might think I really enjoyed Operation Exocet? Well, I did in the main - but there was still a problem. I wanted to try another Bulmer novel to see if I'd misunderstood his style. I don't think I did. I just don't like it. My reading of this book is split into two parts. The first couple of chapters - and the rest of the book.
I started and thought, "Oh hell, what is going on, who is X, who is Y, and why don't I understand the writing. Then suddenly it changed and I just got it. I have no idea if this is true or not, but it felt like Bulmer contributed the first few chapters and then Harknett took over writing duties and finished it. I nearly gave up right at the start, but in the end I actually quite enjoyed it for what it was - what might now be called a "young adult" style war story, with a fast paced plot, good action and no sex or swearing to turn off Mum and Dad from buying it for thier kids. Whether this series continues in that vein, will be interesting to find out over the next five books.
I purchased the eBook on Amazon UK for £2.42. I think that was good value, and I have to add there were only one or two scanning errors, pretty good.