I picked this title up as as a means to pass the time during a stint on jury duty last week. Thumbing through the book in the bookstore I was immediately attracted to the title (mainly because of the subject) but also because Stephen Coonts edited the book (and his Flight of the Intruder is one of my favorite titles).

This collection of 3 novellas read quickly and held my attention. This paperback edition contains 3 of the 10 novellas contained in the original hardback edition of Victory (which ran about 700 pages). These stories aren't history lessons and anyone expecting that will be disappointed, but these three character driven stories are good examples of the kind of 'war fiction" of days gone by.

The first story by Coonts, "The Sea Witch" is an interesting tale of a PBY Catalina crew that becomes stranded on a island in the Pacific as it searched for another lost Catalina crew. The story is a straightforward tale with an interesting twist at the end.

Next up is David Hagberg's "V5". This story is deals with the interaction of allied intelligence officers and military planners trying to prevent the Nazi's newest vengeance weapon (the title's V5) from being deployed. Although not strictly a war story this is a good thriller with a nice WWII background.

The final story "Flame at Tarawa" was a pleasant surprise. Penned by another favorite of mine Barrett Tillman. Although I know Tillman for his non-fiction WWII histories, I really enjoyed this story of a Marine flame thrower operator surviving the bloody, hellish, landing at Betio in 1943.

In the end, I feel that the reader is rewarded by characters that are interesting and hold your attention as well as stories that put a little more of a personal spin on the war, without glorifying combat to the same level as the typical war movie. ( )