J.E. Macdonnell was an Australian author who wrote several hundred novels in a variety of genres. Some of his espionage thrillers were reprinted in the United States under the pseudonym James Dark, and I read a couple of those back in the day and enjoyed them. These days, however, Macdonnell is best remembered for the many World War II novels he wrote about the Australian Navy, many of which are available as e-books from Piccadilly Publishing. I recently read THE BUFFER, published originally in paperback by Horwitz in 1963.
From what I gather, Macdonnell’s novels often feature a destroyer known as the Wind Rode, and the books have a continuing cast of characters including the captain, the first lieutenant, and the chief bosun’s mate, a rank nicknamed The Buffer. In this case, The Buffer is William “Hooky” Walker, so called because his right hand was shot off during a battle and replaced with a steel hook. That doesn’t prevent Hooky from carrying out his duties and being much admired by the ship’s crew.
Not everybody gets along with Hooky, though. A new junior sub-lieutenant clashes with him almost immediately because the youngster is very much by-the-book and Hooky is an old vet who knows how to get things done even if he has to bend the regulations a little now and then. One of the sailors also hates Hooky because he’s a slacker and a malingerer and Hooky won’t let him get away with it. He has another reason for hating The Buffer, too, which comes out in time.
In addition to all the details of shipboard life, Macdonnell provides a considerable amount of action as the Wind Rode delivers a load of aviation fuel to an isolated island airfield and is attacked by Japanese bombers; runs into a submarine and trades shots with it; and finally goes into battle against a Japanese cruiser that has our heroes much outgunned. There’s also a very suspenseful scene involved an unexploded bomb. The personal drama that’s been simmering under the surface finally breaks through at the end.
THE BUFFER runs into the same problem as a lot of nautical fiction I read: much of the time, I don’t have a clue what it’s talking about. I am not a boat guy and much of the terminology sails (ha!) right over my head. However, I can figure out most of that stuff from context, and my lack of nautical knowledge isn’t a great drawback. (I do know a considerable amount about Mississippi riverboats, having researched them for numerous books, but even there, I’m far from an expert.)
Despite my comment about the terminology, I really enjoyed THE BUFFER. Hooky is a great protagonist, and Macdonnell’s prose has a blunt, straightforward style that’s very appropriate for the situation and characters. The story drew me along at a fast pace. With its ensemble cast and episodic structure, this novel reminded me a great deal of a good Sixties TV show about World War II. Being a huge fan of COMBAT! and THE RAT PATROL, I consider that high praise. There’s a direct sequel to this book and I already have it, so I plan to read it soon. I also want to go back and pick up some of the earlier books. This is great stuff, and I highly recommend it. You can find it for various platforms here.
No comments:
Post a Comment