John Lodwick (1916–1959)

In my intermittent but unceasing quest for hidden gems, this long-out-of-print book caught my eye when I found it in a charity shop. Unfortunately, its glint proved to be more zircon than diamond. Despite one or two promising literary flourishes, John Lodwick's obscure 1946 novel Myrmyda never rises above its generic war-adventure premise.

Set in the fictional Mediterranean archipelago of Myrmyda, the short book details a British commando raid against the occupying German garrison during show more World War Two. Lodwick was himself a captain in the SBS (the naval equivalent of the SAS) during the war, launching raids on German-held islands in the Med, and (his Afterword tells us) wrote the manuscript for Myrmyda in the intervals between military operations (pg. 165).

However, this immediacy and this inside-track isn't really reflected in the writing. The decision to tell the story compassionately through German and islander points-of-view, as well as those of the British commandos, was interesting, but none of the characters – on either side – are particularly compelling. There's little reflection or insight into the life of a commando raider, or what it's like to steal onto a mined enemy beach in the dead of night, or silently knife a sentry. These things happen in the story, but they don't happen viscerally.

And, most fatally, there's no reason given for the raid. There are no stakes in the story, and any tension bleeds out as we mill around for multiple chapters before everyone goes home. Everyone except, that is, those who have died – whose demises are mentioned perfunctorily, with little sense of the necessities of drama. Similarly, the moments of combat, the covert infiltrations and the bridge-blowing are not presented with any sense of storytelling occasion.

There is no literary bent (those flourishes I mentioned earlier were illusory) and Myrmyda settles into a conventional tale of war. It's a quick, decent read, but for any readers well-versed in World War Two stories (who will be the only ones willing to give this a try nowadays), this one won't be pulling up any trees. show less

While Lodwick was a novelist who used his wartime experiences in his fiction, this volume is autobiographical. It covers his many experiences behind bars of German prisons after being captured on one of his missions. When WW II broke out, he was in France so he joined the Foreign Legion. When the war ended for France, he hid out for awhile then moved to Vichy France finally traveling to Spain with the idea of returning to Britain. Arrested after crossing into Spain but in the confusion show more recrossing into France, he starts his first period behind prison doors.

Eventually returning to England where he joins the the Special Operation Executive dropping behind enemy lines to create havoc. Captured he spends much of the war moving from prison to prison watching the Germans and the opposing underground do horrible things to one another.

In this book, Ludwig concentrates on times he was in prisons or POW camps. For his other adventures during the war, consult his book Raiders from the Sea. show less