Call to Arms

'Killer' McCoy is at it again!

In this second installment of the legendary Corps Series, we follow Second Lieutenants McCoy and 'Pick' Pickering after the events of the attacks on Pearl Harbor. McCoy goes to Washington to work for the Marine Corps' Intelligence division and is ultimately assigned to work as a spy against a renegade LtCol named Evans Carlson, who for you history lovers will know as the Marine who created the Raiders; the outfit that eventually became Marine Corps Force Reconnaissance and today is Marine Corps Special Operations. Pick on the otherhand is rather strangely and immediately shipped to Pensacola for training as a Fighter Pilot.

The adventures they find themselves in help shape the path for the start of show more America's involvement in World War II and prepare you for many more adventures to come while keeping up with Pick and Killer! Bring on the next 8 in the series! show less

A great deal more military politics than the first book, so less swashbuckling and less gratifying emotionally, but interesting in a different way. Some of our heroes are getting a bit cardboard cut out, but are still appealing despite that.

I am really enjoying this series...eagerly looking forward to the next one. The characters introduced in the previous book are more layered and developed here, and it makes the reader more involved as they begin to find themselves more drawn into the war after the events of Pearl Harbor. Griffin has also done a masterful job of interweaving love stories between the Marines and their girls and the background of the war to make the story fairly intense at times.

Call to Arms picks up where the last left off, and leads us through the events after Pearl Harbor. A little slower than Semper Fi, we find McCoy in San Diego and Pick in Pensacola for the majority of the story. Griffin's research is top-notch, and the details around the military training, strategies and maneuvers really help the series come to life. These books leave me wanting to read more about the US role in WWII, so I will forgive the cheesy depictions of relationships and the eye-rolling dialogue that often comes out of the women's mouths. Another good installment in the series.

this isn't my first read through of the book, and while I do enjoy the story, there's a couple things I noticed this time. Griffin is ridiculously redundant and the editing is not great.
1)how many "Ernie's" does a series need? two Ed's?
2) is it possible to not "recap" a characters entire history twice in each book? (no other characters middle initial/name is used, so why is Jack Stecker's (sorry... NMI Stecker) every time he shows up?

editing:
at the end of Book One, Ken gets back to the Foster from the Phillipines (and wherever in between) on January 17. the first chunk of Book Two with Ken and Ernie take place on Jan 7-8.
2) Carlson specifically says he doesn't want married men. barely a couple chapters later, McCoy's new married with a show more kid on the way boatmate is a Raider.
Pretty sure there are other things.
good read. just some holes. show less

The second installment of the Corps series--2Lts McCoy and Pickering after attack on Pearl Harbor. McCoy goes to DC and is assigned as a spy against renegade LtCol who created the Raiders; the precursor to today's Marine Corps Special Operations. Pickering plops at Pensacola for flight training, becomes a fighter pilot and falls in love with the unattainable woman. Other characters just keep coming back to life. The characters are strong in their relationships, especially among the raiders. Griffin's research is excellent. This book carries the story along and along and along. It answered several questions from book #1 and sets the stage for books 3-10.

The title looked interesting, and the teaser on the back sounded right up my street. However, far from being a war action story, this was more like a soap opera moving through a very interesting stage in the Second World War. Lots of name dropping, but lacking in action. If the period interests you historically, you'll no doubt find the book fascinating, but I would have enjoyed it more in the first dozen or so pages set the scene, then the rest of the book described their exploits in some detail.