Best John Mackie Books

The best books by John Mackie — 16 titles spanning Historical Fiction, averaging 3.75 BLT stars.

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John Mackie made his name writing WWII combat fiction that doesn't flinch — and doesn't pretend war is anything but brutal, ugly, and occasionally darkly funny. The Rat Bastards series, anchored by titles like Hit The Beach and Meat Grinder Hill, follows a ragged unit of soldiers through the Pacific Theater with the kind of ground-level intensity that keeps pages turning at a reckless pace. Mackie's prose is lean and punishing — short sentences, visceral action, no time wasted on sentiment. He has a knack for making you care about men who are mostly held together by exhaustion and profanity, then putting them through hell anyway. Ray Porter's narration has become synonymous with the series, and the pairing works — that graveled, no-nonsense delivery fits Mackie's tone perfectly. If you want literary war fiction, look elsewhere. If you want to feel like you're in the mud with someone's rifle jamming, Mackie delivers.

John Mackie's highest-rated book in our collection is River Of Blood (3.84 BLT stars). Browse the full list below.

  1. 1
    River Of Blood cover

    River Of Blood

    The Rat Bastards • Book 3

    by Len Levinson, John Mackie

    ★ 3.84 BLT Score (54 ratings)
    ★ 4.31 Goodreads (54)
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  2. 2
    Death Squad cover

    Death Squad

    The Rat Bastards • Book 2

    by Len Levinson, John Mackie

    ★ 3.83 BLT Score (66 ratings)
    ★ 4.21 Goodreads (66)
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  3. 3
    Hit The Beach cover

    Hit The Beach

    The Rat Bastards • Book 1

    by Len Levinson, John Mackie

    ★ 3.82 BLT Score (119 ratings)
    ★ 4.13 Goodreads (119)
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  4. 4
    Down and Dirty cover

    Down and Dirty

    The Rat Bastards • Book 5

    by Len Levinson, John Mackie

    ★ 3.78 BLT Score (45 ratings)
    ★ 4.04 Goodreads (45)
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  5. 5
    Hot Lead and Cold Steel cover

    Hot Lead and Cold Steel

    The Rat Bastards • Book 8

    by Len Levinson, John Mackie

    ★ 3.76 BLT Score (30 ratings)
    ★ 4.1 Goodreads (30)
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  6. 6
    Green Hell cover

    Green Hell

    The Rat Bastards • Book 6

    by Len Levinson, John Mackie

    ★ 3.76 BLT Score (30 ratings)
    ★ 4.03 Goodreads (30)
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  7. 7
    Meat Grinder Hill cover

    Meat Grinder Hill

    The Rat Bastards • Book 4

    by Len Levinson, John Mackie

    ★ 3.75 BLT Score (50 ratings)
    ★ 4.14 Goodreads (50)
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  8. 8
    Too Mean To Die cover

    Too Mean To Die

    The Rat Bastards • Book 7

    by Len Levinson, John Mackie

    ★ 3.74 BLT Score (36 ratings)
    ★ 4.08 Goodreads (36)
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  9. 9
    Do or Die cover

    Do or Die

    The Rat Bastards • Book 9

    by Len Levinson, John Mackie

    ★ 3.74 BLT Score (27 ratings)
    ★ 3.93 Goodreads (27)
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  10. 10
    Kill Crazy cover

    Kill Crazy

    The Rat Bastards • Book 10

    by Len Levinson, John Mackie

    ★ 3.73 BLT Score (27 ratings)
    ★ 4.15 Goodreads (27)
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  11. 11
    Nightmare Alley cover

    Nightmare Alley

    The Rat Bastards • Book 11

    by Len Levinson, John Mackie

    ★ 3.72 BLT Score (26 ratings)
    ★ 4.12 Goodreads (26)
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  12. 12
    Suicide River cover

    Suicide River

    The Rat Bastards • Book 14

    by Len Levinson, John Mackie

    ★ 3.72 BLT Score (21 ratings)
    ★ 4 Goodreads (21)
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  13. 13
    Go Down Fighting cover

    Go Down Fighting

    The Rat Bastards • Book 16

    by Len Levinson, John Mackie

    ★ 3.70 BLT Score (23 ratings)
    ★ 4 Goodreads (23)
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  14. 14
    Satan's Cage cover

    Satan's Cage

    The Rat Bastards • Book 15

    by Len Levinson, John Mackie

    ★ 3.70 BLT Score (20 ratings)
    ★ 3.95 Goodreads (20)
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  15. 15
    Go For Broke cover

    Go For Broke

    The Rat Bastards • Book 12

    by Len Levinson, John Mackie

    ★ 3.69 BLT Score (24 ratings)
    ★ 4.08 Goodreads (24)
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  16. 16
    Tough Guys Die Hard cover

    Tough Guys Die Hard

    The Rat Bastards • Book 13

    by Len Levinson, John Mackie

    ★ 3.69 BLT Score (21 ratings)
    ★ 4.05 Goodreads (21)
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