Best John Mackie Audiobooks

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.

16 audiobooks in collection

★ 3.74 avg ABR rating

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Best John Mackie Audiobooks

1

River Of Blood

The Rat Bastards • Book 3

by Len Levinson, John Mackie

Narrated by Ray Porter

★ 3.83 ABR Score (129 ratings)

★ 4.31 Goodreads (54) ★ 4.69 Audible (75)

6h 13m listening time • Released 2013

Ray Porter commands this tale of misfit soldiers who fight enemies and each other with equal ferocity. His gruff narration matches the Rat Bastards' brutal efficiency in jungle warfare.

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Ray Porter commands this tale of misfit soldiers who fight enemies and each other with equal ferocity. His gruff narration matches the Rat Bastards' brutal efficiency in jungle warfare.

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Start Listening → Get the Book →
2

Death Squad

The Rat Bastards • Book 2

by Len Levinson, John Mackie

Narrated by Ray Porter

★ 3.83 ABR Score (137 ratings)

★ 4.21 Goodreads (66) ★ 4.69 Audible (71)

6h 7m listening time • Released 2013

The Rat Bastards are too blood-hungry for their own army and too dangerous for any enemy in the malaria-soaked jungle. Porter's delivery matches this pulp war fiction's relentless pace as the platoon tears through friend and foe alike on their rampage.

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The Rat Bastards are too blood-hungry for their own army and too dangerous for any enemy in the malaria-soaked jungle. Porter's delivery matches this pulp war fiction's relentless pace as the platoon tears through friend and foe alike on their rampage.

Start Listening → Get the Book →

Start Listening → Get the Book →
3

Hit The Beach

The Rat Bastards • Book 1

by Len Levinson, John Mackie

Narrated by Ray Porter

★ 3.81 ABR Score (247 ratings)

★ 4.13 Goodreads (119) ★ 4.44 Audible (128)

5h 53m listening time • Released 2013

An insane sergeant leads bank robbers, racketeers, and lunatics into WWII combat as the ultimate killing machine known as the Rat Bastards.

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An insane sergeant leads bank robbers, racketeers, and lunatics into WWII combat as the ultimate killing machine known as the Rat Bastards.

Start Listening → Get the Book →

Start Listening → Get the Book →
4

Down and Dirty

The Rat Bastards • Book 5

by Len Levinson, John Mackie

Narrated by Ray Porter

★ 3.77 ABR Score (86 ratings)

★ 4.04 Goodreads (45) ★ 4.78 Audible (41)

5h 52m listening time • Released 2013

Jungle warfare pulp where the Rat Bastards face enemies in every shadow, prison breaks, and constant combat across the Pacific theater.

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Jungle warfare pulp where the Rat Bastards face enemies in every shadow, prison breaks, and constant combat across the Pacific theater.

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Start Listening → Get the Book →
5

Hot Lead and Cold Steel

The Rat Bastards • Book 8

by Len Levinson, John Mackie

Narrated by Ray Porter

★ 3.75 ABR Score (63 ratings)

★ 4.1 Goodreads (30) ★ 4.85 Audible (33)

6h 5m listening time • Released 2013

The Rat Bastards slash through jungle warfare and underground tomb battles in this WWII Pacific theater adventure where death is just another sick joke.

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The Rat Bastards slash through jungle warfare and underground tomb battles in this WWII Pacific theater adventure where death is just another sick joke.

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Start Listening → Get the Book →
6

Green Hell

The Rat Bastards • Book 6

by Len Levinson, John Mackie

Narrated by Ray Porter

★ 3.75 ABR Score (64 ratings)

★ 4.03 Goodreads (30) ★ 4.82 Audible (34)

5h 50m listening time • Released 2013

Ray Porter voices the Pacific War's toughest unit as they crawl through impossible terrain with a single obsession: kill or die trying.

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Ray Porter voices the Pacific War's toughest unit as they crawl through impossible terrain with a single obsession: kill or die trying.

Start Listening → Get the Book →

Start Listening → Get the Book →
7

Meat Grinder Hill

The Rat Bastards • Book 4

by Len Levinson, John Mackie

Narrated by Ray Porter

★ 3.74 ABR Score (101 ratings)

★ 4.14 Goodreads (50) ★ 4.45 Audible (51)

5h 56m listening time • Released 2013

The Rat Bastards assault a fortified enemy position with their signature blend of chaos and lethality. Ray Porter channels the squad's bloodthirsty enthusiasm as they turn a quiet jungle into a killing field.

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The Rat Bastards assault a fortified enemy position with their signature blend of chaos and lethality. Ray Porter channels the squad's bloodthirsty enthusiasm as they turn a quiet jungle into a killing field.

Start Listening → Get the Book →

Start Listening → Get the Book →
8

Too Mean To Die

The Rat Bastards • Book 7

by Len Levinson, John Mackie

Narrated by Ray Porter

★ 3.74 ABR Score (78 ratings)

★ 4.08 Goodreads (36) ★ 4.57 Audible (42)

5h 42m listening time • Released 2013

Ray Porter captures every bit of grit in this WWII band of misfits struggling to stay unified between bloody Pacific battles.

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Ray Porter captures every bit of grit in this WWII band of misfits struggling to stay unified between bloody Pacific battles.

Start Listening → Get the Book →

Start Listening → Get the Book →
9

Do or Die

The Rat Bastards • Book 9

by Len Levinson, John Mackie

Narrated by Ray Porter

★ 3.73 ABR Score (60 ratings)

★ 3.93 Goodreads (27) ★ 4.76 Audible (33)

5h 43m listening time • Released 2013

The Rat Bastards—stuntman, gangster, Indian, and bum—form history's most effective killing team as they stand between Japanese forces and Pacific island domination. Ray Porter's gritty performance matches the squad's ruthless pragmatism.

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The Rat Bastards—stuntman, gangster, Indian, and bum—form history's most effective killing team as they stand between Japanese forces and Pacific island domination. Ray Porter's gritty performance matches the squad's ruthless pragmatism.

Start Listening → Get the Book →

Start Listening → Get the Book →
10

Kill Crazy

The Rat Bastards • Book 10

by Len Levinson, John Mackie

Narrated by Ray Porter

★ 3.73 ABR Score (60 ratings)

★ 4.15 Goodreads (27) ★ 4.67 Audible (33)

6h 17m listening time • Released 2013

Ray Porter's gravelly delivery matches this blood-soaked WWII pulp perfectly—jungle warfare, malaria, and the psychological toll of killing become viscerally real.

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Ray Porter's gravelly delivery matches this blood-soaked WWII pulp perfectly—jungle warfare, malaria, and the psychological toll of killing become viscerally real.

Start Listening → Get the Book →

Start Listening → Get the Book →
11

Nightmare Alley

The Rat Bastards • Book 11

by Len Levinson, John Mackie

Narrated by Ray Porter

★ 3.71 ABR Score (54 ratings)

★ 4.12 Goodreads (26) ★ 4.68 Audible (28)

5h 57m listening time • Released 2013

The Rat Bastards transform from leave-wrecking losers into the Pacific's most lethal fighting force when duty calls them to their bloodiest mission yet. Ray Porter emphasizes the squad's Jekyll-and-Hyde nature between chaos and deadly efficiency.

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The Rat Bastards transform from leave-wrecking losers into the Pacific's most lethal fighting force when duty calls them to their bloodiest mission yet. Ray Porter emphasizes the squad's Jekyll-and-Hyde nature between chaos and deadly efficiency.

Start Listening → Get the Book →

Start Listening → Get the Book →
12

Suicide River

The Rat Bastards • Book 14

by Len Levinson, John Mackie

Narrated by Ray Porter

★ 3.71 ABR Score (48 ratings)

★ 4 Goodreads (21) ★ 4.74 Audible (27)

6h 55m listening time • Released 2013

Japanese surprise attacks meet Rat Bastards counter-intelligence as the battle for New Guinea's strategic control reaches its bloodiest peak.

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Japanese surprise attacks meet Rat Bastards counter-intelligence as the battle for New Guinea's strategic control reaches its bloodiest peak.

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Start Listening → Get the Book →
13

Go Down Fighting

The Rat Bastards • Book 16

by Len Levinson, John Mackie

Narrated by Ray Porter

★ 3.69 ABR Score (53 ratings)

★ 4 Goodreads (23) ★ 4.53 Audible (30)

5h 55m listening time • Released 2013

The Rat Bastards meet their deadliest opponents yet as desperate Japanese kamikaze forces launch final suicide attacks in the war's closing days.

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The Rat Bastards meet their deadliest opponents yet as desperate Japanese kamikaze forces launch final suicide attacks in the war's closing days.

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Start Listening → Get the Book →
14

Satan's Cage

The Rat Bastards • Book 15

by Len Levinson, John Mackie

Narrated by Ray Porter

★ 3.69 ABR Score (42 ratings)

★ 3.95 Goodreads (20) ★ 4.73 Audible (22)

6h 38m listening time • Released 2013

The Rat Bastards fight for pure survival in New Guinea's blood-soaked jungles, where victory offers no spoils — only another day alive.

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The Rat Bastards fight for pure survival in New Guinea's blood-soaked jungles, where victory offers no spoils — only another day alive.

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Start Listening → Get the Book →
15

Go For Broke

The Rat Bastards • Book 12

by Len Levinson, John Mackie

Narrated by Ray Porter

★ 3.68 ABR Score (51 ratings)

★ 4.08 Goodreads (24) ★ 4.48 Audible (27)

6h 19m listening time • Released 2013

Raw WWII Pacific theater action follows the Rat Bastards through brutal hand-to-hand combat and daring truck hijacking missions across New Guinea.

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Raw WWII Pacific theater action follows the Rat Bastards through brutal hand-to-hand combat and daring truck hijacking missions across New Guinea.

Start Listening → Get the Book →

Start Listening → Get the Book →
16

Tough Guys Die Hard

The Rat Bastards • Book 13

by Len Levinson, John Mackie

Narrated by Ray Porter

★ 3.68 ABR Score (46 ratings)

★ 4.05 Goodreads (21) ★ 4.56 Audible (25)

6h 12m listening time • Released 2013

New misfit recruits join the battle-hardened Rat Bastards as they continue their jungle warfare rampage across multiple Pacific theater hellscapes.

More about this pick

New misfit recruits join the battle-hardened Rat Bastards as they continue their jungle warfare rampage across multiple Pacific theater hellscapes.

Start Listening → Get the Book →

Start Listening → Get the Book →