Best Len Levinson Books

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

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Len Levinson is the king of gritty WWII pulp, and The Rat Bastards series is his masterpiece — a relentless, mud-caked chronicle of soldiers too broken or dangerous for any other unit. Titles like Meat Grinder Hill and Hit The Beach aren't just evocative; they deliver exactly what they promise: combat writing stripped of sentiment, propulsive and visceral, with enough dark humor to keep you turning pages through the carnage. Levinson writes battle the way it probably felt — chaotic, exhausting, brutal — and his characters earn their ruthlessness. There's no glory here, just survival and the grim camaraderie of men who've stopped pretending otherwise. Readers who love war fiction with real teeth, who find most military novels too sanitized, will find Levinson hits harder and pulls fewer punches than almost anyone in the genre.

Len Levinson'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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