Frederick Forsyth - 'The Dogs of War' Quiz

Answer: "Cat" Shannon

Carlo Alfred Thomas Shannon was always called "CAT", an acronym for his given names. He was Irish-born and England-raised. He spent some of his youth in Africa in harmless office employment until he decided being a solider for hire might be more interesting, and left one day.

Answer: Platinum

An aerial survey of the neighbouring country inadvertently leads to the discovery of an entire mountain made of platinum. An unscrupulous and not-so-ethical London tycoon plans to get his company's hands on it. As the Crystal Mountain is located deep in the heartland of this country ruled by a penny-pinching tyrant, that may not be so easy.

Answer: Sir James Manson

Manson's sharp mind realises almost straight away that platinum will be in greater demand towards the end of the 1970s. If he owns most of the world's supply...then he can sell it for however much he pleases and make himself even richer.

Answer: Zangaro

There is no such country as Zangaro, Frederick Forsyth made it up. Quite unusual for him; he normally sets his stories in real places with cameos by real people (usually people with controversial backgrounds). When the text refers to the republics on either side of Zangaro he deliberately avoids naming them. Also he never specifies whether Zangaro's former colonial masters were British, French or Portuguese. All we can tell about Zangaro is that it is somewhere on the north-western coast, but considering the size of Africa that hardly narrows it down.

Answer: Jean Kimba

Giving this country a plausible background, the author outlines this maniac's rise to power. Kimba, like other African dictators, came to power by "encouraging" the natives to vote for him, rules the country with an iron fist, cares not for his peoples' wellbeing, and deposits the majority of his country's savings and wealth into his fortified home or Swiss bank account.

Answer: Colonel Bobi

Colonel Bobi is little better than his former employer. He staged a failed coup to replace Kimba and fled before he could be tortured and executed. James Manson's right-hand men locate Bobi and promise to make him the new president after they use mercenaries to take over the country. Providing Bobi gives Manson unlimited access to the Crystal Mountain, of course!

Answer: Dutch

In the prologue we meet Cat Shannon and his four friends from Corsica (France), Belgium, South Africa and Germany. The five men have just been defeated in war in another (unnamed) African country and quickly fly out before the victorious army can reach them. They kindly allow Red Cross nurses and numerous sick and now-homeless children to share their plane too.

Answer: "Spanish Harlem" - by Ben E King

I did some research when the book said he liked "Spanish Harlem" and presumably it's "Rose In Spanish Harlem" by Ben E King. Shannon likes to whistle this tune whenever possible.

Answer: Daughter

When Shannon was hired by James Manson's aide Simon Endean (aka Walter Harris, the name he gives Shannon), Shannon uses a PI agency to follow Endean and learn his real name and that he works for Manson Consolidated Inc. Shannon then contacts Manson's daughter Julie via a mutual friend and they become lovers.

It's not clear how this helps Shannon's preparations to take over Zangaro - perhaps he just wanted a "mole" inside Manson's home. In any case he and Julie have good heart-to-hearts in bed about war and its destruction and how Shannon feels about all that.

Answer: False

As it happens they DO take over Zangaro and depose Jean Kimba. But when Simon Endean arrives with Colonel Bobi to take over as the new president, Shannon shoots Bobi too. As he's escorting Endean out of the country Shannon explains why.
Too many children have suffered in Africa over the years because of uncaring businessmen like Manson and Shannon decided enough was enough. He had secretly arranged for another exiled African leader to come into Zangaro and take over instead - knowing he will be kinder to the general populace and provide a safe haven for all other homeless natives across the continent. So if Manson wants the Crystal Mountain and its platinum, he will jolly well have to pay for it himself and not rip the poor Zangaran natives off.
After surprising readers with this noble act, Shannon waits a few weeks and quietly steals into the Zangaran bush, putting a gun into his mouth. It transpires that a French doctor had told him some months ago that he did not have long left to live due to some ailment picked up after years in Africa. He was whistling "Spanish Harlem" before he died...