Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Trying Something Different, 27 Jun 2008
After an action packed debut in Ratcatcher and surviving the gothic darkness of Resurrectionist, Matthew Hawkwood, Bow Street Runner, is back in this third and once again very different adventure from James McGee.
One of the appealing things about the Hawkwood series so far is that each book has a distinct and individual feel to it. The first book was a light weight, action packed romp around Regency London whilst the second was a very much darker, blood soaked gothic affair. With Rapscallion the feel and focus shifts once again as Matthew Hawkwood finds himself outside London in the rural backwaters of the Thames estuary and caught up in prisoners of war and smuggling. This constant shifting of subject, locales and characters between books, with only Hawkwood and a few supporting players such as Jago and Read being the constants between them, keeps the series feeling fresh and prevents them becoming too predictable. It is something McGee should be applauded for, since in this reviewer's opinion far too many series of this type come to rely on repetitive, interchangeable plots and themes, to the point where the books seem to run into one another and are hard to differentiate.
The fact that with Rapscallion McGee doesn't quite hit the heights of the previous two books can more easily be forgiven when you consider that at least he is not simply regurgitating a slight variation on yet the same plot. Besides which, the criticisms of the book are comparatively minor. The pacing in the first third of the book feels slightly off and it takes a while for events to start to grab the reader. Again this is because McGee tries to do something a little different; setting up one apparent main plot strand before bringing it to a sudden and very unexpected conclusion and sending the whole book off in an entirely new, almost unrelated direction. Doing so keeps the reader guessing, but means that a third of the way in the whole narrative needs to be reset and a whole new group of characters has to be introduced. Inevitably this hampers the flow of the book and although the opening passages contain some evocative writing and great action readers might feel a bit cheated when the switch comes.
After the switch it takes a while for the pace to pick up again. When it does however, as with the previous books it doesn't let up. In order to find out how it ended I sat up until 1 a.m. on a work night to rattle through the last fifty pages and didn't regret my decision. Everything fans of the series expect is present. Hawkwood is his usual capable self, the bad guys are given enough depth that they aren't simple stock villains or OTT cackling psychopaths and McGee introduces some solid supporting characters in the form of Lasseur, Gadd and Mrs Flynn. The action is well written, exciting and when necessary uncompromising and to the point. Lasseur's actions during the dénouement stick in the memory in particular, being simple, quick and highly effective as well as totally surprising.
If McGee can keep the level of invention he has displayed thus far up over the books that follow then the Hawkwood series has a very bright future indeed. I would rather have flawed books like this, which at least try to do something new and original than ones that may work with machinelike precision but feel like they have been written to some sort of pre-programmed template. Roll on the next Hawkwood adventure. I can't wait to see where it takes us.
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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Sorry Sharpe your History, 24 Jun 2008
What can i say, The 3rd Hawkwood book and they go from strength to strength, The attention to historical detail is amazing and it feels like you are there, The atmosphere of the prison hulks is captured briliantly. The day the book was delivered i began and 16hrs later sadly i had come to the end, When's the next due? Not much of Jago in this but Lasseur more than makes up for that, Will we see him again?. I know this is meant to be a review but i'm sure others will do that so i'll just enthuse. If your new to Hawkwood i recommend starting with Ratcatcher always start at the beginning, but you wont regret the money spent, Richard Sharpe watch out your history.
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10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Another winner from McGee (3.5 stars), 14 Sep 2008
Rapscallion is James McGee's third Hawkwood novel. Hawkwood is a bow street runner, but very much in the vein of Sharpe, and those who enjoy Bernard Cornwall's writing will probably enjoy this too.
This is darker then the previous two and involves Hawkwood going undercover to help the Navy find two of its missing men who were investigating a prisoner smuggling ring. This involves Hawkwood going onto one of the infamous prison ships, Rapscallion, to follow the links in the chain while trying to stay alive.
Slightly less action in this one, but a little more history - but the history (prison ships, treatment of French prisoners etc) was not something I knew much about and it was interesting to read of an unpleasant aspect of our history.
As stated,the plot has a slower pace then previous as the scene is set, but then it snowballs up as we find there is more to the scenario then just basic smuggling and can Hawkwood intervene in time to stop a plan that could impact the war with the French?
Good stuff again from Mr NcGee - roll on the next one.
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