Most Helpful Customer Reviews
|
|
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
A Struggle, 27 Jan 2009
Have I ever been more glad that I waited for the paperback of a book to be published rather than buying the hardback than I am when it comes to Soldier of Fortune? Not that I can remember.
Boy this book was a struggle to get through. Normally I enjoy historical military fiction, from Simon Scarrow to John Wilcox. I even have a soft spot for some of the earlier Sharpe books. I was therefore hoping that I would enjoy Edward Marston's first Captain Rawson adventure and could add another series of novels to my 'to read list'. Instead I'm pretty sure that this will be the last of the series I pick up.
Soldier of Fortune commits one of the cardinal sins when it comes to military fiction; it lacks any real excitement. With a narrative that is poorly paced the reader has to suffer through substantial tracts when nothing very much happens. When action does occur it is blandly or confusingly written, and lacks punch or any discernible tension. Battles, murders, kidnaps and escapes all occur but none of them succeed in even vaguely raising the reader's heart rate. Rawson, we're told, is a rogueish soldier, spy and lover. Any book with such a person as the central character should be a heady mix of action, adventure, sex and romance. When none of this is anywhere to be found and even the romantic subplot is uttely anaemic then you know something is badly wrong. By two thirds of the way through I will admit to being thoroughly bored by Soldier of Fortuine and had to force myself to finish the book (I hate to abandon any book).
Matters might not have been so dire had there been any positives to counteract the lack of punch and excitement. Strong characterisation or historical detail might have improved matters, but both were equally lacking. Some characters, such as Rawson's Sargeant friend/confidente, are so badly conceived as to be almost laughable. Others, such as Rawson himself and real life characters like the Duke of Malborough were devoid of any real depth. Without depth or realism it is very hard to invest in any characters, their actions, the events that occur around them or the book as a whole.
As for historical detail, whilst I wouldn't want the story getting bogged down by minor historical details, Marston takes a scatter-gun approach that left me dissatisfied. For the most part he sticks to sketching out merely the broad historical facts in such a limited fashion that the book suffers from dearth of sufficient detail or there is no real context offered for the real life events that occur. These events are often covered with scandalously cursory detail; the Battle of Blenheim, a critical event both historically and in terms of the book, is covered in only a few pages. On the other hand he'll suddenly drop in a point of detail that seems utterly irrelevant to the plot. Did we need to know that Marlborough's wife briefly and incorrectly suspected him of having an affair; no, and it adds nothing to the wider story. Its seems to have been included simply so the author could demonstrate the breadth of his research. This inconsistency of approach is both strange and irritating.
Overall I feel I'm being generous giving Soldier of Fortune two stars. It earns one for not being totally unreadable and scrapes another for the author's decision to set his story during a period not commonly covered by other books in the genre. Beyond that however, I can find nothing else to recommend it.
|
|
|
24 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
...Not for me., 9 Feb 2008
As a reader of military history fact and fiction, I'd like to think that I know what I should expect from a book on the subject. Now, please don't get me wrong, I'm sure this author's other works are brilliant - It's when I heard that a military novel has been written by a crime writer, I thought...'oh dear' But I did give it a chance.
One word that I would use to describe this book is, Un-descriptive. Nothing is explained, or elaborated a pon. For example, a battle reads like.
-The troops advanced
-They were surprised by an enemy musket volley
-Some died...our hero lives -he draws his sword and run after the French
There's no passion, no grittiness too it. No explanation to what pattern of muskets were used, how they were loaded, no talk of military formations, other than 'the regiments were in tight formation'
The main chap is a Captain in a regiment, but no military organisation is touched a pon. ie. what company did he command, who was the acting Colonel of the regiment etc.. etc... Not even uniforms are touched on.
I was just left feeling very cold and wooden by the end
|
|
|
14 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
First in a New Series, 28 Jan 2008
Edward Marston is just one of the pseudonyms of author Keith Miles. He has been a university lecturer, radio, television, and theatre dramatist, and in addition to writing has worked as an actor, director, and dramatist. He has written a large number of books with historical themes, perhaps the most well known being his Domesday series. These revolve around the census of 1086 and a series of mysteries featuring the Elizabethan theatre as their background.
Once you have become familiar with an author's work, his character's and style of writing it is sometimes difficult to become attuned to a new character and storyline, but in this case the author seems to have come up with a winner on both fronts, although I still love the the books that are set in the eleventh century.
This is a new venture for the author and a new character to contend with in Captain Rawson The quintessential career soldier who never knows when his life will come to a brutal and bloody end and therefore lives each day to the full. While still young, Rawson had seen war destroy his father and seen his Dutch mother almost raped. Shortly afterwards the pair leave England for the Netherlands. Three years later Rawson returns as a soldier in the Dutch army, come to support William of Orange in his bid to replace James II on the English throne.
But the memories of his youth still burn strong in his mind and have moulded him into the man he is. Beholden to no one, except his superior officers. A man of intelligence and quick wits. Both of which have kept him alive, while many of his contemporaries are moldering in the earth. A man with as many enemies as he has friends . . .
|
|
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews
|
by Iain Gale
by Edward Marston
by Allan Mallinson
by Bernard Cornwell
With an Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificate, you can get them what they want (even if you don't know what that is). 
Amazon Home