The Blooding of Jack Absolute [Kindle Edition]

Young blade-about-town Jack must flee the country after offending a powerful opponent. No more secret trysts with actress- prostitutes, no more drinking sprees with his wayward mates. From the intrigues of the London theatre world, Jack is catapulted to colonial Quebec on the eve of the decisive battle between England and France for control of North America.

After witnessing General Wolfe's death and England's victory, Jack is captured by Indian allies of the French. He must survive the gruesome Canadian winter in a cave with a Mowhawk fellow escapee, a dead bear and a copy of 'Hamlet' for company...

Strong on characters and atmosphere, CC Humphreys effortlessly transports the reader into the 18th century. My only gripe is that because of the abrupt change of scenery none of the engaging characters of the first part (Jack's playwright mother, his wastrel friends and assorted hot totty) make it into the second.
I'm hoping to meet them again in a sequel!

A thoroughly enjoyable tale that really brings the smell, taste and debauchery of C18th London to life. Our hero Jack has all the attributes you'd want as well as all the failings that kept me turning the pages. CC Humphreys has struck a rich seam of potential with this series and his writing style, historical research and ability to weave the 'real' with the imagained really made this book a worthwhile addition to the historical genre. 4 stars is a pretty good rating and I'm looking forward to more adventures!

I am a big fan of George MacDonald Fraser's `Flashman' novels; they are crude, rude, but good to know. The secret to the Flashman books is that they are historically accurate and they are funny. `The Blooding of Jack Absolute' has a passing resemblance to the `Flashman' books, both are about boorish military types you like to chase women, and both are based on characters taken from other fiction. However, whilst Old Flashy plays for laughs, Absolute plays it's straight and for this reason is just not as good.

`Blooding' is the second book in the Absolute series and follows Jack from childhood until his first major conflict in Canada. The book has two distinct sections; London as an older school boy and Canada as a fighter. Both of them work in some ways, but fail in others. C. C. Humphreys' description of London itself is evocative and seems to be well researched. I enjoyed some of the japes that Absolute got himself into, but the earnest nature of the character made him a little charmless, so you don't feel too sorry for him. The Canadian part of the book starts off promisingly with a good battle, but then descends into a boy's own style adventure of survival and aboriginals.

I found some of the naivety of the action a little off putting; it needed to be a little more cynical and dark to feel truthful. At times it was a little condescending and did not feel like anything historically accurate. Humphreys' book swerves from self-discovery to action and back again - all the elements are present for a rollicking adventure, it is just a shame that they are slightly undermined by some twee sections. `The Blooding of Jack Absolute' is a decent read, but no match for Fraser.