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Flashman on the March (Flashman 12)
 
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Flashman on the March (Flashman 12) (Paperback)

by George MacDonald Fraser (Author)
4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
RRP: £7.99
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Frequently Bought Together

Flashman on the March (Flashman 12) + Flashman and the Tiger: And Other Extracts from the Flashman Papers (Flashman 11) + Flashman and the Dragon (Flashman 10)
Price For All Three: £17.57

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Product details

  • Paperback: 320 pages
  • Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Ltd; First Thus edition (1 Feb 2006)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0007197403
  • ISBN-13: 978-0007197408
  • Product Dimensions: 19.2 x 12.8 x 2.4 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 26,127 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in these categories:

    #17 in  Books > Fiction > Authors, A-Z > F > Fraser, George Macdonald
    #19 in  Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Authors, A-Z > M > MacDonald, George

Product Description

Barry Forshaw
There are certain authors whose very names are an absolute guarantee of quality, and George Macdonald Fraser has long been one of those. His Flashman books are much loved, and the exploits of his engaging rogue have been delighted readers for years. But is Flashman on the March up to the customary Fraser standard? After all, the number of Flashman books is now legion, and even the author’s most dedicated admirers would admit that some Flashman outings (while diverting enough) have lacked the freshness of the early books. It's good to report, therefore, that Flashman on the March is almost vintage Fraser, with all the elements that have won him an ironclad following largely in place. There are, of course, two elements that make these books such fun: the vivid and pungent historical detail (always effortlessly integrated, and never self-consciously laid on as in so many historical novels, serious or otherwise); the author's refusal to be politically correct (the Flashman books have always played fast and loose with the accepted views of morality and society, and their bawdy, amoral charms are refreshing in an age in which such things are looked at askance -- even if Fraser, like Frederick Forsyth, is far better encountered in his entertaining books rather than in his more splenetic role as pundit).

Here, that least heroic possessor of a Victoria Cross, Sir Harry Flashman, finds himself catapulted into a highly dangerous assignment in Abyssinia: he is to rescue British prisoners from a demented emperor. Abyssinia (as seen through Fraser's highly colourful imagination) is a land of lethal seductresses, terrifying warriors and a jawdropping female monarch whose idea of what she should feed her lions is… unorthodox. It's up to Flashman (as so often before) to triumph over insuperable odds by the most unlikely methods. Needless to say, untrammelled sexual activity is firmly on the menu. If you're a George Macdonald Fraser fan, or a Flashman fan, what are you waiting for? --Barry Forshaw

Review
'Thanks to Fraser's passion for history, his rare gift for rattling narrative and his infectious delight in robust, rollicking language, we can rejoice in a work of genius worthy of being ranked with -- there can be no higher accolade -- P.G. Wodehouse' Daily Telegraph 'Farcically outrageous and disgracefully entertaining' Sunday Times

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What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

Flashman on the March (Flashman 12)
74% buy the item featured on this page:
Flashman on the March (Flashman 12) 4.1 out of 5 stars (26)
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Customer Reviews

26 Reviews
5 star:
 (8)
4 star:
 (14)
3 star:
 (3)
2 star:
 (1)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.1 out of 5 stars (26 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
69 of 72 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Even an average Flashman destroys the competition, 11 April 2005
By Peter Symonds "petersym" - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Flashman on the March (Hardcover)
Flashy has been around for nearly 40 years now, but with only a dozen packets of his memoirs released, new Flashman's are few and far between and as such there's immense excitement whenever Mr Fraser releases a new book.

While its fair to say that "Flashman on the March" is not up to the standard of some of the previous episodes, a book that only rates "average" in comparision to, say "Flash for Freedom" or "Flashman in the Great Game" still wipes away the competition. It follows directly on from Flashmans (still unwritten) Mexican & US Civil War misadventures. To escape (among others) Mexican revolutionaries & the French Foreign Legion Gendamerie Flashman passes himself off as the executed emperor Maximillian's best friend and escapes the America's on an Austrian warship. Unfortuanately there's a 16 year old Austrian princess on board whom Flashy "educates" prior to her wedding. This requires an even faster escape from Trieste pursued by the Austrian authorities.

"Escape" this time comes in the form of Rugby companion Speedicut who entrusts Flash with £500,000 in silver to fund General Napier's invasion of Abysinia. Napier, not believing his luck sends the "heroic" Flashy in disguise on a suicide mission into the heart of Africa with the predictable amount of genocidal African kings and equally murderous (but volumptious) women after him. What follows is typical Flashman.

As we've come to expect from George MacDonald Fraser, the historical research is second to none. What lets this books down is the obscurity of the Abysinia campaign of 1867, which was little more than a quick skirmish resulting in a handful of British casualties. Whereas the Crimean war featured in "Flashman at the charge" allowed Flashman to fight among the thin red line, the charge of the heavy brigade AND the charge of the light brigade all in one day, this particular campaign lacks these opportunities. The real strength of Flashman is his almost "Forest Gump" like ability to plausibly change the course of history. History has ignored the fate of the British in Abysinia.

This is vastly superior to the previous chapter in Flashman's memoirs (Flashman & the Tiger), however I'm still hopeful that two of his oft-refered to unwritten memoirs will be published soon, namely the full account of his civil war memoirs and a more detailed account of his actions in the Zulu wars. Both have far more potential than some of the recent releases.

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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Flashman in Abyssinia, 17 Jun 2005
By Iain S. Palin (Northern Ireland) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   
This review is from: Flashman on the March (Hardcover)
The latest adventurer in the fascinating career of Victorian "hero", blackguard, and all-round character Sir Harry Flashman takes him into one of the lesser-known by-ways of empire, a British military expedition into Abyssinia (modern-day Ethiopia). Were it not for the fact that is in the history books, this expedition with its highly-professional British general, its mad Abyssinian emperor, and its brilliant success would all be a but far-fetched - and that's before the Flashman adventure comes in.

Sir Harry is on good form - getting dragooned into taking part when all he wants to do is get home and enjoy his money, position, and his wife Elspeth; having the usual encounters with exotic and lusty women and exotic and dangerous men; almost getting killed; doing his craven and unsuccessful best to avoid risk to himself; and coming out on top with his spurious reputation further enhanced.

Unfortunately the same cannot be said for George McDonald Fraser. The author seems to be getting tired, and we have quite long passages where very little happens and what does is not very interesting. One can only wish that rather than dealing with this episode the author had given us something of the long-awaited (and loudly-demanded by the fans) account of Flashman's "service" (on both sides) in the American Civil War. We get a teaser here with a little back story of what he got up to in its aftermath but how long must we wait for the real thing?

Still it's a Flashman, and not really the worst, so three-and-a-half stars are in order.

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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars It is still flashman, 25 Jun 2005
This review is from: Flashman on the March (Hardcover)
After reading all the flashman series long before its current episode, I still thrive on the story telling George MacDonald Fraser is able to provide.

Even though this book does not rate in the top 5 of flashman novels, it does bring back the affable cad that we all know and love.

It never ceases to amaze me, the wars and scuffles the British were in within such a short period of History, and that the staggering amount of resources (namely money) that was spent to maintain the empire.

Where as I do not class this book as a 5, any reader of the flashman adventures, will want to read the new episode of his life (with references to future installments).

Keep writing George, it is appreciated.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Minor book on minor campaign
The book is quite interesting, the campaign a bit of a footnote. The crying shame is that this could and should have been the long awaited American Civil War novel. Read more
Published 1 month ago by blackbour

4.0 out of 5 stars laugh-out-loud funny
Harry Flashman is most definitely a liar, bounder and a cad... but that won't stop you loving him all the same. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Oldevers

4.0 out of 5 stars Nearly, but not quite...
The story, history & style are all interesting & very well done - as one would expect from George Macdonald Fraser. But... Read more
Published 18 months ago by G. Cowley

5.0 out of 5 stars George Macdonald Fraser delivers the goods.
George Macdonald Fraser never fails to deliver the goods and 'Flashman on the March' is no exception. Read more
Published on 13 May 2007 by Mr. R. D. M. Kirby

4.0 out of 5 stars Flashman on the march (and on the run too)
Flashy (a V.C. by now, no less!) is on the march again indeed. In this installment of the Flashman papers we find him, against his will as usual, in Abyssinia, which at the time... Read more
Published on 17 Mar 2007 by Didier

4.0 out of 5 stars Would you buy this book if you didn't know the rest of the series?
For anybody wanting three things in one - a fast-paced and exciting novel, a fairly learned history book and a well-written piece of literature - you don't need to look much... Read more
Published on 19 Dec 2006 by Mr. M. Bloomfield

5.0 out of 5 stars Good old Flashy!
I suppose it is obvious that I'm a big fan. I wouldn't give 5 stars to all the Flashman volumes, but this one deserves it - the story of Napier's expeditionary force in Abyssinia... Read more
Published on 7 Dec 2006 by Flashman

4.0 out of 5 stars Flashy's back
I agree with some of the other reviewers that in some respects this isn't up to the standard of the best Flashman books, and that all the elements we have come to know over the... Read more
Published on 1 Aug 2006 by Braggadocchio

2.0 out of 5 stars Same old, same old
A devoted fan of Flash, I was disappointed. I felt I had been here before. Time and again. Perhaps it's unreasonable to expect something new from a character one has followed so... Read more
Published on 19 May 2006 by Angus J. Mcdowall

4.0 out of 5 stars "Minor" Flashman
This twelfth installment of the hilarious Flashman papers is, alas, not one of the better ones. To be sure, it's a rollicking good time with all the elements one expects from the... Read more
Published on 5 May 2006 by A. Ross

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