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Coward on the Beach: 1 (Dick Coward 1)
 
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Coward on the Beach: 1 (Dick Coward 1) (Hardcover)

by James Delingpole (Author)
3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (20 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Hardcover: 336 pages
  • Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC (20 Aug 2007)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0747590702
  • ISBN-13: 978-0747590705
  • Product Dimensions: 21.4 x 14 x 3.4 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 70,155 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Product Description

James Holland, Sunday Telegraph
Extremely funny... very moving. The research is exemplary, and like the best historical fiction, woven seamlessly into the narrative. Truly compelling.

James Urquhart, Financial Times Magazine
Tempered by the carnage of war, Dick's antics have more meat and less sauce than those of his antecedent Flashman, whose racy adventures Delingpole creditably updates

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Coward on the Beach: 1 (Dick Coward 1)
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Customer Reviews

20 Reviews
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 (10)
4 star:
 (2)
3 star:
 (6)
2 star:    (0)
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 (2)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.9 out of 5 stars (20 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Thrilling Stuff, 10 Aug 2007
I must confess to having felt a little uneasy at the prospect of Coward on the Beach: I mean, do really need an "updated Flashman" as it pipes on the blurb? Well, if this first installment is anything to go by, yes, we really do. I've devoured all the Flashman books over the years and have recently had a sense that they don't quite have the same zip and verve as they once did. Delingpole, who I've never read before (his previous novels didn't register on the radar to be hoenst) manages to write a very funny story, verging on the pastiche, in a very similar vein to MacDonald Fraser. But despite the larger than life characters and extraordinary plot twists, he manages to imbue the book with a sense of real respect for what the soldiers of the second world war achieved: their amazing spirit and backbone and the honorable way in which they offered their lives. He also brilliantly describes the battle scenes - very Band of Brothers - and tells the story of the assault on the Fort at Port En Bessin with a historian's eye for detail. I really can't wait for the next installment.


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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Not Flashman Redux, 21 Jun 2008
By T. Berner (New York, New York) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
Publishers do their writers a disservice by comparing them to a great writer. Writers should stand on their own. Coward is not Harry Flashman.

Granted, he was written with Flashman in mind. Coward is the anti-Flashman: a hero who gets the false reputation for cowardice, totally helpless with the women and someone who appears to be on a downward trajectory. But Fraser's politically incorrect humor is muted here. The fate of Coward and the men around him more horrible.

But we are, after all, talking about World War II and the music hall wars which were the stock and trade of the Flashman series would be inappropriate anyway (and one suspects that the great Fraser understood that himself which is why, to the great disappointment of his readers, he never wrote about the American Civil War, another war beyond comedy).

What we get is a terrific tale of a man trying to make his way in a war beyond his comprehension. Well written, exciting, with well crafted walk-ons of historical characters (the mark of good historical writers), Delingpole delivers. I would have preferred more footnotes and less fictionalization of real characters, but those are minor quibbles.

There will never be another Flashman or another Fraser. But this is a Coward and a Delingpole and that is enough!
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7 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Bloody marvellous !!, 21 Aug 2007
By C. Bones "surreyman" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
James Dellingpole is on to a winner here. The author has avoided all of the pitfalls of historical fiction by achieving a superb balance between fact and fiction, horror and humour, adventure and human drama. Its a pretty wild ride, a fantasy almost, and yet the reader always knows that at its core this is a brilliantly authentic piece of war fiction.

Its also very cleverly done. The author has set up his 10 book series by starting with what will turn out to be one of the later stories which allows him to hint at some of the other campaignes Dick Coward has fought in and survived. So as improbable as this may be, as readers we have already swallowed the premise and it need not concern us any more.

If the series developes as well as it has started Bloomsbury may have discovered their next goldmine without the need to go hunting for any more wizards. The only problem is that US readers will not find these books quite so endearing. Firstly because there are (so far) no US heros for them to cheer but mainly because Delingpole pulls no punches about ineptitude on both sides. So some of the stuff about US friendly fire casualties during the Normandy preparations (for example) probably won't be acceptable in that market.

For the rest of us, these books should be a joy. Join up now !!
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 		 Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Can't wait for Volume 2!
I have just read this highly entertaining book and found it so difficult to put down that I read it at one sitting. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Calbourne

3.0 out of 5 stars Certainly no Flashman, but...
quite an enjoyable read as far as it goes. The author does seem to be trying to do a Flashman, hinting at previous plotlines in which Coward has served in the German army,... Read more
Published 3 months ago by drifter542

4.0 out of 5 stars A good read but slightly odd
A very enjoyable book and I will definitely watch our for sequels/prequels. However, I am confused by the apparently unnecessary beginning set in 2006 narrrated by our hero as a... Read more
Published 10 months ago by andrewm99

3.0 out of 5 stars readable, but a little moneygrabbing
The action scenes are pretty good, the love scenes aren't. There are some great scenes and set-pieces. Much of the soldiers' dialogue is tedious. Read more
Published 10 months ago by Mr Gladstone

1.0 out of 5 stars Very poor
I wanted to like this book. As another reviewer mentioned the cover put me in mind of Flashman, so I was expecting something like Flashman in World War Two, but I was very... Read more
Published 10 months ago by SJ SMART

3.0 out of 5 stars Good but Tonally Inconsistent
Even after reading it I'm really not sure what James Delingpole is trying to achieve with Coward on the Beach. Read more
Published 12 months ago by C. Green

5.0 out of 5 stars Bring on Vol 2!
A brilliant story in the vein of the "boy's own adventure" stories, this is billed as 'vol 1' and throughout you are teased with hints about Coward's past military undertakings... Read more
Published 12 months ago by S. Dawson

4.0 out of 5 stars Ignore the reference to Flashman...
... because if this is the new Flashman I'm Lord Lucan. The only similarities is that both are historical and both are written by the narrator years after the events they... Read more
Published 12 months ago by NA

5.0 out of 5 stars Top stuff!
This is a pacy, unusual and - at various times - moving, compassionate, witty and humorous book The action is consistently exciting and vividly portrayed. Read more
Published 14 months ago by R. M. Lane

5.0 out of 5 stars Love it or hate it
Other reviews tend to confirm my belief that you will either love this or hate it with a passion. However, you cannot gainsay the fact that is very clever, well written and a... Read more
Published 18 months ago by M. D. Tomkinson

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