Customer Reviews

To Do and Die

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Patrick Mercer is a leading authority on the Crimean War and has already published authoratitive accounts of the campaign. With such extensive first-hand knowledge, it has been only a small step for him to cross the line into fiction. And yet it is fiction based on a real historical character, accurately set against a gruelling and forgotten war, and written by a man who has himself led men on operations and knows first-hand the realities of combat. The combination has produced an excellent book that conjures up the sounds, taste and feel for war.

The awkwardness in portraying the love affair between officer and erstwhile maid reflects the genuine awkwardness that would have existed. Similarly the fear that grips Morgan on returning to the front line after being injured is one shared by many soldiers; it doesn't prevent him from doing his duty, but it knaws at him nevertheless.

There are many authors who write military novels, but few who have the knowledge and experience to do so with feeling. I thoroughly enjoyed Patrick Mercer's first novel, not just because I am a soldier and budding historian, but because it rings true. I hope a second novel will follow shortly.

No maps, no diagrams. This novel does not need them. Patrick Mercer's depth of research and descriptive excellence takes you effortlessly from Ireland to the Balkans on a sometimes bloody, sometimes tender but always human journey.

Military history is not a genre I have read much before, but I enjoyed the battle scenes which were gory and bloody but extremely exciting and brought hand to hand battle to life.

The characters are well drawn, the romance sensitively portrayed, and I liked the details and explanations; did you know the rifle bullets were as big as the end of your thumb? or that soldiers opened their mouths wide in order to hear better? neither did I, and I was pleased to learn small details which helped build the bigger picture.

The relationships between the officers and men rang true and the dialogue was realistic and believable; the banter between the men was often amusing and I laughed out loud several times.

By the end of the book I felt I knew all the characters well and am looking forward to meeting them all again in the sequel. Can't wait to read the next one.

I am so pleased to have discovered both a type of history I have not read before, and a talented author who writes it like it is. (or was)!

I read the comments of other reviewers and am less enthused than they. I don't want to reveal the plot but the novel has an unfinished feel to it while the journey is quite interesting. It is just a niggle with me that the last page is reached and I am scratching my head in surprise. A nice touch to avoid another Napoleonic story and go with the Crimea. As this is a little known war, apart from the Charge of the Light Brigade, the novel has a chance to be informative as well as gripping entertainment. A few maps and bit more background would have helped.
Not up there with Iggulden or Cornwall but a good read all the same.

This is one I gave up on. I found Mercer's writing style and determination to include everything - including domestic trivia - irritating and slow. Whilst I understand his desire to tell the reader about the conflict's history by incorporating it into the story, for me there was far too much and it just bogged the whole thing down. Also, the other ranks' Ealing Comedy-style dialogue never rang true. Add to that the gratuitous swearing and efforts to shock and I packed it in on page 100.
For a history of the Crimean War, you could do much worse than Julian Spilsbury's "Thin Red Line."

Anyone who has read Patrick Mercer`s masterly account of the Battle of Inkermann (Spelmount 1998) will have been looking forward to his first novel, set during the Crimean War. They will not have been disappointed. Mercer places his hero at the heart of events in this tragic bloody and heroic conflict. Based on a real character, Lieutenant Anthony Morgan is an officer in the fighting 95th (nicknamed as `The Nails` for their strength and resilience)The battle pieces are vivid and - I speak as a historian of that war - utterly convincing. An ex-officer who has commanded his own battalion on active service, Mercer has an understanding of soldiers and their attitudes combined with a strong `feel` for nineteenth century Britain- but this is more than just a `Boy`s Own` adventure. Morgan`s `below stairs` love affair is both tender and touching and written with a retraint that is both refreshing and entirely appropriate for the period. The word is that Mercer is working on a follow-up novel set during the Indian Mutiny, in which the `Nails` were also involved. This reviewer can hardly wait - for readers still mourning the passing of Richard Sharpe and Harry Flashman this book represents a new star in the firmament.

The characters in this book are great, took me a while to get used to the style of writing but after that I couldnt put it down

I have just finished "To Do or Die and can thoroughly recommend it. Patrick Mercer's experience as both a soldier as an expert on the Crimean War (or Russian War as he would have it called...) shine through. But not only does he show his knowledge, but he weaves it all together in an entertaining and believable novel. I am delighted that I have discovered this author and look forward to reading other works.

Insight into a mind of an officer leading men into war for the first time. Well written with a good pace.

really enjoyed this book the story held through out will be buying the other book's in the series preferred this book to the master commander series

I had high hopes of this book but found I had to force myself to plod through to the end. The problem is that the central character is one dimensional and unconvincing even though there is an attempt to give him some sort of hinterland. I really did not care what happened to him or his associates.