Book Review: The Fort by Bernard Cornwell

I am quite a fan of Bernard Cornwell's Sharpe Seriesso, when I came across a copy of The Fort in my local library I thought I would give it a go. While the Sharpe books are set during the Napoleonic Wars, The Fort is set earlier, during the American War of Independence. At first I thought it might be a sequel to his Redcoatnovel, however, this is not the case. The book is a fictional account of a little known historical campaign, which took place in the third year of the revolutionary war.

In 1779 a small force of Scottish soldiers land on the coast of what is now Maine (then part of Massachusetts). Backed by three small Royal Navy vessels, the British army under General Francis McClean, has orders to establish a garrison and naval base at Penobscot Bay in order to provide a refuge for American loyalists and control the New England seaboard.

The State of Massachusetts, however, is determined to expel the invaders and nearly a thousand State militia, under General Solomon Lovell, are dispatched to carry out the task. With the backing of a fleet of some forty ships led by Commodore Dudley Saltonstall, the American forces should easily be able to destroy the British. The Fort explores the events through the eyes of a number of participants on both sides of the conflict.

I am fairly knowledgeable about the Napoleonic wars and, for me, part of the pleasure in reading the Sharpe series is seeing how the author fits his eponymous hero into the historical events. In contrast I know very little about the American War of Independence, and certainly hadn't heard of the Penobscot expedition, so I was unsure what to expect or what the outcome was going to be; this added to my enjoyment of this book. 

For the same reason, I also enjoyed the historical notes at the end where the author explains the decisions he made regarding the historical events and characters. What comes across is a thoughtful and well researched novel which brings to life a hitherto little known conflict.

The action is described in the author's usual style, familiar to readers of his other works. However, as this novel is based on a historical event the action isn't as frequent as in, for example, the Sharpe books. Instead there is a lot more emphasis on the interaction between the various characters, and particularly the frequent 'councils of war' which seemed to be such a feature of the American execution of the campaign.

While some readers may find this disappointing, I would argue that such an emphasis is entirely appropriate. Having read the historical notes I would suggest that the contrasting leadership styles of the opposing commanders had more of a baring on the outcome of the campaign than any particular skirmish.

If I have any criticism it was that the novel was little slow to start and, at first, I wasn't sure I was going to enjoy it. With hindsight I suspect that the author wanted to explore the background to some of the characters so that the motivation for their later actions could be more easily understood. Certainly, once the drama began to unfold I quickly became engrossed.

If you would like to read The Fort, you can purchase a copy at Amazon.
Alternatively, if you have a Kindle you can download a copy here.

Book Review: Sweet and Deadly by Charlaine Harris

Visiting the library the other day I came across a lady I knew from Church. She was just returning a load of books and one of them was Sweet and Deadlyby Charlaine Harris. Being a big fan of the Sookie Stackhousenovels, I took the book out myself.

This is not a vampire novel, or any other kind of supernatural story, but a straight murder mystery. Catherine Linton returns to her hometown of Lowfield, Mississippi, and takes a job as a reporter on the local newspaper. It is only six months after the death of her parents in a car crash and Catherine is still coming to terms with her grief.

When she stumbles on the body of her father's old nurse she begins to wonder if the deaths are connected. Her father had been the town doctor in this cosy, close knit community and it is hard to imagine why anyone would want him dead. Nevertheless, it quickly becomes clear that beneath the veneer of Southern gentility there lies a hotbed of secrets and deceits.

Something of a loner, Catherine is viewed with a mixture of suspicion and concern by the other residents of Lowfield: is she the murderer, or the next victim? She, in turn, starts wondering which of her neighbours has a secret worth killing for. As the clues build up she is led to the one piece of evidence that reveals the killer and, as a result, finds her own life in danger.

Sweet and Deadly was Ms. Harris' first book originally published in 1981. There are a number of ideas and themes which the author develops in her later books and, in some ways, I would argue that the character of Catherine Linton is a sort of proto-Sookie. So, for example, both Catherine and Sookie tend to react to major traumas by completing chores. However, this contrast between the extraordinary and mundane does help build up the tension: there is a sense of people trying to hang on to their normal lives while the shadow of death hangs over them.

At first I wasn't sure about the book, but it quickly seduced me and I found myself getting involved in Catherine's world. Unfortunately, this sense of enjoyment lasted until I came to the final chapter. For me, the climax felt rushed, and I was left with a real sense of disappointment. While I think the author did a good job of the actual murder mystery part; explaining the motives and reasons for the murders; I could have done with an epilogue that tied up all the loose ends.

Book Review: Modesty Blaise by Peter O'Donnell

In my last review I discovered that Madeleine Brent was the pseudonym of writer Peter O'Donnell. Since I enjoyed Brent's novels I thought I would try one of O'Donnell's Modesty Blaisebooks. Curiously, a trip to the library revealed a number of graphic novels but no books so, in the end, I decided to order a copy of the first Modesty Blaise bookfrom Amazon.I must confess I didn't know whether I would enjoy the book or not so it was a bit a of a risk, however, in the end it was a risk worth taking as I enjoyed it immensely.

Modesty Blaise is a former child refugee who took over a small criminal gang and, with the help of her friend and comrade in arms, Willie Garvin, built it up into a powerful criminal organisation called The Network. They were such a successful criminals that Modesty was able to retire in her mid twenties as a very wealthy woman, and Willie was able to buy the pub of his dreams. However, the former criminals find time weighing heavily on their hands; and now Willie is in trouble.

Sir Gerald Tarrant, the head of British Intelligence, uses Willie's situation to try and recruit Modesty for a particular operation involving the security of a £10,000,000 consignment of diamonds. The diamonds are being used to buy oil concessions for Britain from Sheik Abu-Tahir, the ruler of a small middle eastern country, and Sir Gerald fears that there may be a plot to steal them.

There is indeed a plot, one formulated by the evil Gabriel, a criminal mastermind, and his gang of villains; the Scot, McWhirter;  Borg, who strangles his victims with piano wire; and the rather unpleasant Mrs. Fothergill. Unfortunately, the agents Tarrant sent to investigate Gabriel have died and Sir Gerald believes that only Modesty's talents will uncover the plot and protect the shipment.

What follows is a whirlwind adventure that starts in the south of France, where Modesty and Willie meet some old friends, then on to Egypt where the pair finally track down Gabriel's gang. Finally there is a showdown at Gabriel's hideout on a small island in the Mediterranean.

The book is well written with a lot of visual imagery, possibly as a result of Modesty Blaise first appearing as a comic strip character (which also might explain the number of graphic novels). The other reason might be that the book was based on the author's original screenplay for the 1966 movie. Sadly O'Donnell's screenplay was substantially rewritten and YouTube clips of the resultant film make it look like a second rate version of an Austen Powers movie.

One aspect of the book which I thought was excellent was the way the author weaves Modesty's and Willie's backstories into the book. This is done so well that it doesn't intrude on the main story but rather adds and enhances it. Even at the end there are surprising insights into Modesty and her relationship to Willie. The effect of this is to create two very likeable characters that the reader cares about.

The Modesty Blaise book has a very different feel from those written under the author's nom-de-plume of Madeleine Brent. This may be partly due to the fact that the Madeleine Brent books are always written in the first person, while the Modesty Blaise series is written in the third person. Nevertheless, there are a number of similarities too; a strong action driven plot with a number of twists and turns; and a strong independent female heroine.

If I have any criticism it is that the adventure was a little too fast paced, and the story was over before I was ready. Also, occasionally, some of the technical descriptions were a little too technical and I found myself bleeping over them. Nevertheless, neither of these criticisms marred my enjoyment of the book and I am looking forward to reading the next one.