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Publisher:
Zumaya Publications |
Release
Date: July 2003 |
ISBN:
1894942442 |
Awards:
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Format
Reviewed: Paperback |
Buy
it at Amazon US
|| UK |
Read
an Excerpt |
Genre:
Historical Fiction [1755 Maryland] |
Reviewed:
2004 |
Reviewer:
Rachel A Hyde |
Reviewer
Notes: Some violence |
Copyright
MyShelf.com |
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Massacre at the Forks
The
Neophyte Warrior Series, No. 4
By Richard Patton
Regular
visitors to this site who are reading this will probably have read
my reviews of the first three novels in this series: His Majestys
Envoy, The Reluctant Commander and The Lions Apprentice.
This series is ostensibly about the early campaigns of George Washington,
but there is a lot more packed into each book than just this (as
if it isnt enough). You dont need to be an aficionado
of military fiction to read these books; anybody who likes adventure,
history and a jolly good story will find plenty to enjoy.
As this book opens, George is very
ill with dysentery, but there is a battle to be fought and he is
determined to be part of it. The elderly and unremarkable Major
General Edward Braddock, is still at the helm of the fighting force
and things are going to come unstuck even with Washington as aide-de-camp.
The Duke of Cumberlands choice to lead the expedition has
had no experience of what Patton terms the endless forest
and the type of war waged by the French and their native allies.
There is a massacre in the offing, and nothing Washington can do
to prevent it.
The Lions Apprentice
showed how Patton can handle an interim novel between two battles
without being boring, and this tale shows how he can write about
a battle. It is stirring stuff, but beyond the action there is a
wonderful description of the forests, the daily minutiae of life
in the camp and even some humor. As ever, there is a multi-viewpoint
look at events, and balancing out Washingtons exploits are
those of the other protagonist Old Smoke and the Native American
viewpoint. Old Smoke gives the reader a Native American hero, wise
and resourceful yet seeming to stand back from the action and reflect
upon it. Perhaps one of the stand-out scenes in this book that stays
in the memory is the chapter devoted to the insane Stump Necks
capturing of the eagle, which manages to be bloody and funny all
at once, mirroring and yet giving a respite from the horrors of
the massacre. Like a good soap opera the reader is left wondering
how it will all work out
historical fiction at its entertaining,
factual and fascinating best. Very highly recommended.
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