| Author |
 Topic  |
|
|
Simon Scarrow
Small mammal
Uruguay
764 Posts |
 Posted - 15 June 2007 : 09:05:12 AM
|
I saw this on Amazon and I think it is a great review of the book. The reviewer has got the concept and offers a very fair judgement.
By C. Green "happily low brow" (Faringdon, Oxon, UK) - See all my reviews
Experts on Napoleon and Wellington will no doubt sneer at some of the dramatic & factual liberties Simon Scarrow has taken when writing this first volume of a series that will follow the lives and careers of both men. Others may damn the books for the odd anachronism or use of modern terminology. If they do then they miss the point of this book and those that follow it.
This is not meant to be dry, purely factual history. This is dramatic reconstruction, with all that the term implies. Young Bloods is an attempt to bring characters and events to life as real human beings. It is about making history, important, world changing history, accessible to those who would never dream of picking up a non-fiction history book in their life.
In this respect it is a great success. Young Bloods manages to be both informative and entertaining; a combination that can be difficult to achieve. It is even more impressive in this case when taking into consideration the fact that the book has to deal with the men's childhoods and the earliest parts of their careers and features none of their more well known military or political acheivements. Simon Scarrow is to be applauded for what he manages to do here and for shining a light on the more obscure early lives of both men.
He must also be praised for avoiding the traps of turning the life of either man into either a Bernard Cornwell-style tale of derring-do or a dry, factually impeccable yet unenvolving and slow Allan Mallinson-style detail-fest. For the most part avoiding horribly anachronistic behaviour or speech he strikes just the right line, managing to keep events accessible yet also preventing them from becoming too dry or turgid under the weight of factual accuracy.
Of course in order to do so his forced to sacrifice some verisimilitude and depth of character. Certain events also feels a little truncated from time to time, but they are prices worth paying to keep matters moving forward and to hold the reader attention. The fact that as a result of reading this and the books that follow more people are going to know more about both Wellington and Napoleon than simply Waterloo and the Iberian campaign is worth the sometimes prosaic story telling.
So no sneering. If you want minutae and 100% historical accuracy there are numerous bigraphies of both Wellington and Napoleon available. If you want an entertaining, action packed story of two men destined for greatness who just happened to be real, and a great many people do want precisely that, then Young Bloods should definitely be on your reading list.
|
Edited by - Simon Scarrow on 15 June 2007 09:06:14 AM |
|
|
Parmenion
Homosapien
United Kingdom
13792 Posts |
Posted - 15 June 2007 : 09:08:41 AM
|
that is bloody good, wish i could make my reviews that good!!
Centurion Parmenion
LASCIATE OGNE SPERANZA, VOI CH'INTRATE
|
 |
|
|
AndyCanty
Homosapien
United Kingdom
6609 Posts |
Posted - 15 June 2007 : 09:17:15 AM
|
excellent.
I'm not even that eloquent on a very very good day! 
_____________________________________
If all the worlds a stage?
Where's my script???
http://andycanty.blogspot.com/ |
|
|
|
Ankhsy
Homosapien
United Kingdom
6986 Posts |
Posted - 22 June 2007 : 10:39:28 AM
|
I had to rush to my dictionary to look us words such as "verisimilitude". If a genie could grant me just one wish, it would be for eloquence like that.
A well-deserved review, Simon. If mine ever appears (I should chase it), it would pale into insignificance besides that one.
"We are Starfleet Officers, weird is part of the job."
|
|
|
|
Stomachus Grossus
Homosapien
United Kingdom
1847 Posts |
Posted - 30 July 2007 : 4:56:31 PM
|
Simon ... writing your own reviews now.. or is it your publisher?
;-)
Urino -are!!!!
 |
|
|
|
Simon Scarrow
Small mammal
Uruguay
764 Posts |
Posted - 31 July 2007 : 9:11:35 PM
|
I'll take that wink at face value.
The review is pucka. And I had a wonderful book of the week review where the chap couldn't be more flattering. On top of all that the editor thinks the latest Roman book is the best yet. I running out of blushes here... |
|
|
|
Andy130
Invertebrate
United Kingdom
64 Posts |
Posted - 01 August 2007 : 11:03:27 AM
|
lookin forward to it 
just hope the prosaic storytelling doesnt sacrifice too much verisimilitude and depth of character whilst at the same time preventing it from becoming too dry or turgid under the weight of factual accuracy.
Did you have a good world when you died? Enough to base a movie on?
Jim Morrison |
|
|
|
Benreturns
Small mammal
United Kingdom
601 Posts |
Posted - 01 August 2007 : 4:16:21 PM
|
that was a good review, well done Simon!
We always have been, we are, and I hope that we always shall be, detested in France. |
|
|
|
Stomachus Grossus
Homosapien
United Kingdom
1847 Posts |
Posted - 02 August 2007 : 5:19:41 PM
|
Ok own up who wrote it
Urino -are!!!!
|
|
|
|
AndyCanty
Homosapien
United Kingdom
6609 Posts |
Posted - 02 August 2007 : 5:27:14 PM
|
person called C. Green "happily low brow" (Faringdon, Oxon, UK)
_____________________________________
If all the worlds a stage?
Where's my script???
http://andycanty.blogspot.com/ |
|
|
|
Stomachus Grossus
Homosapien
United Kingdom
1847 Posts |
Posted - 02 August 2007 : 5:36:41 PM
|
There must be a hidden name in those letters.....
Urino -are!!!!
|
|
|
|
Benreturns
Small mammal
United Kingdom
601 Posts |
Posted - 02 August 2007 : 7:03:52 PM
|
There has to be...
We always have been, we are, and I hope that we always shall be, detested in France. |
|
|
|
Gladius
Homosapien
United Kingdom
2123 Posts |
Posted - 14 January 2008 : 4:52:04 PM
|
Well theres another review from him, about Generals this time,
By C. Green "happily low brow" (Faringdon, Oxon, UK) - See all my reviews
The Generals, the second volume of Simon Scarrow's series on the lives of Napoleon Bonaparte and the Athur Wellesley, the future Duke of Wellington, picks up where volume one, Young Bloods, left off. Napoleon is a young officer in revolutionary France. Wellesley has returned from campaigning in the Low Countries and is stationed back in Dublin. Neither man is satisfied with his position in life and both are seeking advancement; although for differing motives.
From there The Generals follows both men's paths as they begin to advance their careers. Napoleon's takes him first to Italy, then on to Egypt before a triumphant return to France the assumption of dictatorial powers as First Consul. Wellesley's take him to India, where he is destined to remain for most of the book, converting the East India Company's slim holdings into the largest territory in the British Empire.
As a result The Generals covers some of the most fascinating moments in both men's lives in the period leading up to the commencement of the Iberian campaign. It deals with how both men won their reputations as military strategists and the events that shaped their future attitudes to war and politics.
It does all this very well, covering the most important events in sufficient detail but without forgetting that this is history as enjoyable fiction and getting bogged down in minutae. Purist historians will quibble over some minor factual liberties, which Scarrow owns up to in his afterword, and the glossing over of many of the wider political events of time (everything being seen directly from the perspective of one man or the other) but unless you're planning to sit an exam on the subject of either man's life The Generals is a well written, accessible, exciting study of both men's acheivements and personalities that holds the reader's attention.
Of course by trying to cram in years of world changing history Scarrow is forced to skip over some detail. This gives the narrative an episodic feel as it jumps from one 'big' event to another; a sensation that is increased by the need to constantly move from Napoleon to Wellesley and back. Scarrow is to be congratulated on the fact that the need for these constant shifts of perspective and time do not damage the overall flow of the narrative or the enjoyment of it.
What do however, succeed in doing is highlighting the disparity in the level of each man's acheivements. Whilst Wellesley is no slouch, his successes are limited to the military theatre of India, whilst Napoleon must deal with both military, domestic and diplomatic challenges as he assumes greater powers. This gives the book a slightly lopsided feel. When focusing on Napoleon their is a far greater number and wider scope of events to cover, but in order to do each one must be skated over quickly. With Wellesley events are primarily military in nature (although some diplomatic issues are addressed) so battles can be covered in more detail but are not necessarily of as broad interest.
Further imbalance in the narrative is caused by the author having to address Napoleon's private life in some detail, something he doesn't have to do after the first few chapters with the batchelor Wellesley. Moreover, whilst Bonaparte's stormy marriage to Josephine is important to the story of his life, it also requires greater finesse than scenes of political intrigue or military combat. Unfortunately, crammed into a crowded narrative, Scarrow cannot afford it the attention it deserves and as a result it has something of the feeling of a soap opera, with Josephine little more than a characture.
Minor quibbles over narrative balance, pacing and characterisation aside however, The Generals is up to the standard of Young Bloods, and in terms of excitement surpasses it. Its never going to be praised for its depth of characterisation, subtext or historical accuracy, but if you want a broad insight in the lives of two of history's greatest military minds it can be highly recommended.
Great review also! |
|
|
| |
Topic |
|
Great review!
