| Title | : | Soldier of the Queen (The Goff Family War Thrillers Book 1) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 1788637259 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9781788637251 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Kindle Edition |
| Number of Pages | : | 378 |
| Publication | : | First published January 1, 1980 |
Colby Goff had been born to the cavalry – it was in his blood and in his bones. He would live, fight, love and die as a soldier whose first allegiance was to his regiment.
He was eighteen the first time he faced death. That was in 1854, at Balaclava – at what would be called the Charge of the Light Brigade. It was on that day that Colby became a man.
His love of adventure would take him from the Crimea to the Zulu Wars, from the War between the States to the bloody days of the Paris Commune, proving himself throughout as one of the finest soldiers of his time.
An absolutely electrifying thriller of war, combat and loyalty, perfect for fans of Adrian Goldsworthy, Paul Fraser Collard and Allan Mallinson.
Soldier of the Queen (The Goff Family War Thrillers Book 1) Reviews
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First book of a trilogy that I have read and reread. Tells the story of the military'Goff 'family from Balaclava to the Zulu war. Page turner
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I'm currently going through Max Hennessy's books and this is about the 10th one I've read. For some reason this one feels slightly different. More serious maybe? But it gets better as the book progresses, like the author loosened up and became more himself. Spoilers ahead.
It's quite a long book and goes from Charge of the Light Brigade (1854) all the way up to the Battle of Ulundi (1879) a period of 25 years, though the personality of the protagonist (Colby Goff) doesn't change at all. He feels the same age despite the aging.
At first I thought this was one of those books where the author tries to fit the character into as many historical events as possible. The Charge of the Light Brigade event introduces Goff and starts at the charge. It's quite brief and doesn't try to get much into the Crimean War, just that event and then a bit of the cause and effect of it.
Goff goes home after that where we are introduced to his family and background. (He was also involved in the Mutiny but we are just told after the fact). Then he is sent to the US as an observer for a fictitious newspaper. He is at first embedded with the north but he is captured by the Confederates and spend the rest of the time with them. He is at first also just an observer but he throws his lot in with the south when the cavalry unit he is with loses its leader and he steps in. We are given a little background and commentary of the US Civil War and Goff is in a couple of battles. Then he is injured and he goes back to England. The US is also where he meets his future wife (Augusta) who is only 15 at the time.
Next Goff is sent to the Franco-Prussia War (1870) as an observer again. And once again Hennessy gives a pretty good summary and commentary of the early actions. He doesn't fight this time but he is in the thick of the action. I don't know much about this war but it seems that the French lost because of poor leadership and training, they simply didn't know how to run a war. And the Germans won because they studied and trained for it.
Goff leaves after the Prussians get to Metz but he is sent back again during the siege of Paris (1870-1871), which he endures. He is there to help evacuate British nationals from the capital. Here he meets Augusta again and asks her to marry him.
The next historical event is the Anglo-Ashanti war (probably 1873-74). He is sent there with Wolseley and they go all the way to the capital and back. He is afflicted with a disease and is sent back. In comparison with the other wars, not much is written about this even and it seems like a short side trip. I don't even think Hennessy explained what it was all about, unlike the other conflicts.
The last conflict is when Goff is sent to South Africa. He just misses Rorke's Drift and Isandlwana (1879) but is present at Ulundi.
During this time, he rises in rank to eventually command his regiment (fictitious 19th Lancers), becomes head of his family seat, marries and has 4 kids, but as I say, he doesn't seem to have grown old at all in depiction.
I think Hennessy did a fair job of putting the protagonist in those events and giving us a ring side seat or in the saddle view of the action. As usual, he also does a pretty good job of giving us a brief summary and commentary of the events. Oddly enough some of the writing seems disjointed as if part of the transcript was missing. Like the part with Napoleon III's heir. He is depicted as going to South Africa with the British, then the next time he is mentioned he is dead, like the part where he was killed on patrol was missing.
Overall not a bad book. Half of the book seems to be about just putting a character into all those battles just so Hennessy could write about it. I wasn't really engaged with the character despite everything because I think he was somewhat bland. To be honest, you could switch him with a dozen other Hennessy characters and you wouldn't really notice the difference. I think von Hartmann, his Prussian acquaintance was more memorable. Anyway I did enjoy the book and I've already started on the next one. -
War in the 19th
The hero covers all the wars of the 2nd half of the 19th century in all the continents! Good mix of war and peace. -
Just about ok if you like this kind of book. Quite far from the level of Sharpe or Matthew Hervey though. I probably won’t go for the rest of the trilogy.
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Great Read!
Covering a part military history that's seldom covered, this the story of a young cavalry officer from Crimea to the Transval. The plot and history is fascinating, the characters interesting and well developed. I'm looking forward to the next book. -
For history buffs.
An exciting. clear trail thru the martial history of the last half of the 19th century. A great informative read!
