The Brigadier's Outcast [Paperback]

Anthony Conway (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton Ltd (2003)
• ASIN: B000OV65F4
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)

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3.0 out of 5 stars The End...?, December 16, 2011

By 

Luke Faxon (Florida) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Brigadier's Outcast (Paperback)

I became a fan of Conway when I picked up one of his books from the UK. Compared to all the Bernard Cornwall copycats, he is generally a cut above with his Captain Caspasian novels. [It should be noted that Caspasian is a bastard officer, contstantly oppressed by incompetent superiors, insubordinate, and always detailed off to the dirtiest special missions. Familiar?]

This book is something of a departure for the series in many ways. It is the only one in which Caspasian appears in England and without his loyal Gurkha sergeant or other uniformed supporting characters. As such, this novel is more inter-war James Bond than Sharpe. It begins richly enough with wonderful background of post-war dirigible development, complete with technical details like an early-modern Tom Clancy, and rich period descriptions of London, England, and, of all places, colonial Georgetown, Guiana, that ring quite true. And the mysterious loss of a massive airship, reminiscent of Britain's true struggles with lighter-than-air craft, makes for an intriguing mystery. The setting alone makes this book worthwhile.

That said, the characters and plotting are not up to Conway's usual standards. Rather than a Poirot-like crossing of the Atlantic, complete with dangers and sub-plots, we are treated to a shorter and less intriguing journey than a Virgin Atlantic 747. Many of the characters are less than compelling, although Caspasian's half-brother adds an interesting element. The villains are not only predictable and cardboard, but even less well-developed than is common in the genre. The motivation of the prime villain is never really clear or terribly credible. Perhaps worst of all, the action proceeds from improbable predicament to even more improbable escape in a way that it would leave Indiana Jones questioning its realism. Bullets routinely dodged, infallible martial arts, surviving falls from impossible heights, etc. Added to this are predictable martinets, a bland heroine, overly friendly natives, noble passengers, bloated bureaucrats; the stock chracters are all here! That said, the whole book is a pleasant read and a visual delight. For those who enjoy historical novels, this book goes places not usually explored anywhere in the genre, and certainly not in this over-looked time period.

<<SPOILER WARNING>>

What was both most frustrating and satisfying about this book was in its approach to the loose-ends of Caspasian's character both in this story and carried over from the previous novels. There is an early flirtation with his "respectable family," and of course his unknowing half-brother figures heavily in the plot. Yet, in the end, none of this is resolved at all. There is the return of a previous antagonist with some very nice plot twists, especially at the end. But most of all, there is the less than fully realized conclusion. Conway leaves, perhaps deliberately, considerable ambiguity as regards Caspasian's future. Will he return to the colors and ongoing intrigues with his family and numerous enemies? Or has he found the happy ending that all action heroes seem to pursue but never achieve? Conway leaves no answers, which leaves this book as either ripe for a sequel or as a less than complete conclusion to the series. Now, 8 years after this edition was published, it leaves this reader fearing that "The Brigadier's Outcast" may truly have been the end for this character and this series.