Customer Reviews

The Emperor's Coloured Coat: A Novel

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This, the second novel in the series, contains Biggins' trademarks -- high humor, ingenious plotting, and (best of all) the wry, urbane voice of Biggins' protagonist, Otto Prohaska, a young Hapsburg naval officer. Looking back from the perspective of 75 years, Prohaska sardonically tells of the boredom of duty in the prewar Austrian navy, the absurdities of the Hapsburg court and the multinational, multilingual Hapsburg government, and the vicious twists and turns of Balkan politics. The novel culminates with a Keystone Kops execution scene that is almost as hilarious as the one in The Two-Headed Eagle, a scene that sums up the sense of existential futility with which suffuses The Emperor's Coloured Coat. This novel lacks only the tragic dimension, which the oncoming Great War will bring -- life will continue to be futile, but no longer boring, for Otto and his fellow Austrians.

This book is a real treat. I enthusiastically recommend it.

John Biggins' second Otto Prohaska book is essentially more of the same as the first, 'A Sailor of Austria.' There is a good dose of World War I history especially covering the decaying Austro-Hungarian Dual Monarchy, and it is told with some dark gallows-humor while retaining a good deal of empathy for many (certainly not all) of the characters involved.

In this book, really a prequel to the first, Prohaska is bumped around first Austria as a sailor assigned to an older battle cruiser, then the fledgling air force, then the staff of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand, then a river monitor on the Serb border - and suddenly he is involved in the conspiracy to murder the Archduke, the attempted prevention of which then leads him headlong across the world to the China station. Prohaska's long and dangerous journey back home sees him and his small crew encountering a variety of threats to life and limb from storms at sea to headhunters to corrupt officials to a ship of religious fools to you name it; the trip is worthy of Odysseus himself.

Besides the narration of the story, in which he writes better, funnier, and more smoothly than in his first Prohaska book, Biggins gives us details on weaponry, alliance politics, on-board procedure, and technical stuff, and here the book excels. It is a pleasure to learn some of the more arcane bits and pieces in the way they are here related, where otherwise it would make for exceedingly dry reading.

Finally, a part of Biggins' point in writing these books seems to be that, as much as was wrong with Europe and Austria-Hungary in particular in the time running up to WWI, the destruction of the world order in which Austria still figured as a major part did nothing to advance the welfare of mankind. The romance and charm of a somewhat decrepit and dysfunctional 'empire' run by bureaucrats and superannuated fools may have been short of ideal, but considering that Europe replaced these by the criminals running fascist, nazi, and communist dictatorships, responsible for the murder of tens of millions, the death camps, and untold human misery, it looks pretty good by comparison. There is an element of sadness and tragic romance behind Biggins' writing here.

John Biggins continues the adventures of Otto Prohaska, first introduced as a captain of an Austro-Hungarian submarine during the Great War in 'Sailor of Austria'. This tale is also told from Prohaska's perspective as a 100-year old resident of a nursing home in rural Wales. Biggins' style, while reminiscent of George MacDonald Fraser in the 'Flashman' series, is darker, less flippant, more serious.

If you enjoyed 'Sailor of Austria' you will enjoy 'The Emperor's Coloured Coat'. The events in this second book actually preceed those in the Sailor of Austria as our man Otto finds himself tumbling across Central Europe and the follies of the soon-to-be-no-more Austro-Hungarian Empire. He finds himself in one troublesome spot after another - like being shot out of the air by a blast from the hunting rifle of the...well, read it and find out! Good news is usually a sign of bad news just ahead.

It's exciting to see the renewed interest in John Biggins' works, which were hardly big sellers when first published in 1991 but are now being brought back by McBooks Press. Discovering Biggins has been one of those great unexpected experiences that come along only rare even to devoted readers.

The writing is really first-rate and so is the story. Highest recommendation.

"The Emperor's Coloured Coat" is volume 2 in the fictious memoirs of Otto Prohaska of the Austro-Hungarian Navy (the first is "A Sailor of Austria"). The book describes Prohaska's adventures in the period leading up to the outbreak of war in August 1914, which includes flying training, personal service with Archduke Franz Ferdinand, customs operations on the Danube, and encounters with Serbian and other extremists. If that wasn't enough, the hero also serves in the seige of Tsingtao in China and has various adventures as he makes his way back to Austria.

John Biggins has a fine attention to detail, and all of the events in the book could have happened, as the locations, personnel and equipment are all very accurately described. The action is fast and frantic, making the book a very difficult one to put down.

Prohaska's adventures continue in the eagerly-awaited "The Two-Headed Eagle", which is scheduled for publication in November 2006, and then in "Tomorrow the World".

Except, perhaps, for diehard fans of THE SOUND OF MUSIC, few people are likely to associate a naval story with Austria. This book makes the association and does a good job of it. It is the fictional reminiscence of Otto Prohaska, a former naval officer of the old Hapsburg Empire of Austria and Hungary. It begins just before the First World War and follows the adventures and misadventures of this likeable young officer.

Prior to the war, he goes for flight training and becomes a pilot. In doing so, he becomes entangled with Arch Duke Ferdinand, a thoroughly unlikable character as his naval attaché. Even though he bears no great love or respect for this monarch to be, he is diligent about his duties. Unfortunately, his pedigree is somewhat lacking so he is dismissed and assigned to duty on a river boat. While engaged in this duty and while trying to fend off an outraged husband, he stumbles onto the plot to kill the arch-Duke. He does his best to report his findings but is not believed. The bureaucracy cannot believe that he has stumbled onto a plot when their plodding administration has been unable to do so. To keep him quiet, he is sent off to the Far East. While en route, the fatal shot is fired and thus begins WWI.

The war in the Far East is a pathetic thing, especially for the Austrian Navy. Still, young Prohaska tries to do his best and manages to do a great deal as he fights his way back towards the war in Europe.

The book is written with a dry humor and does a wonderful job of evoking the decayed decadence of the waning days of the Habsburg monarchy. It is fun and sometimes even toughing. It is well worth reading.

Line Ship Lieutenant Ottokar Prohaska is no Flashman, and he shouldn't be. Flashman and Prohaska are both military officers who muddle through great moments in history. Flashman's high noon British Empire is a larger stage than Prohaska's end-of-the-age Austria-Hungary. Readers who enjoy the time and place of Europe in its Golden Age before and during World War One, and who enjoy historical details that give authenticity to characters and settings will enjoy these books. Prohaska's character is a fun vantage point to see Old Austria, looking like an overwrought but rickety, baroque piece of gilded furniture, bloated with bureaucracy, tradition and social ritual. His background as a scion of 'decayed Czech nobility' and Naval officer (yes, landlocked Austria had a navy on the Danube and the high seas), gives him just enough standing for a career that brings him into contact with the Kaiser, the ill-fated Heir Apparent and his morganatic consort, and character examples of Austrian naval life,and the plotting, feuding tribes of the Balkan states at the fringes of Austria's empire. Prohaska is urbane, cynical about his betters and Austria's situation, and modestly brave, contrasting with the humorously but honestly craven Flashman. The story is told as a reminiscence of the very old expatriate, residing in a British nursing home. While the stories and the writing style are less energetic and colorfully drawn than the similar Flashman stories, it's in keeping with the more reserved personality of the lead character. The thumbnail sketches of Austrian punctillious inefficiency and snobbery and the mercurial temperment of the Balkan peoples are entertaining. Don't expect the sly winking selfishness of Flashman but enjoy the shrewd observations of a gentleman officer who knows his place but manages adventures well above his station. It's a champaigne cocktail instead of strong gin and tonic.

Having read and enjoyed A Sailor of Austria, I looked forward to reading a second installment of the Prohaska saga. But I was hesitant. Could Biggins repeat the Magic of the first book? After reading The Emperors Coloured Coat, I would answer "sort of".

The book is roughly divided into three sections: Austria/Balkans/Asia. The first third is true to the form of A Sailor of Austria. An edifying slice of history told in a delightful fashion. Every page includes something fascinating about the Austro Hungarian empire as well as something laugh out loud funny. The other two thirds don't achieve the same level though. A long series of tribulations and predicaments become rather tedious. By the end of the book I had rather forgotten how enjoyable the first third of it was.

"The Emperor's Coloured Coat" is really two separate stories. For the first half of the novel, our hero Otto Prohaska is drawn into Imperial court politics and Balkan intrigues before the First World War. This has all the strengths of the other Prohaska novels. Biggins writes marvelously, and describes life in late Austria-Hungary so richly that you never think of Prohaska's adventures and encounters as implausible.

Problem is that in the second half of the novel, Prohaska is stranded in the far east, and has to make his way back. Not only do we lose the richly detailed central European setting, but the narrative becomes too hard to credit. Prohaska's adventures always have some improbably coincidences and nick-of-time escapes, but in the second half of "Coloured Coat" there are so many they become almost tedious.

Thus, when he stumbles across a Czech-speaking tribe in Borneo, just when he would need their help... Well, it's a cute moment and he does find a (barely) plausible explanation for why they are there... but COME ON.

Still: even the weakest of the Otto Prohaska is still marvelously fun reading just like the others, with the same marvelous mix of wit, old-world history and adventure.

It has all the elements of a typical war novel, but with a few twists. There is a peculiar, dry sense of humour in this writing as well as elements of history somewhat obscure. Some parts take a little longer to wade through than others, but overall it is an enjoyable read.

This chronological prequel to "A Sailor of Austria" is considerably more wacky and far flung than its predecessor. In this one, the memoirist recounts his adventures as one of the first rank of military pilots, who, by dint of accident, ends up in the retinue of Archduke Ferdinand (yes that one) for some time. Eventually he returns to naval duties, where he gets tangled up with a former lover. Then, by dint of coincidence, he gets involved in the Serbian plot to assassinate the Archduke! Once again, Biggins brings the history and political milieu of the time to convincing life. After that peters out, the hero ends up in a blockaded Chinese port, and even faces a sword-wielding Japanese officer in trench warfare. Further adventurers take him and a crew of Chinese sailors into unknown waters an encounter with pirates, and a hilarious encounter in the jungle. Then, even wackier, he ends up on a ship headed to Mecca and has to make his way by land to Syria! This particular entry in the series is highly reminiscent of George McDonald Fraser's "Flashman" series.