Flashman and the Mountain of Light (Flashman 04) [Paperback]

George MacDonal Fraser (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 1999 | Series: Flashman 04

Shirking the defence of the Indian frontier in the First Sikh War, Flashman opts for secret service in the court of a nymphomaniac Maharani who wears the legendary Koh-i-Noor diamond in her navel. Volume IX of the Flashman Papers. With the mighty Sikh army poised to invade India, every able-bodied man was needed to defend Britannia's frontier. When the Call of Duty came, Flashman had his answer ready: 'I'll drown in blood first!' Alas for poor Flashy there was no avoiding the terrors of secret service in the debauched and intrigue-ridden court of the Punjab, the attentions of its beautiful nymphomaniac Maharani, the horrors of its torture chambers, or the dread influence of the Mountain of Light.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Vain, lecherous Victorian soldier of fortune Harry Flashman goes to the Punjab for his ninth reprehensible yet shamelessly enjoyable adventure. More than 100,000 copies of the Plume Flashman series are in print.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Review

'As well as providing a fine assortment of treats, George MacDonald Fraser is a marvellous reporter and a first-rate historical novelist' Kingsley Amis

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Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Harpercollins Pb (November 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0006513042
• ISBN-13: 978-0006513049
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,702,790 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Flashman gets some backbone, January 25, 2001

By 

Dan Diamond (Philadelphia, PA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Flashman and the Mountain of Light (Flashman Papers, Book 9) (Paperback)

Reading this series in chronological order has been tricky, thanks to Fraser's skipping about history. Still, having already read "Flashman", "Royal Flash", and "Flashman's Lady", I saw a change in the "Mountain of Light": Flashy gets a little backbone.

The book itself focuses on a largely forgotten episode in British India, between the Afghan withdrawal in 1842 and the Great Mutiny in the 1850s. This time, Flashman is called into service just as the 80,000-strong Sikh army, the Khalsa, appears ready to sweep down on the English and drive them out once and for all. Flashman is drawn into behind-the-scenes subterfuge that take him from the Sikh royal court to the middle of bloody battlefields. To say much more would spoil the living history that Fraser's created.

However, I find it interesting to note a change in Flashman's character. The first novel, "Flashman", remains my favorite because the young character flees from every battle, and it is only through luck and chicanery that he rises to his fame. Never fear; Flashman still lies to save his hide and jumps on every woman he can get, but I finished "The Mountain of Light" feeling that Flashy had done a pretty good service--which he will tell you in the book. Maybe this is due to Fraser. While the book is the 4th chronologically, it's Fraser's 10th book about his alter ego. Having known the character for so long, maybe Flashman's done a little growing up.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "There Were Some Damned Odd Fellows About in the Earlies", August 6, 2007

By 

Douglas S. Wood "Vicarious Life" (Monona, WI) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Flashman and the Mountain of Light (Flashman Papers, Book 9) (Paperback)

In George MacDonald Fraser's 'Flashman and the Mountain of Light', our man Flashy sees Queen Vicky holding the Koh-I-Noor diamond and flashes back to India - more precisely, the Punjab where he arrives just in time for the first Anglo Sikh War (1845-46), not to suggest that Flashman had a hand in the war or anything.

The reader meets some of the most colorful figures ever to occupy the historical stage - as Flashman says "there were some damned odd fellows about in the earlies" - many of whom have just about slipped into the obscuring mists of time before Frasser rescued them. There's the White Mughal Alexander Haughton Campbell Gardner, the Queen Mother Maharani Jeendan (ohh, what a mother!), British 'agent' George Broadfoot and more. Flashman even meets up with a couple of fellows who are bigger cowards than he - Lal Singh and Tej Singh.

Fraser also takes the reader through the war in some detail, especially the battles at Ferozeshah and Sobraon. If anything the battle scenes last too long, but that will be a matter of taste for the individual reader.

Along the way, Harry engages in some rather disturbing behavior, which other reviewers have suggested indicate a degree of bravery heretofore undetected. Bosh! While Flashy isn't always the quivering mass of jelly we have come to expect, any actions suggestive of courage are simply acts of self-preservation. And anyway, Flashy gets his just reward for such behavior in the end.

Highest Flashman recommendation.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Flashman's doings in India, January 13, 1998

By 

John A. Lefcourte (Reno, NV USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Flashman and the Mountain of Light (Flashman Papers, Book 9) (Paperback)

The Flashman series, for those not familiar with it, features a thoroughly despicable, cowardly, womanizing rogue who blunders through history, managing to be present at most of the significant events of the Nineteenth Century. Fraser's historical research is detailed and complete and he manages to teach history in a very entertaining manner. "A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down." The research that goes into these books is formidable. Flashman manages to participate in the Charge of the Light Brigade, the Sikh Uprising, England's invasion of Afghanistan, John Brown's taking of Harpers Ferry, Custer's Last Stand, etc. While I have not read all of the books in the series, my conclusion, to date, is that Fraser is much better at presenting British History than he is at presenting American History. Perhaps it is my being less familiar with British History, as an American, although I was an History major in college and did study Indian History. The characters seem more colorful, the plots more complicated, the intrigues more convoluted. My intent is to read the rest of the Flashman series by reading the non-American books first.