Customer Reviews

Last Reveille

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

David Morrell has never faild to amaze me. This book is no exception. Based on the true turn-of-the century conflicts with Panco Villa, Last Reveillie tells the story of the American soldiers who were sent into Mexico to clash with Villa and his troops. I'll admit, I wasn't sure if I'd like this book, so I put it off for a long time. I wish I hadn't. Last Reveillie is a powerful story of men at war. Morrell blends his exceptional knowledge of history with a crystal clear prose to create a true American classic. The charracters are rich. The action is first rate. It left me begging for more. Those not interested in military history or stories of warfare should probably stay away. Those looking for an astonishing tale of loyalty, honor, and sacifice in the harshest of places can do no better.

I'm such a David Morrell fan that I was eager to read another of his masterpieces. This wasn't it. Last Reveille is more of an historical musing - a departure from his usual action/adventure novels, but still interesting to someone like me, who never read much about this time period.

The stype of writing is tedious. Sentences go one and on and on, with a dozen or so commas in each. The author uses visual images instead of visual decriptives in his narration, which makes for a poorly written book. The author had a great idea, but he must first learn how to write so that he can display that great idea properly.

About a 4.5 star rating. Historical fiction. A very underrated book in my opinion. I've read this 3 times and loved it every time. The characters are rich, dialogue strong, and the dynamics in the relationships are intriguing. Very close to 5-stars, but giving it 5 stars here due to some silly reviews in my opinion. I'm big into characterization and dialogue and this tackles both in a big way...the story is terrific as well. More people need to read this book. Like ''the berkut' and 'dark debts...karen hall' this in my opinion is an extremely unknown and therefore underrated novel!

David Morrell is one of my favorite authors. The only problem with being a Morrell fan is that he's not a big name author like King, Koontz or Grisham. You have to explain who he is to author book people and they usually get turned off when you mention one of the most famous characters in fiction: Rambo. Too bad because Morrell writes multiple genres - supense, historical fiction, horror - and he does them well and he is definitely should be known more as the creator of the cartoonish image most people have of Rambo. Anyway, I'm slowly working my way through his older books and enjoying myself.

"Last Reveille" is Morrell's foray into historical fiction. First published in 1977, the 1994 edition has an eight page introduction to the book that sets the book up quite well. He notes that it is similar to the John Wayne movie The Shootist in that there is an aging character that becomes a composite, a symbol of America's past (note that the book was nearly done when the movie came out).

The aging character is Miles Calender, a name designed to evoke his age and the distance he has travelled. The young soldier that is learning his ways is Prentice, a named taken from apprentice. They are involved in Blackjack Pershing's expedition into Mexico to try to capture Pancho Villa.

Is it good historical fiction?

Yeah. It seems solid to me (a history teacher but I do not claim to be an expert on Pancho Villa, Pershing or the military hardware of the time).

Is it a good book?

While not Morrell's best, it is a good book, worthy of your time. Kind of like a western with some real nuggets of literature thrown in. There are themes, exploration of the male psyche (father figures, friendship, etc.) and gunfire. What's not to like?

Very true that this is nothing like Morrell's other mystery/adventure writting, and more's the pity. It's historically accurate, well written, and written from the point of view of the folks who live at the bloody end of the national spear. It's set in Mexico during the Pershing Punative Expedition, and it's a shame that it wasn't made into a movie. With William Holden or Lee Marvin as the old scout, Sam or Timothy Bottoms as the recruit who becomes the old scout's understudy, and with Tom Selleck as the Major who looks after the old scout, this could have been as good or better than The Wild Bunch. If you liked The Wild Bunch or The Professionals, you'll love this book.

Very nice read, one of his earliest book written in a different style than his fans are used to, a touching story.

I LIKE WAR STORIES BUT THIS IS JUST A RAMBLING OF NAMES AND EVENTS. ESSENTIALLY AN OLD VETERAN OF SEVERAL WARS GIVES A HARD TIME TO A YOUNG MAN BARELY OUT OF HIS TEENS WHO SEEMS TO SEE THE VET AS A HERO. THE LAD IS ANXIOUS TO SEE ACTION IN THE WAR IN MEXICO BUT THE VET JUST SEEMS TO NOT CARE WHETHER THE KID STAYS WITH HIM OR NOT. THIS BOOK SEEMS TO BE A STORY MORRELL SAW IN HIS DREAMS, NODDING OFF IN FRONT OF HIS TV WHILE WATCHING AN OLD WESTERN FROM THE EARLY 1930s. IF YOU LIKE MORRELL'S MYSTERY THRILLERS, SKIP THIS ONE!

The author of this book needs remedial education concerning the basics of writing; there is no evidence the author has any writing skills at all.