Siege of Khartoum (Simon Fonthill Series) [Paperback]

John Wilcox (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 2010 | Series: Simon Fonthill Series

1884. Queen Victoria’s hero General Gordon is under siege. Hoards of Dervish warriors, loyal to the Mahdi, the Sudanese warlord and Messiah, are baying for British blood. With a small army and diminishing supplies, Gordon fears Khartoum will fall. Ex-captain and one-time subaltern Simon Fonthill is summoned to Cairo on a vital mission. He must enter the heavily guarded city undetected and make contact with Gordon ahead of the relief force. Together with comrade 352 Jenkins, Fonthill makes the treacherous journey across the Nile. But when they’re captured by a sadistic Dervish patrol, it seems hope of a British victory is all but lost. Can Fonthill and Jenkins survive interrogation and save Khartoum?

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

John Wilcox is a former international journalist.

Product Details

• Paperback: 480 pages
• Publisher: Headline Book Publishing (May 1, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0755345606
• ISBN-13: 978-0755345601
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #614,069 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not Wilcox' Best, January 12, 2011

By 

zorba (Bala Cynwyd, Pa USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Siege of Khartoum (Simon Fonthill Series) (Paperback)

Reading this book was like watching a B-movie oater. A lot of shooting, a lot of riding around, a lot of getting into, then getting out of scrapes and dilemmas. There's the hero and the girl and the loyal sidekick. Not really the best of popular fiction. Plus, the story of Chinese Gordon and the Siege of Khartoum is not a compelling story and so the author has to work overtime to give the reader some excitement. If anything, there is some good "footage" describing the Nile and the deserts of Sudan, but I found it unsatisfying. I found it not as good as Wilcox' book about the Zulus in South Africa.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Historical Novel, May 2, 2010

By 

Elizabeth McBrearty (Tucson, Arizona USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Siege of Khartoum (Simon Fonthill Series) (Paperback)

I got started on military history through the Richard Sharpe novels of Bernard Cornwell, so it was only natural that I would try the Simon Fonthill series. I've read all of them and would rate most of them a notch below the Sharpe series.

This book, however, is far and away the best of the series. Willcox did his homework thoroughly and the character of Simon Fonthill, who started life as a rather cardboard figure, has really been fleshed out and given much more depth. I knew, of course, that Gordon and his garrison were massacred, so there was no tension there, but I knew nothing about the details of the abortive rescue attempt. It's on this subject that the book rises above the ordinary. Fonthill's adventures, especially as a prisoner of the Mahdi, and the question of how he will manage to get free are really page turners. The difficulties of the relief column as it battled its way along the Nile are also depicted in such graphic detail that you end up feeling as if you were there.

All in all The Siege of Khartoum is a definite "must read" for any one interested in military history.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not the best from Wilcox, June 21, 2010

By 

Gary P. Carpenter (Williamsburg VA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Siege of Khartoum (Simon Fonthill Series) (Paperback)

I have enjoyed the previous John Wilcox, Simon Fonthill books a great deal. However, I found the Siege of Khartoum somewhat off putting. Some inconsistencies bothered me, i.e.; their boat tipped over several times in cataracts going up the Nile and they lost a lot of their "trade" goods (their "cover" being that they were Syrian traders) but had no trouble, apparently, holding onto their Martini-Henrys. They kept recovering their Colt revolvers....but except for one instance, they did not use them even in close combat. Gordon instructs Fonthill that he must not lose one of his "penny steamers" and Simon promptly goes out and gets one of them shot to pieces. I simply found the previous books to be a little more believable. Will not prevent me, however, from purchasing the next installment in the Fonthill series.