Customer Reviews

Soldier of Fortune (Captain Rawson 1)

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Problem with the old idea of judging a book by the cover. Wrong uniform. Wrong era.

Story has too many holes, even after reading it twice we have a man who made it up to a captaincy without purchase who started as a private soldier in the DUTCH army? Stranger things have happened but the back story on the main character is too full of holes to make it believable.

Lacks excitement in the action phases. Has relationship between officer and sergeant (a la Sharpe and Harper) nothing new there.

Worst part overall is the inability to read the book without referring to another source for the background on the places and battles as well as the characters involved.

The war of Spanish Succession may not have been the best backdrop to start out with.

BTW: I majored in British History.

I am a big fan of the Doomsday Books of Edward Marston. I found this book to be an attempt to cross Bernard Cornwall with Danielle Steele. At times it plodded along and I found the heroine in the story quite annoying at times (maybe that was on purpose, i dont know). I wil probably stick to the Doomsday and Railway series of books.Soldier of Fortune (Captain Rawson 1)

Soldier of Fortune is the first installment of Marston's new adventure series involving quite a charismatic hero, Captain Daniel Rawson. This new series for Marston departs his usual realm of murder mystery novels to take us into the military world during the battles between England and France for the War of the Spanish Succession. Fans of author Edwin Thomas' Misadventures of Martin Jerrold will really love this new action story as they are similar in flavor.

Although this is technically a war story, the author does not get too bogged down in military strategy detail, nor focuses too solely on the war itself, to the point of boredom or for lack of a good yarn. This book was a fabulous blend of action, adventure, romance, humor, and military battles, but shows us the human factors amidst the blood and bullets of great love, friendship and endearing emotions between the many players involved both on and off the battlefield. Marston allows the reader to simply fall in love with our dashing young Captain Rawson as he not only climbs the ranks of duty and claims many gestures of honor under his commander the Duke of Marlborough, but spends much of his life engaging and disengaging from one lady-fair to the next, and often is left running for his life from husbands and villains alike. With swashbuckling duels and dodging bullets, pretty ladies swooning from Daniels gallant charms and acts of chivalry, murderous husbands out to behead Rawson for debauchery, Captain Daniel Rawson gives us a jolly good show and I eagerly anticipate reading book two now out, Drums of War. This is not a serious military novel, but a light and easy fast paced historical adventure ride that is fun and very enjoyable.

I enjoyed Marston's Railroad Detective novels, and years ago read a few of his other historical mysteries. "Soldier of Fortune" is bottom-of-the-barrel, with some unbelievable plot developments, and the tiresome device of short, clipped, expository dialogue. I gave up at the halfway mark.