Nearly, but not quite...
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The story, history & style are all interesting & very well done - as one would expect from George Macdonald Fraser. But... this Audiobook was NOT read by Rupert Penry-Jones (previous Audiobooks in this series were), it has been read by a chap called Toby Stephens & therein lies the problem. Mr Stephens assumes a very dry, croaky voice for his reading; not just for the central character of Harry Flashman, but for others too. This may lead to confusion between characters & irritation at the continual rasping sound. Other than that, its worth having; lets hope decent sales will allow the producers to supply Mr Stephens with a glass of water at his next reading.
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George Macdonald Fraser delivers the goods.
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George Macdonald Fraser never fails to deliver the goods and 'Flashman on the March' is no exception. Even though Flashy fans know full-well that he's going to bed the beauties and, whenever danger threatens, to react with utterly sensational spinelessness, it is also quite apparent (because in every edition, the reader is informed that Flashman dies in 1915) that he's going to escape with a whole (if yellow) skin.
It makes no difference; Mr. Fraser's writing gets better with every book and this one, set in Abyssinia tests Flashman's knavery and cowardice to the hilt; he is not found wanting. The descriptive passages are wonderful, especially when the European captives of the Magdala are described: "...and a sorry lot they were, like tramps on the look-out for a hen roost; if you'd seen 'em at your gate you'd have set the dog on them."
I'm unaware if Mr. Fraser plans a further Flashman book; but I hope he will.
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Flashman on the march (and on the run too)
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Flashy (a V.C. by now, no less!) is on the march again indeed. In this installment of the Flashman papers we find him, against his will as usual, in Abyssinia, which at the time (1867-68) isn't exactly a good place to be. King Theodore is having some serious bouts of insanity and has turned loose his armies, Queen Masteeat is seeking to overtopple his throne, and caught in the midst is poor Flashy...
'Flashman on the march' is no different from all other books in the series which means: fast-paced, and filled to the brim with MacDonald Fraser's unique mix of ludicrous humour and historical fact. Need I say that there's some delectable women in there too?
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Would you buy this book if you didn't know the rest of the series?
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For anybody wanting three things in one - a fast-paced and exciting novel, a fairly learned history book and a well-written piece of literature - you don't need to look much further than Flashman.
This twelth addition to the Flashman Papers - in order of publication if not chronology - sets sail in fabulous form, with greed, lust, derring-do rescues, beautiful maidens and rotten Europeans all adding to the mix, before the adventure really gets going. We know we're onto a good thing from page one!
While no later part of a set of novels is ever a good place to start reading the series, don't think that you have to have read all previous instalments to be able to understand this one. All you need to know is that Flashman, the protagonist, is a liar, a coward, a serial fornicator and a cheat, motivated by greed, sex, a fear of losing his (unearned) reputation as a Victorian hero, and bare-knuckle survival. Oh, and sex.
This novel is as good as most, and better than many. It falls something short of the classic books "Flashman", "Flashman At The Charge", "Flashman In The Great Game" and "Royal Flash" but the editor of the papers, George MacDonald Fraser, has given us something that stands well above "...Dragon", "...Mountain Of Light", "...Lady" and others. Flashman's hilarious acts of self-preservation, occasionally getting him into more trouble than he started in, are best described as a cross between twisted genius and blubbering spinelessness. His outrageous treatment of his travelling companion, at one crucial and hair-raising moment in the story, was as dazzlingly wicked as anything he's ever stooped to before, and had me wide-eyed in shock and laughing out loud at the same moment.
There isn't much of the whistful sentimentality in this book that has crept into the previous few volumes either - the narrative has had much of the stoical philosophy peeled away to let the razor-sharp wit and sardonic humour shine through beautifully. Plus, of course, it's nice to see 'Flash Harry' back strapped to a murderously inventive torture device once every so often. It's even better to laugh yourself silly at his gutless attempts to plead his way to safety.
It needn't really be said that this is a must for fans. The real question is whether it would stand alone as a novel in its own right, attracting readers who had never come accross Flashy before... or whether it even needs to. George MacDonand Fraser has given us doses of Flashman for decades now, and it could be argued that as long as the fans are happy that's all that matters; but I started reading the books after seeing the film "Royal Flash" (a very different style of humour from the book, in case you haven't had the opportunity to compare the two), and would hate to think there are people out there who would be put off by "March" simply because it was aimed at an established and in-the-know readership.
To a certain extent, this book relies on a readership that doesn't need to be seduced, but the more satisfying news for me is that even if they did need it, they probably would be. In many ways, that says more about the quality of the book than anything that trumpets loudly: "He's Back!"
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Good old Flashy!
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I suppose it is obvious that I'm a big fan. I wouldn't give 5 stars to all the Flashman volumes, but this one deserves it - the story of Napier's expeditionary force in Abyssinia is so extraordinary, as the country of Abyssinia itself is, that I thoroughly enjoyed this. I accept that avid Flashman readers would recognise similar elements from previous volumes, but in my opinion that doesn't detract from the quality and sheer enjoyment of Flashman on the March.
Fraser depicts an intriguing country with people as vicious as they are beautiful. The notes he provides are comprehensive and very amusing at times, including plenty of fruity observations about Abyssinia. We have seen mad monarchs before, but they can never be boring with Flashman involved with them, copulating, drinking, fighting, being tortured, and running for his life. King Theodore is even more ghastly than Queen Ranavalona in Flashman's Lady, and his character even more inexplicable. I was shocked by the way he alternated between sincere affection and appalling violence. Queen Masteeat and her Gallas people (not to mention Masteeat's sister Uliba Wark!) are just as interesting - Flashman's observations and first-hand experience left me in awe.
Then there's Napier's campaign to subdue Theodore and free the European hostages, which unbelievably goes like clockwork with very few casualties thanks to the utter professionalism of the expeditionary force, which Theodore hadn't counted on. Fraser points out at the end that Napier and the British army, and by extension any invading Western army, were damned if they did and damned if they didn't - they would have been branded imperialists if they had stayed to govern the country, or blamed for deserting a country in need if they left. Flashy tells Napier at the end that the British goverment could have avoided the whole saga if they had afforded Theodore the respect that a king deserves, simply by responding to his letters. How apt.
This is a superb Flashman story - it has all the exotica so lacking in his US adventures, in my opinion, and a lesson for arrogant, powerful imperialists everywhere. Great stuff.
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