Blood in the Sand

Rating:
Summary: The Sun Also Sets
Review: Hernon began this trilogy with "Massacre and Retribution" and continued with "Savage Empire." This, the concluding chapter, is (on the whole) less critical of the Empire, yet it still does manage to chronicle some appalling ineptitude among the various heroic episodes. Heroes abound in the stories of the Ghurkas, the Punjab Wars and the epic defence of Kars during the Crimean War. Yet there remain episodes such as the needlessly bloody Eureka Stockade in gold-rush Australia, the tragic slaughter of Mayan Indians in Belize, or the grossly mismanaged Hut Tax dispute in Sierra Leone. Other tales are frankly bizarre, such as the botched Anglo-French attempt to conquer Madagascar, or the equally futile Irish Fenian invasion of Canada. Yet again a masterful portrait of a system where the British Empire (on which the proverbial sun eventually set) extended to every continent and crossed every sea. Fascinating stories, well told.

Rating:
Summary: The Sun Also Sets
Review: Hernon began this trilogy with "Massacre and Retribution" and continued with "Savage Empire." This, the concluding chapter, is (on the whole) less critical of the Empire, yet it still does manage to chronicle some appalling ineptitude among the various heroic episodes. Heroes abound in the stories of the Ghurkas, the Punjab Wars and the epic defence of Kars during the Crimean War. Yet there remain episodes such as the needlessly bloody Eureka Stockade in gold-rush Australia, the tragic slaughter of Mayan Indians in Belize, or the grossly mismanaged Hut Tax dispute in Sierra Leone. Other tales are frankly bizarre, such as the botched Anglo-French attempt to conquer Madagascar, or the equally futile Irish Fenian invasion of Canada. Yet again a masterful portrait of a system where the British Empire (on which the proverbial sun eventually set) extended to every continent and crossed every sea. Fascinating stories, well told.