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Summary: The best book i've ever read
Review: I've now read all the series, and a finer selection of books is not available
Rating:
Summary: The first one, the best one
Review: If you have never read a book with an "anti-hero" you may find this book a real page turner. I was hooked immediately. The later books decline in quality pretty quickly as the novelty wears off, but this one is a classic.
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Summary: I love Flashman
Review: If you love reading, reading where you can't stand to put the book down and live to get to the next reading period, do yourself a favor and read the Flashman books. They are absolutely priceless, and possibly the most fun I've ever had with a book.If you are so sensitive you can't stand the intrusion of anything non-politically-correct, stay away. Otherwise, order this book now, and get ready to order the rest in the series when you're done with it. I promise you'll read them all once you start.
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Summary: I love Flashman
Review: If you love reading, reading where you can't stand to put the book down and live to get to the next reading period, do yourself a favor and read the Flashman books. They are absolutely priceless, and possibly the most fun I've ever had with a book. If you are so sensitive you can't stand the intrusion of anything non-politically-correct, stay away. Otherwise, order this book now, and get ready to order the rest in the series when you're done with it. I promise you'll read them all once you start.
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Summary: WOW
Review: In a good week, I read two books. So, over the past ten years, that makes...well you do the math. Out of all of them over the past 10 years, I have to rank "Flashman" among the top 10 if not the best outright. Fun, exciting, naughty and more. This was my first venture into the irreverent world of Flashman, but not the last. I am eager to read the entire series after this enjoyable initiation. During this literary rollercoaster ride, you might even learn a historical fact or two!
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Summary: It doesn't get much better...
Review: In this the first of the Flashman books, George M. Fraser reintroduces the world to the arch-cad first mentioned in "Tom Browns School Days". A character of such dubious distinction that you can't help but love him. We begin with Flashy's return home after expulsion from the prestigious Rugby school and end up at the disasterous retreat by the British from Kabul. Along the way, we are treated to some not so flattering profiles of various historical personages as well as Flashy's amorous encounters. All told with tongue firmly planted in cheek by a masterful historian who makes the social contradictions of the Victorian period come vividly to life. You will laugh and you will shake your head in consternation, but I promise that (if you have any sense of humor)you will enjoy this book. Be sure to check out Flashy's other adventures as well!
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Summary: The first in this famous series, and still the best.
Review: It is hard to believe that this first book of the Flashman series is now nearly 30 years old. Written as if it is an actual published memoir (later books put "a novel" on the cover, probably to protect the publisher from receiving annoying letters of shock and outrage from the truly ignorant and profoundly clueless). This is a book for lovers of historical fiction, military fiction, or British history, but will be enjoyed by those who otherwise would never read in these areas. They are books of humor, following a knave and poltroon -- Harry Flashman -- as he stumbles into many of the great events of the 19th century (often fleeing irate husbands). Events he has visted so far include Little Big Horn, the Chinese Boxer Rebellion, the Indian Mutiny, the American slave trade, and the Prussian court where he was forced to act as a royal imposter. To the world he is seen as a great heroic figure, a development that Flashman finds hilarious yet endlessly useful. This first book introduces the Flashman character, beginning with his being expelled from school, forced into the British Army, and suddenly finding himself in the midst of the disasterous British Afghan campaign. The only books that ever left me laughing harder were the original three books of what should have remained the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy "trilogy" by Douglas Adams. Highly recommended, though with this warning: reading this book and its successors will leave you considerably more educated about the important events of the last century without you even realizing it is happening
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Summary: Great charater, great story and very, very well written
Review: Laddishness is a thing that the Brits seem to be really proud of. Boozing, wenching and xenophobia (under the guise of patriotism) have been to the fore in the past few years. However, here is a character, set over 100 years ago who would make them all look like monks by comparison. It is the author's writing that is the real star. His story and set pieces, along with the historical interest, are fantastic. But fueled by the genuine brilliance (and I don't use the word lightly) of George McDonald Fraser's narrative and dialogue, we then have one of the greatest fictional charters in print. Somebody recommended this to me and said 'If you read the first one, you will end up reading them all'. Absolutely true.
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Summary: Soldier Svejk's not so brave grandfather
Review: Last year I read the first of the O'Brian Aubrey/Maturin novels. I really could not understand what all the fuss was about. Reading similarly positive reviews on Fraser's Flashman series, I initially hesitated, afraid of another O'Brianesque disappointment, but here I thank my fellow reviewers for their convincing arguments. Considering it at first glance, Fraser set himself an almost impossible task to combine an accurate history lesson with the memoir of a drinking, whoring, raping, conniving coward. Yet, the results are both highly informative and extremely entertaining/funny. Flashman has a clear predecessor in Hasek's brave soldier Svejk. Yet, Flashman's sense of self-preservation and -promotion, add a contemporary edge, that make him so appealing to mankind entering the 21st century. When reading biographies of contemporary icons like Bill Gates and Steve Jobs, you often wonder what really took place at the critical moments of their heroic careers. I would not be surprised, if those two -and many, many others for that matter- each had armies of Flashmans in their closets. The history writing in this book really has the classic feel of two of my high school staples: Ceasar's "de bello gallico" and Xenophon's "anabasis". The comedy writing sometimes equals the level of Gargantua, Don Quichote and Tom Jones. There are so many gems throughout the book that it is hard to choose a favorite, but for me Flashman's attempt at fornication on the horrific retreat from Afghanistan is one of the greatest tour de forces in the history of comedy writing. After reading it, even Sigmund Freud might have considered adding another chapter to "der Witz".
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Summary: Brilliant as it is timely
Review: Liar. Scoundrel. Drunkard. Braggart. Cad. Harry Flashman is all of these things, and yet one is compelled to follow his every move as he wends his way through this outlandish story. He is, quite simply, a man you love to hate. Born to a world of privilege, Harry drinks, wenches and lies his way through life aided only by his uncanny luck, family name and social status. (In fact, he reminds me of a certain person currently occupying the White House.) All in all, it is a fabulous read for anyone who enjoys scrupulously researched and footnoted (though apocryphal) historical fiction with a wicked sense of humor.
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