Rating: 
Summary: Fantastic, not to be missed
Review: This is a fantastic book, with the magic the the first book in a series always contains, even though most of us flashie fans count the one of the others as the best. The point of view is so unique, the warped view of an old scoundrel looking back on himself young, all make it funny, insightful, adventurous and just darn good reading! Do not miss it, and do not miss the others....
Rating:
Summary: Flashman's first misadverture as he becomes a legend
Review: This is the book that starts the Flashman series featuring the cowardly opportunist Harry Flashman. Gifted with a handsome physique, sharp wit, superb horsemanship, and an uncanny linguistic prowess, Flashman embarks upon his military career and ends forcibly married and then sent to the far corners of the British empire before and during the Anglo-Afghan war. At times you'll debate whether you even want Flashman to survive as he backstabs his fellow Brits, uses his native allies, and attempts to molest any half-way attractive woman. No, he's not a noble heroic archetype. Flashman is a selfish, arrogant, and conniving pseudo-aristocrat. The superb account of the British retreat from Afghanistan during the 1st Anglo-Afghan war is fascinating. The characters are all drawn from historical figures and George M. Fraser breathes amazing life into all of his characters. No one-dimensional figures here. No one is entirely good or bad. They are human. It's rare to see such honest writing that is sometimes uncomfortable and disturbing, but always wildly entertaining. Flashman ends up in the thick of the Anglo-Afghan War and along the way he meets all of the well-known British and Afghan/Pathan historical figures of the time. If you want to learn history the fun way and want to read a book you won't be able to put down until your eyes start to burn, then this is the book for you. My personal favorite so far in the Flashman series (I've only read one before), this is a novel I won't soon forget. This series deserves to be on the silver screen, but knowing most film-makers they wouldn't do it justice and they'd turn Flashman into a real hero, which he is most certainly is not! Great stuff!
Rating:
Summary: the best of Flashman
Review: This is the first and the best of the Flashman series. I first read this book back in 1990 and it combines history with a good dash of humor. George MacDonald Fraser brings the British Empire and the men who made it to life. Typical of some the comments in the book is when Brigadier Shelton comments on his Commander-in Chief shooting himself in the arse, " no doubt in an attempt to blow his brains out. He couldn't have missed by much" I definitely recommend this book to anyone.Unfortunately the Flashman series got a bit stale with the years. The only one worth reading after this is Flashman and the great game.
Rating: 
Summary: A scoundrel posing as a hero
Review: This series of novels by the author George Macdonald Fraser describes the adventures or misadventures of an English soldier during the victorian era. It is hilarious and entertaining reading for those who like a combination of historical fiction and comedy.
Written from the viewpoint of the main character himself these stories takes him through the crimean war,the Indian mutiny,the American conflict with the Native Americans and other situations all across the globe. From Madagascar to Afghanistan Flashman is there and always in trouble.
The only one who gets away from death more miraculously and more often than Flashman would be James Bond.
Reading this series one comes to understand the basic nature of Flashman himself all too easily.
By his own admission he is a rogue or scoundrel,and a coward who by sheer luck manages to remain a decorated soldier and hero in the eyes of others who know him least.
For this reason his story is an entertaining and comical one but he is not a figure who can evoke any sympathy or respect from the reader. Sometimes one can only feel that the trouble he gets himself into is what he simply deserves from being the way he is.
He is more a buffoon than a real hero,vain or arrogant and always lecherous.
If his wife happens to be tolerant of his infidelities it is perhaps because she is just as bad as he is( again this is by his own admission).
The author has done an excellent and very detailed job in combining historical facts with fiction in this particular series. There are footnotes in the books that refer the reader
to actual people and events that existed at the time the stories take place.
To me Flashman is a very memorable figure indeed,he may not capture your heart or sympathies but he might just give you a few good laughs instead.
Rating:
Summary: Flashman Forever
Review: When I first read Flashman years ago, I knew that a true literary hero had arrived on the scene, George Macdonald Fraser. And over the years as I eagerly awaited more of the great cad's adventures, I discovered that Fraser was not only giving us one of the great picaresque characters of all time, but a lot of 19th century history as well. How wonderful that Harry is in the center of every (disasterous) major event of that time period. When he meets Lincoln, no less, Lincoln, our former president, an able evaluator of scurrilous humans, senses that the man he is talking to is not who he claims to be. And Harry knows that Lincoln knows he is a fake. Flashman is an acquired taste that grows richer and more enjoyable with age.
Rating:
Summary: Don't be put off by title, great reading and addicting
Review: Why an 8? Well Flashman takes some time to digest but once you've accepted the "hero" for what he is it is a wonderful trip through History. Fraser has a keen eye and makes the period come alive with richly researched detail. You end up wishing that there was indeed a Flashman. A British Gentleman, O.B.E. and all that, once told me Flashman was one of his favorites. Take that as a high compliment Mr. Fraser. My only gripe is that the long awaited Civil War novel has yet to appear. Try one, they are very re-readable and at the moment available. Flashman at the Charge and Flashman and the Great Game will provide a very enjoyable start after the first Flashman.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing Story of Someone Like Me
Review: Wow, now this is a hero that is just as human as the rest of us. Of course, I do not admire him for the terrible things that he does (ok, I admit it, I do, but only off the record), but I am tired of heroes that are just impossibly moral with ethics that are 200 years out of place. Old Flashy is one of us. He is honest about how he feels, the fear and anger and everything else seem as believable as if we had faced those same circumstances. He fails to overcome these fears and prejudices, but how many other authors really address these issues in such a cool way.
This is probably the way most officers are in any army anywhere in the world.
Fraser transports us directly into Afganistan, with not so much detail to bore, but just enough to think that you are right there along with Flashy.
|
