Rating: 
Summary: Flashy Meets Abraham Lincoln
Review: "Flash for Freedom" shows our tricky, deceitful, and lustful anti-hero living on all sides of American slavery-that is, abetting and subverting slavery, as well as actually (temporarily) becoming a slave. High points include Flashy talking to Abraham Lincoln, where he observes, "You can fool some of the people...." Finally, this book has some of Fraser's finest writing. For example, Flashy observes as his slave ship slips down an African river: "[Captain] Spring knew his business; he took the wheel himself, and with only the foretopsail spread we drifted slowly between the green banks, the leadsmen chanting quietly, and the first hint of dawn beginning to lighten the sky over the black jungle mass astern. It was a queer, eery business, gliding so silently along, with only the mumble of the slaves, the creak of rope and timber, and the gurgle of water to break the stillness; and then we were clear of the last banks and the sun shot a great beam of light ahead of us across the placid surface of the sea." A really fun read!
Rating: 
Summary: The ultimate in historical fiction
Review: Accused (falsely, amazingly enough) of cheating in a friendly game of cards, the Victorian rogue Harry Flashman injures the accuser in a rage. His reputation damaged, Flash joins a ship's crew until the scandal cools down - only to realize to his horror (his own neck being on the line, of course) that it's a slave ship. Here begin Flashy's adventures on the high seas and America, where at various times he is dragooned and bluffs his way into nearly every role concerning the slave trade: buyer, trader, seller, driver on a plantation, underground railroad smuggler, anti-slavery double agent, almost even a slave himself at one point. It's all tremendous stuff, full of the usual (on Fraser's part) erudtion and wit and (on Flashy's part) lechery, as well as, of course, the historical tweaking: Flashman meets a young Disraeli, a young Lincoln, and even serves as the inspiration for Harriet Beecher Stowe's famous book. Superb historical parody, historical fiction, and pure entertainment all in one. Oh, a final thought: Flashy's definitely gotten a lot braver since the first book. Scared or not, it takes guts to pull a gun on a killer, or even keep one's wits enough to play-act in the face of danger. That's most likely a good thing, of course; as a reader, one can take only so much helpless, quivering terror from the narrator.
Rating:
Summary: The ultimate in historical fiction
Review: Accused (falsely, amazingly enough) of cheating in a friendly game of cards, the Victorian rogue Harry Flashman injures the accuser in a rage. His reputation damaged, Flash joins a ship's crew until the scandal cools down - only to realize to his horror (his own neck being on the line, of course) that it's a slave ship. Here begin Flashy's adventures on the high seas and America, where at various times he is dragooned and bluffs his way into nearly every role concerning the slave trade: buyer, trader, seller, driver on a plantation, underground railroad smuggler, anti-slavery double agent, almost even a slave himself at one point. It's all tremendous stuff, full of the usual (on Fraser's part) erudtion and wit and (on Flashy's part) lechery, as well as, of course, the historical tweaking: Flashman meets a young Disraeli, a young Lincoln, and even serves as the inspiration for Harriet Beecher Stowe's famous book. Superb historical parody, historical fiction, and pure entertainment all in one. Oh, a final thought: Flashy's definitely gotten a lot braver since the first book. Scared or not, it takes guts to pull a gun on a killer, or even keep one's wits enough to play-act in the face of danger. That's most likely a good thing, of course; as a reader, one can take only so much helpless, quivering terror from the narrator.
Rating:
Summary: Historical fiction at it's finest.
Review: Flashman, his credentials are lying, cheating, womanizing, cowardice and incredible honesty! This is a rollicking romp through the American slave trade era. Besides an entertaining read it is factual, well researched, and ... well ... almost educational. Good historical fiction moves a character through real historic events, providing insight as well as information. Fraser is a past master.
Rating:
Summary: Flashman adventure educates as well as entertains..
Review: Flashman, that 19th century fictious bad boy who finds himself changing the course of history, and his fantastic adventures are certainly an acquired taste. For me it's at best a hit-or-miss affair. It works best when the author focuses on historical events and less so on Flashman's womanizing and toilet humor. Thankfully, 'Flashman for Freedom!' hits the mark. Flashman keeps his trousers on (..well, most of the time), and the reader gets to learn some things about the 19th century slave trade not normally taught in (USA) schools.The story has really two parts. In the beginning Flashman finds himself on a British slave ship bound for America after picking up its human cargo in Africa. Without getting too gruesome, the author describes the whole slave transportation business is stark detail. Afterwards Flashman finds himself in New Orleans and, through no desire of his own, embarks on journey up the Mississippi with a slave trying to reach (free) Canada. I found all this rather interesting if not entirely plausible (after all, we are talking about 'larger than life' Harry Flashman). Bottom line: less bawdy than other Flashman novels but more educational. Certainly among the better Flashman books.
Rating:
Summary: Flashman adventure educates as well as entertains..
Review: Flashman, that 19th century fictious bad boy who finds himself changing the course of history, and his fantastic adventures are certainly an acquired taste. For me it's at best a hit-or-miss affair. It works best when the author focuses on historical events and less so on Flashman's womanizing and toilet humor. Thankfully, 'Flashman for Freedom!' hits the mark. Flashman keeps his trousers on (..well, most of the time), and the reader gets to learn some things about the 19th century slave trade not normally taught in (USA) schools. The story has really two parts. In the beginning Flashman finds himself on a British slave ship bound for America after picking up its human cargo in Africa. Without getting too gruesome, the author describes the whole slave transportation business is stark detail. Afterwards Flashman finds himself in New Orleans and, through no desire of his own, embarks on journey up the Mississippi with a slave trying to reach (free) Canada. I found all this rather interesting if not entirely plausible (after all, we are talking about 'larger than life' Harry Flashman). Bottom line: less bawdy than other Flashman novels but more educational. Certainly among the better Flashman books.
Rating:
Summary: Flashman comes to America
Review: Fraser has created another excellent Flashman adventure. The first half (or so) of the book concerns how Flashman ends up serving unwillingly in the crew of a slaving ship (after running afoul of his despicable father-in-law). The second half of the book - a bit weaker than the strong first half, I think - involves Flashman's exploits in the American South after he gets dragooned into helping the Underground Railroad. Flashman encounters a soon-to-be retiring Congressman Lincoln a couple of times during the course of the novel, and these scenes should be fun for fans of Abe. The plot is strong, the pacing very fast, as we've come to expect from Flashman, and the dialogue is lots of fun. Fraser's historical accuracy is as good as ever. This is the third Flashman book I've read, and it's almost as good as the first book in the series ("Flashman"), which I liked quite a lot, and it's considerably better than "Royal Flash," the second book in the series. I'd recommend "Flash for Freedom" to anyone who's enjoyed the series so far. As with other Flashman books, if you're easily offended by bawdy - though not obscene by any stretch - language or activities, you should take a pass on this one.
Rating:
Summary: Flashman comes to America
Review: Fraser has created another excellent Flashman adventure. The first half (or so) of the book concerns how Flashman ends up serving unwillingly in the crew of a slaving ship (after running afoul of his despicable father-in-law). The second half of the book - a bit weaker than the strong first half, I think - involves Flashman's exploits in the American South after he gets dragooned into helping the Underground Railroad. Flashman encounters a soon-to-be retiring Congressman Lincoln a couple of times during the course of the novel, and these scenes should be fun for fans of Abe. The plot is strong, the pacing very fast, as we've come to expect from Flashman, and the dialogue is lots of fun. Fraser's historical accuracy is as good as ever. This is the third Flashman book I've read, and it's almost as good as the first book in the series ("Flashman"), which I liked quite a lot, and it's considerably better than "Royal Flash," the second book in the series. I'd recommend "Flash for Freedom" to anyone who's enjoyed the series so far. As with other Flashman books, if you're easily offended by bawdy - though not obscene by any stretch - language or activities, you should take a pass on this one.
Rating:
Summary: Hilarious
Review: Harry Flashman is Horatio Hornblower without a conscience and afraid of the water. Great series.
Rating:
Summary: Hilarious
Review: Harry Flashman is Horatio Hornblower without a conscience and afraid of the water. Great series.
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