Reviews

 

The Sabre's Edge audio book by Allan Mallinson, narrated by Errick Graham (13 1/2 hrs unabridged - Whole Story Audio Books - £24.99)

"What do you do when you've finished the last of Bernard Cornwell's 24 Richard Sharpe novels and the last of Patrick O'Brien's 21 Jack Aubrey/Stephen Maturin naval stories? You start reading Allan Mallinson, that's what. His series of 10 novels about Captain Matthew Hervey's career as a cavalry officer in the Light Dragoons begins more or less where Sharpe left off, under Wellington at Waterloo. Mallinson, a retired brigadier, took up writing when he left his own cavalry regiment, the Royal Hussars, to become British military attaché in Rome. As a romantic lead, Hervey isn't a patch on Sharpe, with that scar that gives his outrageously handsome features a mocking smile, but he's every bit as brave. Ideally you should start at the beginning. I chose this, his fifth, for personal reasons. It's set in 1823, when the British army was attacking Rangoon en route to Ava, the old royal capital. My Burmese great-grandmother was a lady-in-waiting to Queen Supayalat, consort to the last Burmese King. Outside Cinemascope, this is as near as you'll get to the raw excitement of a fullscale cavalry charge:

"'Left wheel into line,' he called, checking the pace to a trot to allow them the manoeuvre time. Trumpeter Storrs blew the call perfectly, just the four notes and a simple fifth interval. Easy enough with a bugle even at a bounce. 'Draw swords!' Out rasped 200 blades ... this was the best time, a troop in hand, every man intent on his next word of command ... 'CHA ... A ... RGE!' Four hundred cavalry at the gallop. Lances couched but swords held high ..." Wonderful stuff." - Sue Arnold, The Guardian

"Captain Matthew Hervey is as splendid a hero as ever sprang from an author's pen… What a hero! What an author! What a book! A joy for the lover of adventure and the military buff alike." - The Times

"As much a celebration of the regiment and the Army as of its hero. With each successive novel, Mallinson grows in stature as an author; one looks forward eagerly to the next instalment of Hervey's life." - London Evening Standard

"The tale is as historically stimulating as it is stirringly exciting… He is writing for the general reader rather than for other soldiers, and civvies will feel a definite frisson of privilege in being able to eavesdrop on the authentic chaffing chat of the 1820s officers' mess." - Sunday Telegraph

"Mallinson's descriptions of regimental life and of the campaigns themselves… crackle with detail and atmosphere… Makes for an engrossing read, full of blood and valour." - The Observer

"It is detailed, integrated, confronts both moral and military dilemmas, the characters live and you can see the landscape. Mallinson does with ease and grace what the BBC was once chartered to do and has long abandoned: he informs, educates and entertains." - The Oldie

"Allan Mallinson has created a memorable character in Hervey, and manages to find new facets to his character with each novel… Add to this Mallinson's mastery of military history, and you are virtually guaranteed an enjoyable read." - Yorkshire Evening Post

"The flavour of barracks life in India is convincingly conveyed and the regimental sergeant major's wedding is a delight. Vivid battle scenes culminate in the taking of the grim native fortress of Bhurtpore with its tower of human skulls." - History Today

"Mallinson blends strong characterisation, pulse-pounding action, historical accuracy and military intrigue into an explosive mix… His driving prose carries The Sabre's Edge to its bloody and gripping denouement with all the thunderous momentum of a cavalry charge." - Waterstone's Books Quarterly

"One of these days an astute film producer is going to wake up to the fact that Matthew Hervey is another folk hero. Rather more intelligent than Sharpe, but equally charismatic for an outing on the big screen." - Birmingham Post