Link :Amazon, Goodreads. Price: £6.99
Author Webiste: https://tomwilliamsauthor.co.uk/
British Solider and Spy James Burke has returned from South America with his faithful Sergeant William Brown to help General Wellesley fight Napoleon’s armies in French occupied Spain. His mission is to help locate and organise Spanish guerrilla forces and gather intelligence on the size and location of the French armies. But the line between outlaw and guerrilla is a fine one, the French are far more organised than expect, and when he is forced to send his Sergeant back to help with the fighting at the battle of Talavera it will take the help of an old friend to save the British armies from disaster.
This is what would have been in the old days called a boy’s own adventure. The British soldiers have upper lips so stiff thire moustaches need no wax, a cup of tea provides sufficient moral fibre to defeat a dozen Frenchies, and there is no greater honour than to die for King and Country.
In short, it’s a proper romp, and Williams strikes an excellent balance between historical accuracy and bending history so as to keep the story moving. We get bloody skirmishes and daring rescues, brutal murders and desperate flights, and full-scale warfare that will have you turning the pages like they are burning your fingers. I’m reminded of O’Brian’s excellent Aubrey-Maturin series by the strength of the friendship between the two protagonists, but most of all Hornblower (you can tell I’m a Navy man by my references) – you’ll get dollups of duty, honour, courage, and invention in the face of impossible odds.
The author does a good job of explaining his references and where he has diverged from history in his endnote. This is a fine adventure story that will also give you a little interest to one of the most interest parts of the Napoleonic wars. The sort of book you rush through in an afternoon then go looking for more of Burke’s adventures (happily this is book 4!)
