Tag: Reading Challenges

Book Review – Dark Frontier by Matthew Harffy @AriesFiction

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About the Book

Book cover of Dark Frontier by Matthew Harffy

A man can flee from everything but his own nature.

1890. Lieutenant Gabriel Stokes of the British Army left behind the horrors of war in Afghanistan for a role in the Metropolitan Police. Though he rose quickly through the ranks, the squalid violence of London’s East End proved just as dark and oppressive as the battlefield.

With his life falling apart, and longing for peace and meaning, Gabriel leaves the grime of London behind and heads for the wilderness and wide open spaces of the American West.

He soon realises that the wilds of Oregon are far from the idyll he has yearned for. The Blue Mountains may be beautiful, but with the frontier a complex patchwork of feuds and felonies, and ranchers as vicious as any back alley cut-throat in London, Gabriel finds himself unable to escape his past and the demons that drive him. Can he find a place for himself on the far edge of the New World?

Format: Hardcover (464 pages) Publisher: Head of Zeus
Publication date: 4th July 2024 Genre: Historical Fiction

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My Review

Nineteenth-century Oregon may be a departure in terms of period and location for Matthew Harffy but there’s no departure from the creation of a compelling and action-packed story.

The author gives Gabriel Stokes a fascinating back story: service in the British Army in Afghanistan, including exposure to the savagery of the Battle of Maiwand, followed by a stint in the Metropolitan Police during the period of the grisly Ripper murders. Gabriel’s had troubles in his personal life as well. (Surely plenty of material here for a prequel at some point?) He’s tried to blot out the traumatic memories that still give him nightmares with drink and drugs, but it hasn’t worked. He hopes the wide open spaces of Oregon and a reunion with his former commanding officer and friend, Captain John Thornfield (who also saved his life), will help him leave those memories behind.

Unfortunately for Gabriel the bad times are only just beginning, starting with the dreadful news that greets him when he arrives at the Thornfield ranch. It’s enough to drive him back into the grasp of the demons that possessed him before but, showing immense strength of character, he resists. Just.

Gabriel’s strong sense of justice means he can’t just ignore a crime, especially one that’s likely to go unpunished because power and influence seems to get you whatever you want in this neck of the woods. He’s determined to bring the culprit to account by following the same sort of diligent process he would have done back in London: gathering evidence and putting it before a court. Doing things in the right way. But as he’s warned, ‘There is no right way here. Just who’s left standing when the smoke clears. That’s the western way.’

The hard drinking, quick on the draw, grizzled old Jedidiah White makes a wonderful foil to Gabriel. Jed’s motto: Shoot first, ask questions later. Actually don’t bother with the questions. I also liked the inclusion of a character who brings unique skills to the investigation but also reflects the unhappy history of dealings between Native Americans and European settlers.

There are some great set piece scenes in which Gabriel, Jed and the Thornfield ranch hands fight the bad guys, often against the odds and with the outcome very much in doubt. We get a clear sense of the ruthless nature of the men they’re up against and how money can buy anybody and anything, including a willingness to look the other way.

Even if it moves at a trot rather than a gallop at the beginning, Dark Frontier has everything you could want from a Wild West adventure, including a little history lesson along the way about the conflict between cattle ranchers and sheep farmers. So put on your favourite Western film soundtrack (The Big Country for me), saddle on up, grab your Derringer or your Remington and set out with Gabriel to do what a man’s gotta do. Then wait for the sequel. Come on, there’s going to be one surely?

I received a proof copy courtesy of Head of Zeus. Dark Frontier is book three of my 20 Books of Summer 2024.

In three words: Authentic, gripping, action-packed
Try something similar: Road to Reckoning by Robert Lautner

About the Author

Author Matthew Harffy

Matthew Harffy grew up in Northumberland where the rugged terrain, ruined castles and rocky coastline had a huge impact on him. He now lives in Wiltshire, England, with his wife and their two daughters. Matthew is the author of the critically acclaimed Bernicia Chronicles and A Time for Swords series, and also presents the popular podcast, Rock, Paper, Swords!, with fellow author Stephen A. McKay.

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Book Review – Alvesdon by James Holland @TransworldBooks

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About the Book

The village of Alvesdon has been home to the Castells for generations. But the year is 1939 and the peace and tranquillity there is about to be shattered once more by the stormclouds of war in Europe. As three generations of the family gather, they must all face the prospect of their lives being transformed beyond recognition the moment Britain declares war on Germany.

When the inevitable happens and Britain finds itself at war, the younger members of the family and farm workers are called up to fight and those who remain must battle to keep the home fires burning and the farm afloat. The gentle certainties of rural life are replaced by the urgent clamour of war, in the air, at sea and on land, where events unfold with dizzying rapidity and unexpected consequences.

Format: ebook (435 pages) Publisher: Transworld
Publication date: 13th June 2024 Genre: Historical Fiction

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My Review

Alvesdon takes the reader on a compelling and emotional journey through the early years of the Second World War showing us the impact of wider events on one extended family and the community in which they live.

The village of Alvesdon lies in farming country and the Castell family and their neighbours have farmed there for years. What I particularly liked about the book is the focus on how pivotal farming was to the war effort. But it involved change, some of which was unwelcome, with cattle farming having to give way to arable in order to produce wheat and barley to feed the nation. It’s just one of the changes that causes friction between Walter, known to everyone as ‘Stork’, and his father Alwyn.

Through the different characters we witness all aspects of the war effort: Stork’s eldest son, Edward, is serving in the Yeomanry; Stork’s youngest son, Wilf, is a pilot in RAF Fighter Command; Stork’s daughter, Tess, is working as secretary to General Ismay in the War Office; and Ollie, son of the Castell’s neghbours, the Varneys, is serving on a Royal Navy destroyer. Involvement in the war doesn’t end there but extends to villagers and estate workers such as gamekeeper, Tom Timbrell. And war brings new roles – ARP warden, billeting officer – and new organisations like the Home Guard.

The experiences of these characters give us an insider view of key events such as the evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force from Dunkirk. And we see aspects of wartime Britain often overlooked, such as the categorisation and internment of German nationals living in the country, often for many years.

The story leaves us in no doubt that war is a brutal and bloody business that can devastate a family, destroy hopes for the future and leave individuals scarred for life – both physically and mentally. For those that lived through the First World War, there’s a profound sense of disillusionment, despair even, that the country must go through it all again. For some the war is a frustrating pause in their lives or a period of desperate uncertainty waiting for news that never comes or that, when it does, is life-changing. For others, the war creates a sense that there’s no time to lose; why wait when you have no idea what tomorrow will bring? Paradoxically, for others the war opens up new possibilities or brings about an epiphany. And what about the burden of knowing things you are unable to tell others, even if it might affect them?

The author is a renowned historian and this definitely shows in some of the vivid and detailed depictions of events. For example, this description of the experience of taking off in a Spitfire: ‘Wilf hauled himself up, stepped into the cockpit, and dropped down, half-door up, clacking shit. The familiar smell: high octane fuel, oil, rubber, metal. Chocks pulled clear […] open throttle, release the brakes and off, trundling over the grass to line up. Look each side. Clear. Open throttles wide, and off, speeding across the grass, forty, fifty, sixty miles per hour on the clock, ease back on the stick…’ A real feeling of authenticity pervades the book and you get the sense you’re in the hands of an author who really knows his stuff.

At the end of the book we know there are more years of turmoil to come, but the characters don’t. ‘Everything has been thrown up in the air and is coming down again but not landing exactly as it was before.’ Thanks to the skill of the author, by the time I reached the final chapter I had become totally invested in the lives of the characters and was left wondering what would happen to them next. This is a book just crying out for a sequel.

Alvesdon is a brilliant combination of emotional family saga and fascinating wartime story.

I received a digital review copy courtesy of Transworld via NetGalley. Alvesdon is book 2 of my 20 Books of Summer.

In three words: Compelling, stirring, assured
Try something similar: Marking Time (Cazalet Chronicles #2) by Elizabeth Jane Howard

About the Author

Author and historian James Holland

James Holland is an internationally acclaimed and award-winning historian, writer, and broadcaster. The author of a number of best-selling histories he has presented – and written – a large number of television programmes and series. He has a weekly Second World War podcast, We Have of Making You Talk, with Al Murray, and is Chair of the Chalke Valley History Festival. He is a research fellow at St Andrew’s University. (Photo/bio: Publisher website)

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