Review by jimthorne2 -- Brutal Valour: The Tragedy of Is...
-
jimthorne2
- Posts: 244
- Joined: 16 Apr 2017, 20:16
- Favorite Book: Christians in the Age of Outrage
- Currently Reading: 30th Century: Escape (First Edition)
- Bookshelf Size: 165
- Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-jimthorne2.html
- Latest Review: California: On the Edge of American History by Ronald Genini
- Reading Device: B00JG8GOWU
Review by jimthorne2 -- Brutal Valour: The Tragedy of Is...
[Following is a volunteer review of "Brutal Valour: The Tragedy of Isandlwana" by James Mace.]
2 out of 4 stars
Share This Review
James Mace captures arrogance, racism, and pride between two nations in a solid historical novel, Brutal Valour: The Tragedy of Isandlwana.
The author moves at a slow pace with high detail on African setting and British cultural history. The main characters are British royal military and African royal chieftains.
The story originates in Brittan during the Nineteenth Century and deals with the relationship of that nation with a colony in South Africa adjoining a hitherto unconquered land of the African Zulu tribes. As an introduction, the writer describes the African way of determining leadership among the Zulus. The story then shifts to Britain where a young soldier prepares for a military career. The first seven chapters of the book present a journal of a gathering of the British Victorian Army in Natal, a province of South Africa. The next seven chapters prepare the reader for a conflict set up by the arrogance, racism, and pride of the British aptly describing the thinking of a colonizing nation. Chapters 8 to 12 establish an understanding of the military preparations typically engaged in during the nineteenth century. In chapters 12 to 23, our author vividly records the preparations of the Zulu tribes for a battle they don’t want to fight but must because they recognize an invasion is imminent. The arrogance, racism, and pride of the British contests the Zulu arrogance, racism, and pride. From chapters 24 to the end, Mace chronicles the invasion, military mistakes, and suffering of the tragedy of Isandlwana.
Someone acquainted with the colonization of Africa by the European nations like Britain will appreciate the mindset that expects the British to be more civilized that the African tribes they face. This book will help to give the reader a perspective of that Nineteenth Century perspective on the world. A historical novel like this accurately conveys to the reader how the attitudes involved between the nations here described leads to the disaster like Isandlwana.
The author describes each person portrayed in this historical novel is sometimes in military terms, at times in the Zulu language. The main characters are the Zulu king, Cetshwayo and the leader of the invasion Lieutenant General Sir Frederic Thesiger. The Zulu king employs wise advisors and inherits a battle strategy from the legendary Zulu ancestor, Shaka. The British leader, Thesiger, is an experienced career soldier with some successful military campaigns to his credit. The narrator describes younger brothers of the king as well as a multitude of Zulu warriors. He introduces the lower ranks of the British Victorian Army at both a personal and a professional level.
The invasion of Zululand does not go unnoticed, and the nation rises in defense. A British plan of attack involves three columns and encampment in the land. It turns out that Isandlwana as a site for the battle is a poor choice for the British and an unlikely choice for the Zulus. The results are a tragedy for both sides. The Zulus pay a horrendous human cost in defense, and the British painfully lose many soldiers on offense. The repercussions of the invasion have national implications both in Brittan and in South Africa.
The narrative is powerful yet rather ponderous reflecting a typical British mentality. I like the way the writer allows the reader into the world of both the British and less successfully the Zulu. I have lived in Africa; I understand some of the nuances that the writer is trying to describe and agree that he has caught the right cultural mood of both the place and the times of which he is writing. There is a bit of romance in the novel and some adventure, but the final battle scenes lack cohesion as is often the case in such battles. I didn’t like the slow pace of the narrative. The writer uses dialogue to move the story along both among the British soldiers and the Zulu tribesmen. Pictures and illustrations assist the reader to visualize the intimate and geographical scenes. Compared to other writers of historical novels, Mace is much too academic to establish a readership.
I rate this book 2 out of 4 stars. Although the history is fascinating, the attitudes described are no surprise to me, I find the writing to be much too detailed and lacking in the sense of motion. The people and events are described in too much of a journalistic report to attract someone expecting a novel. I only recommend this book to a reader who wants to slog through a dull storyline to finally see in retrospect that it was all worthwhile.
******
Brutal Valour: The Tragedy of Isandlwana
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on iTunes
Like jimthorne2's review? Post a comment saying so!
2 out of 4 stars
Share This Review
James Mace captures arrogance, racism, and pride between two nations in a solid historical novel, Brutal Valour: The Tragedy of Isandlwana.
The author moves at a slow pace with high detail on African setting and British cultural history. The main characters are British royal military and African royal chieftains.
The story originates in Brittan during the Nineteenth Century and deals with the relationship of that nation with a colony in South Africa adjoining a hitherto unconquered land of the African Zulu tribes. As an introduction, the writer describes the African way of determining leadership among the Zulus. The story then shifts to Britain where a young soldier prepares for a military career. The first seven chapters of the book present a journal of a gathering of the British Victorian Army in Natal, a province of South Africa. The next seven chapters prepare the reader for a conflict set up by the arrogance, racism, and pride of the British aptly describing the thinking of a colonizing nation. Chapters 8 to 12 establish an understanding of the military preparations typically engaged in during the nineteenth century. In chapters 12 to 23, our author vividly records the preparations of the Zulu tribes for a battle they don’t want to fight but must because they recognize an invasion is imminent. The arrogance, racism, and pride of the British contests the Zulu arrogance, racism, and pride. From chapters 24 to the end, Mace chronicles the invasion, military mistakes, and suffering of the tragedy of Isandlwana.
Someone acquainted with the colonization of Africa by the European nations like Britain will appreciate the mindset that expects the British to be more civilized that the African tribes they face. This book will help to give the reader a perspective of that Nineteenth Century perspective on the world. A historical novel like this accurately conveys to the reader how the attitudes involved between the nations here described leads to the disaster like Isandlwana.
The author describes each person portrayed in this historical novel is sometimes in military terms, at times in the Zulu language. The main characters are the Zulu king, Cetshwayo and the leader of the invasion Lieutenant General Sir Frederic Thesiger. The Zulu king employs wise advisors and inherits a battle strategy from the legendary Zulu ancestor, Shaka. The British leader, Thesiger, is an experienced career soldier with some successful military campaigns to his credit. The narrator describes younger brothers of the king as well as a multitude of Zulu warriors. He introduces the lower ranks of the British Victorian Army at both a personal and a professional level.
The invasion of Zululand does not go unnoticed, and the nation rises in defense. A British plan of attack involves three columns and encampment in the land. It turns out that Isandlwana as a site for the battle is a poor choice for the British and an unlikely choice for the Zulus. The results are a tragedy for both sides. The Zulus pay a horrendous human cost in defense, and the British painfully lose many soldiers on offense. The repercussions of the invasion have national implications both in Brittan and in South Africa.
The narrative is powerful yet rather ponderous reflecting a typical British mentality. I like the way the writer allows the reader into the world of both the British and less successfully the Zulu. I have lived in Africa; I understand some of the nuances that the writer is trying to describe and agree that he has caught the right cultural mood of both the place and the times of which he is writing. There is a bit of romance in the novel and some adventure, but the final battle scenes lack cohesion as is often the case in such battles. I didn’t like the slow pace of the narrative. The writer uses dialogue to move the story along both among the British soldiers and the Zulu tribesmen. Pictures and illustrations assist the reader to visualize the intimate and geographical scenes. Compared to other writers of historical novels, Mace is much too academic to establish a readership.
I rate this book 2 out of 4 stars. Although the history is fascinating, the attitudes described are no surprise to me, I find the writing to be much too detailed and lacking in the sense of motion. The people and events are described in too much of a journalistic report to attract someone expecting a novel. I only recommend this book to a reader who wants to slog through a dull storyline to finally see in retrospect that it was all worthwhile.
******
Brutal Valour: The Tragedy of Isandlwana
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on iTunes
Like jimthorne2's review? Post a comment saying so!
Jim Thorne
Latest Review: California: On the Edge of American History by Ronald Genini
