A well-researched novel of one man’s war and redemption.
In Harding’s (Alvin’s Famous No-Horse, 1992, etc.) epic work of historical fiction, a young British soldier’s life is changed forever in Italy during World War I.
Reg Olcutt, an aspiring writer, is sent into combat, and although he survives the mud of Flanders and trench warfare, he nearly loses his life on a patrol along Italy’s Piave River. He’s rescued on the riverbank by a young woman named Gabriella, and he recuperates with her family in the Italian countryside. Reg is happy there until he’s captured by the Germans; later, he’s reunited with British soldiers. Despite his injuries and the impending end of the war, however, he’s sent home to be court-martialed for desertion. Reg awaits trial in his hometown, managing to keep the village’s newspaper running and forming a timely and helpful acquaintance with author Rudyard Kipling. Reg has a future in England, but he can’t escape his memories of Italy and the lovely woman who saved his life. Harding’s narrative is a lengthy tome that spans many years and countries. Reg travels from Italy to England and back again as he chases an unexpected future. The novel is incredibly detailed and delves into topics ranging from trench talk to the operation of a printing press. Though the research is impeccable, Harding’s thoroughness does bog down some portions of the novel, particularly in a section featuring Reg’s letters and diary entries. But the pace picks up with the conclusion of the war, as Reg adapts to civilian life in England and, later, Italy. It’s enjoyable to watch a small-town boy cross paths with famous figures of the day, including Kipling and Benito Mussolini, although the most satisfying interactions are with Reg’s Italian family. Harding brings the Italian characters to life with vivid descriptions, flowing prose, and witty dialogue. There are moments when Reg seems doomed to unhappiness, and it’s difficult to guess where the wayward solider will land, but Harding pulls together many narrative threads in a neat conclusion. Reg’s story is hard-earned and overlaid with tragedy yet somehow feels just right.
A well-researched novel of one man’s war and redemption.Pub Date: Nov. 11, 2018
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 390
Publisher: Lymer & Hart
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2018
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A tasty, if not always tasteful, tale of supernatural mayhem that fans of King and Crichton alike will enjoy.
Are we not men? We are—well, ask Bigfoot, as Brooks does in this delightful yarn, following on his bestseller World War Z(2006).
A zombie apocalypse is one thing. A volcanic eruption is quite another, for, as the journalist who does a framing voice-over narration for Brooks’ latest puts it, when Mount Rainier popped its cork, “it was the psychological aspect, the hyperbole-fueled hysteria that had ended up killing the most people.” Maybe, but the sasquatches whom the volcano displaced contributed to the statistics, too, if only out of self-defense. Brooks places the epicenter of the Bigfoot war in a high-tech hideaway populated by the kind of people you might find in a Jurassic Park franchise: the schmo who doesn’t know how to do much of anything but tries anyway, the well-intentioned bleeding heart, the know-it-all intellectual who turns out to know the wrong things, the immigrant with a tough backstory and an instinct for survival. Indeed, the novel does double duty as a survival manual, packed full of good advice—for instance, try not to get wounded, for “injury turns you from a giver to a taker. Taking up our resources, our time to care for you.” Brooks presents a case for making room for Bigfoot in the world while peppering his narrative with timely social criticism about bad behavior on the human side of the conflict: The explosion of Rainier might have been better forecast had the president not slashed the budget of the U.S. Geological Survey, leading to “immediate suspension of the National Volcano Early Warning System,” and there’s always someone around looking to monetize the natural disaster and the sasquatch-y onslaught that follows. Brooks is a pro at building suspense even if it plays out in some rather spectacularly yucky episodes, one involving a short spear that takes its name from “the sucking sound of pulling it out of the dead man’s heart and lungs.” Grossness aside, it puts you right there on the scene.
A tasty, if not always tasteful, tale of supernatural mayhem that fans of King and Crichton alike will enjoy.Pub Date: June 16, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-9848-2678-7
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Del Rey/Ballantine
Review Posted Online: Feb. 9, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK TO SCREEN
A fine novel for those who like to immerse themselves in alternative worlds.
Set in the future and reminiscent of The Hunger Games and Game of Thrones, this novel dramatizes a story of vengeance, warfare and the quest for power.
In the beginning, Darrow, the narrator, works in the mines on Mars, a life of drudgery and subservience. He’s a member of the Reds, an “inferior” class, though he’s happily married to Eo, an incipient rebel who wants to overthrow the existing social order, especially the Golds, who treat the lower-ranking orders cruelly. When Eo leads him to a mildly rebellious act, she’s caught and executed, and Darrow decides to exact vengeance on the perpetrators of this outrage. He’s recruited by a rebel cell and “becomes” a Gold by having painful surgery—he has golden wings grafted on his back—and taking an exam to launch himself into the academy that educates the ruling elite. Although he successfully infiltrates the Golds, he finds the social order is a cruel and confusing mash-up of deception and intrigue. Eventually, he leads one of the “houses” in war games that are all too real and becomes a guerrilla warrior leading a ragtag band of rebelliously minded men and women. Although it takes a while, the reader eventually gets used to the specialized vocabulary of this world, where warriors shoot “pulseFists” and are protected by “recoilArmor.” As with many similar worlds, the warrior culture depicted here has a primitive, even classical, feel to it, especially since the warriors sport names such as Augustus, Cassius, Apollo and Mercury.
A fine novel for those who like to immerse themselves in alternative worlds.Pub Date: Jan. 28, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-345-53978-6
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Del Rey/Ballantine
Review Posted Online: Nov. 2, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2013
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
