reviews
Feb 11, 2008
Luke
rated it: 
This book should be cliched but isn't. The main character is a British soldier disillusioned with the empire and its treatment of the native people of New Zealand, and a reluctant hero. Every comment he makes is a sarcastic attack on the colonials and the empire. From this description you would think you've read this a hundred times before, but you'd be wrong. Through sheer brilliance of writing, it works, and you feel as if this is how it should have been done all along.
The plot fizzed ou More...
The plot fizzed ou More...
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Feb 13, 2009
Novels about the Maori Wars are perhaps uncommon, but the ones I’ve read are uncommon good. Season of the Jew is part farce, part Western shoot-‘em-up, and part Journey to Hell. The Maori Wars were an odd kind of conflict. They were essentially an Indian war, but fought in the temperate rain forests of New Zealand. They involved as much trench warfare as they did guerrilla warfare, for the Maori were advanced practitioners of both.
http://fireandsword.blogspot.com/2009/02... More...
http://fireandsword.blogspot.com/2009/02... More...
Jan 01, 2011
Alan
rated it:
Te Kooti, banished to the Chatham Islands in 1860s, sees his people as like the Israelites of the Old Testament. He steals a ship, returns to Poverty Bay, and carries out a series of massacres. George Fairweather, late of the British Imperial Army, and now a lowly painter/traveller, finds himself embroiled in the conflict.
Shadbolt takes special care in his descriptions of landscapes and weather - by contrast, physical description of characters are rare. The text is enjoyably dialogue h More...
Shadbolt takes special care in his descriptions of landscapes and weather - by contrast, physical description of characters are rare. The text is enjoyably dialogue h More...
May 17, 2010
David R.
rated it: 
Publisher's Weekly (Friday, February 16, 1990):
"Based on a gory series of skirmishes near Wellington between 1868 and 1869, this novel combines a knockout of a war story, a tour of as yet unexploited Maori country, an account of British imperialism and a portrait of native life and customs to create a vivid pageant of colonial New Zealand," praised PW. Illustrated. (Apr.)
"Based on a gory series of skirmishes near Wellington between 1868 and 1869, this novel combines a knockout of a war story, a tour of as yet unexploited Maori country, an account of British imperialism and a portrait of native life and customs to create a vivid pageant of colonial New Zealand," praised PW. Illustrated. (Apr.)
Jun 18, 2011
Rebecca
rated it: 
What is with loads of books about New Zealand and their sort of Jewishness in them? The back of this book compared to the Maori getting kicked off their land to the Jewish people in Europe. Or something like that. It was a fairly quick read, but I didn’t comprehend most of it.
Grade: N/A
Grade: N/A
Jul 10, 2010
Jeff
rated it:
Wonderful read! Shadbolt has an amazing handle on the English language. His ability to turn a phrase to express irony, sarcasm and emotion is a genuine delight. Well developed characters and moments where a good chuckle can change to horror of man's nature.
Jan 18, 2012
Nathan
rated it:
Shadbolt's original and best. Te Kooti's War, and its impact on the local people, colonist and Maori. Some nasty stuff in here, but also some sweetness and light. Rated M for adult themes, war themes, horror scenes and infrequent coarse language. 4/5
Nov 07, 2009
Mariana
rated it:
This book is about the end of the Maori Wars around l869. There were Maori fighting on both sides which led to some terrible dilemmas.
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