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A Game Of Soldiers
Originally written as a TV serial, A Game of Soldiers caused a storm of Government anger when ITV refused to pull it from the schedules. Shortly afterwards, it was nominated for a Bafta award, and publishers scrambled for the novelisation rights. HarperCollins won.
Thirty years on, and despite the fact that the conflict was famously described as ‘two bald men fighting over a comb,’ the British the Argentine governments are both making belligerent noises again. The fact that neither has a navy big enough to do much about it any more makes it perhaps more poignant. Or ridiculous.
Brief and fast moving, the novel tells the story of three Falkland Islands friends who find a badly injured Argentine conscript hiding out in one of the lonely places in the ‘camp’ (countryside) where they go to play. All their games these days are games of soldiers. There is nothing else to do.
Woken by the sounds of battle the night before, they have all been warned by their parents not to roam too far from home. Terrified when they stumble on the soldier, who is not many years older than they are themselves, they quickly get carried away by the possibilities.
He is an invader in their land. He has been shooting at their soldiers. He is the enemy, and trained to kill. So after not much argument, they decide that they must kill him first. It is their patriotic duty.
How to do it, though? What tools or weapons do they have to overwhelm him with? And when they start to speak with him – the language barrier notwithstanding – can they continue to see him as somehow less than human?
Thirty years on, and despite the fact that the conflict was famously described as ‘two bald men fighting over a comb,’ the British the Argentine governments are both making belligerent noises again. The fact that neither has a navy big enough to do much about it any more makes it perhaps more poignant. Or ridiculous.
Brief and fast moving, the novel tells the story of three Falkland Islands friends who find a badly injured Argentine conscript hiding out in one of the lonely places in the ‘camp’ (countryside) where they go to play. All their games these days are games of soldiers. There is nothing else to do.
Woken by the sounds of battle the night before, they have all been warned by their parents not to roam too far from home. Terrified when they stumble on the soldier, who is not many years older than they are themselves, they quickly get carried away by the possibilities.
He is an invader in their land. He has been shooting at their soldiers. He is the enemy, and trained to kill. So after not much argument, they decide that they must kill him first. It is their patriotic duty.
How to do it, though? What tools or weapons do they have to overwhelm him with? And when they start to speak with him – the language barrier notwithstanding – can they continue to see him as somehow less than human?
72 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1985
21 people want to read
About the author
Jan Needle
72 books32 followersJan Needle has written more than forty books, including novels for adults and children and literary criticism. He also writes plays for stage, TV and radio, including serials and series like Grange Hill, The Bill and Brookside. His first novel, Wild Wood, is a retelling of The Wind in the Willows with Toad, Rat, Mole and Co as the ‘villains’ - a sort of undeserving rural squirearchy – and the stoats and weasels as heroes. A new version was brought out recently by Golden Duck, with the original wonderful illustrations by the late Willie Rushton.
Although he is currently working on a film of perhaps his most celebrated children’s book, My Mate Shofiq, Jan has recently been concentrating on historical novels about his first and most enduring love, the sea, and a series of extremely gritty thrillers. His aim has always been to transcend standard genre writing, which has sometimes brought him disapproval. The ‘hero’ of his first naval fiction, A Fine Boy for Killing, is a borderline sadist, and life on the frigate Welfare undermines almost every heroic myth popularized by earlier writers. Loved or hated, his novels refuse to be ignored.
His thrillers are also firmly in the ‘noir’ spectrum. The most recent is The Bonus Boys, which features a hard-as-nails investigator called Andrew Forbes and his Scottish lover Rosanna ‘the Mouse’ Nixon, who first appeared in Kicking Off, a chilling warning about the fissile state of Britain’s crumbling prisons. More are in the pipeline, as are additions to a series of novellas about crime, the 18th century navy, and the secret world of spies and spying. Even the possibility that Napoleon escaped from his exile on St Helena is examined. Like many ‘mere conspiracy theories’ it uncovers some extraordinary possibilities.
Jan also attempts, in conjunction with Walker Books, to widen the readership for certain classic novels. They include so far Moby Dick, Dracula, the Hunchback of Notre Dame, and The Woman in White, all aimed at a young adult audience . In his spare time, he sails boats and plays a variety of musical instruments.
Although he is currently working on a film of perhaps his most celebrated children’s book, My Mate Shofiq, Jan has recently been concentrating on historical novels about his first and most enduring love, the sea, and a series of extremely gritty thrillers. His aim has always been to transcend standard genre writing, which has sometimes brought him disapproval. The ‘hero’ of his first naval fiction, A Fine Boy for Killing, is a borderline sadist, and life on the frigate Welfare undermines almost every heroic myth popularized by earlier writers. Loved or hated, his novels refuse to be ignored.
His thrillers are also firmly in the ‘noir’ spectrum. The most recent is The Bonus Boys, which features a hard-as-nails investigator called Andrew Forbes and his Scottish lover Rosanna ‘the Mouse’ Nixon, who first appeared in Kicking Off, a chilling warning about the fissile state of Britain’s crumbling prisons. More are in the pipeline, as are additions to a series of novellas about crime, the 18th century navy, and the secret world of spies and spying. Even the possibility that Napoleon escaped from his exile on St Helena is examined. Like many ‘mere conspiracy theories’ it uncovers some extraordinary possibilities.
Jan also attempts, in conjunction with Walker Books, to widen the readership for certain classic novels. They include so far Moby Dick, Dracula, the Hunchback of Notre Dame, and The Woman in White, all aimed at a young adult audience . In his spare time, he sails boats and plays a variety of musical instruments.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
September 26, 2017
As a vet myself, I really appreciate the depth in the characterisation. It's extremely well done and Jan did a great job here.
March 31, 2025
Buen libro
July 4, 2012
Set during the Falklands war, this is a disturbing tale of three children living on the island. The bleakness of the landscape matches their home lives, and they spend their time playing war games for want of any other form of entertainment. There's a youth who is itching to kill somebody, a whining younger boy, and a girl whose sympathies move backwards and forwards between them.
Brainwashed by their parents, when they come across a wounded young Argentinian soldier they see it as their duty to kill him. It's just a question of deciding when and how. Through no fault of their own, none of these children are likeable; they are victims of their life on the island, their families, and war in their back gardens. There's a faint aroma of Lord of the Flies in this tale; it's grim but I did find it compulsive reading.
Brainwashed by their parents, when they come across a wounded young Argentinian soldier they see it as their duty to kill him. It's just a question of deciding when and how. Through no fault of their own, none of these children are likeable; they are victims of their life on the island, their families, and war in their back gardens. There's a faint aroma of Lord of the Flies in this tale; it's grim but I did find it compulsive reading.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews