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Red Runs the Helmand
Set in the 1880s, this is a gripping adventure in which Mercer brilliantly reenacts the lives of soldiers in the Second Anglo-Afghan War. Anthony Morgan, now just appointed as general, has two of his sons, one his legitimate heir, one his bastard, both fighting in the ranks. Morgan has arrived just as one of the rival princelings has begun to control Herat, and is determined to carve out some power for himself, and so embarks upon marching to Kandahar, determined to remove the British governor and take the city and province as his own kingdom. Morgan's life is not made easier by problems with the other generals and in particular his own difficulties in dealing with the growing rivalry between his two sons.
373 pages, Hardcover
First published April 1, 2011
About the author
Patrick Mercer
18 books9 followersBorn in 1956, Patrick Mercer read History at Oxford University before joining the Army. He commanded his battalion in Bosnia and Canada. Previously receiving a gallantry commendation, he was awarded the OBE in 1997. In 1999, Patrick Mercer accepted a post as the Defence Reporter for the Today Programme. In the 2001 election, he won the Tory seat in Newark. A respected historian, he has already published a non-fiction account of the Inkerman battle during the Crimean War.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
August 9, 2022
Entertaining story of the Maiwand campaign. I am always a little nervous when fictional characters are introduced into history and surrounded by real people, especially when one of those fictional characters is at a senior level, but the author handles it well and the relationships between characters are very realistic.
May 7, 2012
A region that has been fought over for centuries, a region so hostile that Alexander the Great sought treaties with the locals rather than have to fight his way across the region.
It's a lesson that no one has learned and even today we seem to have forgotten!
Unlike the action that our troops are seeing today, this story is set in the time of Empire the time of great adventurers and privileged fools.
This the third book in Mercer's Anthony Morgan trilogy follows a British general (Morgan) through the political minefields of the day to day life in command to the action on the battlefields and the family quarrels between his two sons.
This is a story of blood action, old fashioned rifles and guts and for some glory and other a grim death in the arid regions of a hostile land. War is Hell and this story tells it straight...yet still leaves you with a wistful feeling of wanting to join our troops to share that glory, to be part of the great push for empire, to go where few have gone before.
The book has been excellently written to cover the history but allow the reader to see the parallels with today's troubles.
If you like your military history then you will love this book and the rest of the series.
Recommended
Product Description (from back of book)
Set in the 1880s, this is a gripping adventure in which Mercer brilliantly reenacts the lives of soldiers in the Second Anglo-Afghan War.
Anthony Morgan, now just appointed as general, has two of his sons, one his legitimate heir, one his bastard, both fighting in the ranks.
Morgan has arrived just as one of the rival princelings has begun to control Herat, and is determined to carve out some power for himself, and so embarks upon marching to Kandahar, determined to remove the British governor and take the city and province as his own kingdom.
Morgan's life is not made easier by problems with the other generals and in particular his own difficulties in dealing with the growing rivalry between his two sons.
(Parm)
It's a lesson that no one has learned and even today we seem to have forgotten!
Unlike the action that our troops are seeing today, this story is set in the time of Empire the time of great adventurers and privileged fools.
This the third book in Mercer's Anthony Morgan trilogy follows a British general (Morgan) through the political minefields of the day to day life in command to the action on the battlefields and the family quarrels between his two sons.
This is a story of blood action, old fashioned rifles and guts and for some glory and other a grim death in the arid regions of a hostile land. War is Hell and this story tells it straight...yet still leaves you with a wistful feeling of wanting to join our troops to share that glory, to be part of the great push for empire, to go where few have gone before.
The book has been excellently written to cover the history but allow the reader to see the parallels with today's troubles.
If you like your military history then you will love this book and the rest of the series.
Recommended
Product Description (from back of book)
Set in the 1880s, this is a gripping adventure in which Mercer brilliantly reenacts the lives of soldiers in the Second Anglo-Afghan War.
Anthony Morgan, now just appointed as general, has two of his sons, one his legitimate heir, one his bastard, both fighting in the ranks.
Morgan has arrived just as one of the rival princelings has begun to control Herat, and is determined to carve out some power for himself, and so embarks upon marching to Kandahar, determined to remove the British governor and take the city and province as his own kingdom.
Morgan's life is not made easier by problems with the other generals and in particular his own difficulties in dealing with the growing rivalry between his two sons.
(Parm)
April 27, 2014
This was probably the weakest of the trilogy, however it was still quite an enjoyable book. Morgan has grown and is nearly 50 by the this book and both his sons -who have a mutual dislike of each other- are grown too and both in the army.
The book ties up some lose ends and rounds the series off well with the continual usage of well known and likeable characters and some tragedy too.
The major criticism I have of the book is the frequent use of french words. I don't remember that from the other two in the series and on one page there were 4 uses of various words in italics. Odd.
The book ties up some lose ends and rounds the series off well with the continual usage of well known and likeable characters and some tragedy too.
The major criticism I have of the book is the frequent use of french words. I don't remember that from the other two in the series and on one page there were 4 uses of various words in italics. Odd.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews