The Devils Own: Sergeant 'Fancy Jack' Crossman and the Battle of the Alma (Sergeant 'Fancy Jack' Crossman series) by Garry Kilworth

Sergeant Jack Crossman #1

by Garry Kilworth

Sergeant John Crossman of the 88th regiment fighting in the Crimean War, is singled out by his commanding officer to go on a series of suicide missions - known as "fox hunts" - against the vicious Cossacks. Crossman is determined to whip his men into shape and not only survive, but win.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Historical, Fiction, Military Fiction

Unknown Binding

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

Garry Douglas Kilworth is a historical novelist who also published sci-fi, fantasy, and juvenile fiction.

Kilworth is a graduate of King's College London. He was previously a science fiction author, having published one hundred twenty short stories and seventy novels.

Reviews

[Clemens · Rating 4 out of 5]

The year is AD 1854, and Sergeant Jack Crossman of the 88th regiment finds himself in this Crimean War and in the thick of the action against the Russians, who are supported by the French.

When Jack Crossman gets singled out by his Commanding officer, and to be sent on suicide missions, so called "fox hunts", will his life become even more dangerous when trying to infiltrate within the enemy camp.

What is to follow is an entertaining account of the Battle of the Alma, and the subsequent slaughter on both sides, while Jack crossman and his men are trying hard to infiltrate and sabotage the Russians in every way possible.

Very much recommended, for this is a very likeable first episode of this delightful series, and that's why I like to call this book: "A Very Enjoyable Jack Crossman Battle"!

[Sho · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a young girl I grew up hearing tales of historical battles, mostly featuring cavalry, and grew up in a series of places featuring names like Alma and Vimy. Every now and agan my father and his colleagues would buff up their best uniforms and there would be some sort of parade featuring names like Blues and Royals and Queen Elizabeth the second.

For I grew up the daughter of a member of the household cavalry, the daughter of a soldier of the 5th Royal Dragoons (who algamated with The Blues to form the Blues and Royals) who before that had been called other things. But the main point was that they had been present, and won honours, at many of the big battles that we used to learn about in history lessons.

At these big regimental occasions we would sit in the regimental chapel and I'd look at the flags, pennants and guidons and if I was lucky one of my parents would tell me about the battle where it had been captured. The regimental cap-badge featured an eagle, and it was one of my favourite tales to hear about the capture of one of Napoleon's Eagles.

So it's not surprising to hear that I've already devoured all of Bernard Cornwell's Sharpe novels, three or four times each. Not able to face them again (at least for a while) I've been casting around for something else to read - but is there anything 'out there' that is as good? It was with a little bit of trepidition that I opened a packet from my father and out fell The Devil's Own featuring Sergeant Jack Crossman.

Where Sharpe is set mostly in the Peninsula Wars (boo hiss, those Frenchies and Napoleon) Jack Crossman is fighting in the Crimea. Where Sharpe comes from a background of grinding poverty, crime and the Workhouse but nevertheless finds himself an Officer (if not a Gentleman), Jack Crossman is a Gentleman who finds himself serving Queen and Country as a non-comissioned officer: a sergeant.

At this point I'm going to mention that GD Kilworth has written many books. Very many, both for children and adults in the sci-fi genre. He also served in both the RAF and the British Army before taking up writing as a career. So knowing this about him, I expected at least to find myself reading a competently written novel.

Which is what I got. Kilworth has done his research, and he describes the life of a private soldier very well. The plot gets going very quickly, but I found it a little flat with the decription of the battle of the Amla dragging on a little too much for me. It will also take a little getting used to not being forward with the Rifles, skirmishing towards the enemy, picking off the officers but being back in the lines.

So what about Jack Crossman? I think his background and reasons for serving as an NCO will be revealed slowly over the course of the series (four novels so far) but that is a good thing. All we really know about him, and pretty early on in the book too, is that he's a gentleman, educated and clever and that he went to Harrow. He, along with a rag-tag group of soldiers are taken away from regular service and assembled into a sort of snatch-squad - probably a forerunner of the SAS, who have to gather intelligence and carry out small, dangerous missions. In The Devil's Own it is to rescue a couple of officers who were captured on a map-making expedition and imprisoned in Sebastopol.

Along the way we are introduced to his motley crew, who are not all what they seem, and some enigmatic female characters to show that Crossman is easily as red-blooded as Richard Sharpe - and sorry about the comparisons but really, it is too easy.

I didn't think this was as well plotted or as well-written as anything by Bernard Cornwell, but it fills a gap that I need to have filling, and I'm already looking forward to reading books two and three which I have heard are in the post on the way to me.

[D.w. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Men's fiction encompasses a lot of ground. Here we look at that time before the American Civil War, nearly the last major altercation to beset Europe before the WWI. The Crimean War.

Our hero has a bit of a far fetched background. Educated as a gentleman, and with claims on his father, he decides to join the ranks. Within the ranks though he acts much more as we expect men of our own generation to act, instead of how men of his times act. Which all his contemporaries in the ranks do act so. We also see our hero fighting against buffoonery in the ranks of officers, instead of those officers who are also fed up with such foolishness, separating our hero from the fools so he can continue to do the work he needs to accomplish.

This was written before Wilcox and his Simon Fonthill where we find a writer a little more deft at weaving the fools to one side and allowing good soldiering to emerge. The author also feels the need to bring in additional POV characters that we may see more of the battle that our hero does not participate in. That we see details through these characters eyes to give us more description and setting, yet they are only with us for a few pages and then gone. Perhaps better would have been to make additional characters that we could follow for the length of the entire book.

In all it satisfies but it could be better and stronger.

[Robert Hepple · Rating 4 out of 5]

First published in 1997, 'The Devil's Own' is the first a series of novels featuring Sergeant Crossman of the 1850s British Army. A rather generic plot set in the Crimean War with the usual wealth of good and bad characters, incompetent officers, snobbery et al. That said. the period detail is nicely done if only occasionally overdone, and makes for a pleasant if undemanding read.

[Tony · Rating 4 out of 5]

Picked up in second hand shop. So enjoyed great characters and story and great to read about Crimean War.
My copy was written as Garry Douglas for some strange reason.

Try to find the rest of the series now =)

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

A real boys own adventure set in the Crimean War. Jack Crossman is a gentleman on the wrong side of the social divide - looked down upon by his officers and viewed with suspicion by his men makes for a fascinating tale of reluctant derring-do.

[James Christensen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Crimean War 1854 -1856 - well written, entertaining & informative

[Mark Donald · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a brilliant book lots of action and plots plenty to get stuck into

[William Carter · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very enjoyable read, nicely paced. The start of a good series I hope.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think the Author has definately suffered here, not so much from a poorly conceived or written book, far from it; but from writing this novel in a heavily saturated market. The Author's choice of theatre and period is definately a more original one and his research and depiction of the Allied inadequacies at this early stage of the Crimean War are spot on. However, I can't help but feel that he has been forced into finding an original angle to make the main protagonist stand out from the crowd. Parallels and comparisons with the likes of Scarrow and Cornwell are both inevitable and unfair, but I myself couldn't help but keep making almost unconscious comparisons as the initial character development began. However, ad the story progresses I was pleased to see that the sheer range of both central and incidental characters, were handled very well by the Author, with the various individual experiences adding up to offer an almost panoramic view of the battlefield. This is definately another book in the category of three and a half stars. What it perhaps lacks in originality, it more than makes up for in its wealth of different characters, good, bad, incomptent and downright despicable.

[Books and Brews · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars.
This was a fun rollick of a book through the Crimean War. There is a little bit of everything in it: rivalry, intrigue, romance, big battles, small gun fights, honour and dishonour. The writing is quite workmanlike, so don't expect a literary truffle, and research that Kilworth has done gives a realistic picture of what life was like on the battlefield for ordinary soldiers in the mid-nineteenth century.

The main character is a complex, honourable man, the son of a minor noble, who's fallen out with his birth family and changed his name to join the rank and file of the army rather than buy a command. One of the other characters is a young girl who's an amazeballs sharpshooter, in the army disguised at a boy.

It took me far loner to read than it should have, not because it was in any way boring, but because I was reading too many other books at the same time.

I have now purchased the following two books in the series and look forward to reading more of Jack Crossman's adventures.

[Wilde Sky · Rating 4 out of 5]

During the Crimean War a Sergeant, who has a secret aristocratic background, and some of his “men” are selected for special / clandestine duties which leads them into a series of adventures.

The writing style and characters are good. The action descriptions are generally good – but occasionally the level of detail makes the novel feel a bit like a history lesson.

A really good read if you like boys own adventures. I’ll probably look out for more books in the series and / or by the same author.

[William Pontarelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reminiscent of Richard Sharpe. Interesting, vivid details of the Crimean War. Good place to begin historical search.

[Rudi Opperman · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you like war stories, you'll like this book.