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Rung Ho!
Talbot Mundy (born William Lancaster Gribbon) (1879-1940) was an English writer who wrote under the pseudonym Walter Galt. His most famous book is King of the Khyber Rifles: A Romance of Adventure (1916), which is set in India under British Occupation. He wrote many other books and stories, including Hira Singh: When India Came to Fight in Flanders (1918) and a number of stories about Tros of Samothrace, a Greek freedom fighter who aided Britons and Druids in their fight against Julius Caesar. In 1919, Mundy serialized On the Trail of Tippoo Tib, a novel about treasure hunting and ivory poaching in East Africa, which Mundy always claimed was the most autobiographical of his novels. His other works include Rung Ho! (1914), The Winds of the World (1915), The Ivory Trail (1919), Told in the East (1920), The Eye of Zeitoon (1920), The Guns of the Gods (1921), The Bubble Reputation (1923), Caves of Terror (1922), and The Lion of Petra (1922).
264 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1914
About the author
Talbot Mundy
477 books56 followersTalbot Mundy (born William Lancaster Gribbon) was an English-born American writer of adventure fiction. Based for most of his life in the United States, he also wrote under the pseudonym of Walter Galt. Best known as the author of King of the Khyber Rifles and the Jimgrim series, much of his work was published in pulp magazines.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
October 11, 2018
India in the 1850's, during the tense moments right before the Sepoy Rebellion. We have a Scots missionary and his daughter trying to Do Good. We have a young and untried soldier named Cunningham arriving to begin his career, hoping to live up to the reputation his father and grandfather created before him. And we have a Rajput soldier who served with Father and has high hopes for the youngster. But will Cunningham live up to expectations? Will he be the man and the soldier that he needs to be in what turns into a very dangerous time?
This was a great adventure tale, a history lesson, and a romance all in one. Exciting action, manly men, wonderful horses, confusing intrigues, and an old 'untouchable' servant named Joanna who really should have her own book: she was awesome!
I am slowly working my way through Mundy's list of titles at Gutenberg, and I am already looking forward to the next time I visit India with him.
This was a great adventure tale, a history lesson, and a romance all in one. Exciting action, manly men, wonderful horses, confusing intrigues, and an old 'untouchable' servant named Joanna who really should have her own book: she was awesome!
I am slowly working my way through Mundy's list of titles at Gutenberg, and I am already looking forward to the next time I visit India with him.
June 28, 2020
3 1/2 stars. Solid pulp adventure based immediately prior to the Indian Rebellion of 1857. Medium racist-ish: no epithets, plenty of stereotypes, and the entire novel is about a white savior, but literally every other British character is shown in a negative light (there are some good Scots, but they're missionaries, dedicated to stamping out suttee, making them kind of a wash, I suppose), Mundy is definitely an anticolonialist, and the vast majority of the non-white characters are depicted as good people. Not as good or as vehemently anti-imperialist as much of Mundy's later work, nor does it touch on the fantastic the way so many of his later novels do; still, good for the time period and well constructed and written, with a fair amount of vivid (male) characterization.
September 20, 2022
Rung Ho! by Talbot Mundy
About twenty years ago, I read some books by this author. Although I have forgotten much of the specific content, I do remember that his novels were highly engrossing and enjoyable. I know that I read King - Of The Khyber Rifles and a couple of others in the Jimgrim series. I also read Mundy’s later work, OM - The Secret of Ahbor Valley. The books I read at that time all have mystical and metaphysical elements intertwined into their stories, which makes them different from Mundy's first novel, Rung Ho! which is primarily a historical story set in the months before the Sepoy uprising against British rule in 1857.
The book, first published in 1914, has a powerful sense of time and place, which really takes you back to India in the mid 19th century. You can feel the oppressive heat, see the unfamiliar sights, and hear the commotion in the crowded streets.
Through the narrative, Talbot Mundy makes it plain that he had little sympathy with the British colonial rule at the time. Having traveled widely in many countries such as India and Africa, the author had an uncommon understanding of the cultures, religious beliefs, and sensibilities of local peoples in various regions.
Much pulp literature at the time extolled the virtue of British colonialism, and disparaged the native peoples as uncivilized, dishonest, and unreliable. Mundy, however, goes very much against the grain by relating how British incompetence, complacency, and a misplaced sense of superiority contributed to a mounting dissatisfaction and indignation which eventually erupted into the Indian Rebellion.
Although this is primarily an adventure story with fictional characters, the complex culture of India is described in considerable detail, as well as how the adherents of various faiths interact together and what views they hold of one another. The Muhammadan, Hindu, and Sikh protagonists who are on the side of peace are as honorable as any Englishman, and often even more so.
Mundy does not seem to have had a favorable view of religious leaders and priests, which is reflected in the story itself and by some of the poems which appear as chapter headings. The Hindu priests are unscrupulous in seeking to control the political situation by any method possible, and although a missionary from Scotland and his daughter have a firm religious faith and are convinced that they can change the situation of the local people for the better, their efforts prove to be entirely futile. I think Mundy respected the sincerity of Christian missionaries, but at the same time fully understood how many of the local people would feel about foreigners trying to change their cherished religious beliefs and customs. This is not to say that Talbot Mundy could avoid entirely the racial and gender prejudices of the age he lived in, but I think he was in some ways a man ahead of his time.
In summary, Rung Ho! is an extremely well written and fast-paced story, encompassing history, culture, high adventure and romance. Although the characters are all fictional, the reader can learn a lot from its pages, even more than a century after it was written.
About twenty years ago, I read some books by this author. Although I have forgotten much of the specific content, I do remember that his novels were highly engrossing and enjoyable. I know that I read King - Of The Khyber Rifles and a couple of others in the Jimgrim series. I also read Mundy’s later work, OM - The Secret of Ahbor Valley. The books I read at that time all have mystical and metaphysical elements intertwined into their stories, which makes them different from Mundy's first novel, Rung Ho! which is primarily a historical story set in the months before the Sepoy uprising against British rule in 1857.
The book, first published in 1914, has a powerful sense of time and place, which really takes you back to India in the mid 19th century. You can feel the oppressive heat, see the unfamiliar sights, and hear the commotion in the crowded streets.
Through the narrative, Talbot Mundy makes it plain that he had little sympathy with the British colonial rule at the time. Having traveled widely in many countries such as India and Africa, the author had an uncommon understanding of the cultures, religious beliefs, and sensibilities of local peoples in various regions.
Much pulp literature at the time extolled the virtue of British colonialism, and disparaged the native peoples as uncivilized, dishonest, and unreliable. Mundy, however, goes very much against the grain by relating how British incompetence, complacency, and a misplaced sense of superiority contributed to a mounting dissatisfaction and indignation which eventually erupted into the Indian Rebellion.
Although this is primarily an adventure story with fictional characters, the complex culture of India is described in considerable detail, as well as how the adherents of various faiths interact together and what views they hold of one another. The Muhammadan, Hindu, and Sikh protagonists who are on the side of peace are as honorable as any Englishman, and often even more so.
Mundy does not seem to have had a favorable view of religious leaders and priests, which is reflected in the story itself and by some of the poems which appear as chapter headings. The Hindu priests are unscrupulous in seeking to control the political situation by any method possible, and although a missionary from Scotland and his daughter have a firm religious faith and are convinced that they can change the situation of the local people for the better, their efforts prove to be entirely futile. I think Mundy respected the sincerity of Christian missionaries, but at the same time fully understood how many of the local people would feel about foreigners trying to change their cherished religious beliefs and customs. This is not to say that Talbot Mundy could avoid entirely the racial and gender prejudices of the age he lived in, but I think he was in some ways a man ahead of his time.
In summary, Rung Ho! is an extremely well written and fast-paced story, encompassing history, culture, high adventure and romance. Although the characters are all fictional, the reader can learn a lot from its pages, even more than a century after it was written.
February 5, 2019
Few writers in the adventure genre are as good as Talbot Mundy at setting the stage for the action to come. This is especially true in his first novel, Rung Ho!. It's an exceptional work in many ways. For not only does it place itself firmly within the tradition of adventure writing in the first half of the last century, but it also achieves some subtle character development, especially with Mohammed Gunga and Alwa. True, this all collapses towards the book's end, especially after leaving Alwa's desert eyrie, into cliched figures manning the battlements of pure action. But what action it is!
Yet, as indicated, it's the atmosphere of India, set against the Indian Mutiny of 1857, that is so enjoyable in Rung Ho!. Mundy has a talent for establishing a sense of place and, in this case, a sense of time. He travels through two veils, so to speak. This is the Raj of the pre automobile and pre airplane era. Even the railway has yet to make an impact on the subcontinent. It is a world of stone palaces, timber and earthen huts, carved out caverns, all reached only on horseback or in carts and carriages. This landscape withers under a blistering sun along the day and chills its inhabitants during clear nights punctuated with starlight.
And Mundy achieves this effect without projecting his values of pre World War I America and Europe into the middle of the nineteenth century. What he does do, however, is emphasize those values that were common to both eras. Hence, Mundy writes a story that turns on the concepts of honor and the worthiness of one person's word given to another. It culminates in satisfying action and serves as a parable for following a moral course of action.
Yet, as indicated, it's the atmosphere of India, set against the Indian Mutiny of 1857, that is so enjoyable in Rung Ho!. Mundy has a talent for establishing a sense of place and, in this case, a sense of time. He travels through two veils, so to speak. This is the Raj of the pre automobile and pre airplane era. Even the railway has yet to make an impact on the subcontinent. It is a world of stone palaces, timber and earthen huts, carved out caverns, all reached only on horseback or in carts and carriages. This landscape withers under a blistering sun along the day and chills its inhabitants during clear nights punctuated with starlight.
And Mundy achieves this effect without projecting his values of pre World War I America and Europe into the middle of the nineteenth century. What he does do, however, is emphasize those values that were common to both eras. Hence, Mundy writes a story that turns on the concepts of honor and the worthiness of one person's word given to another. It culminates in satisfying action and serves as a parable for following a moral course of action.
June 12, 2017
This is not only Talbot Mundy's first novel, it is also my first novel by Talbot Mundy. I downloaded the complete works from Delphi Classics and read Rung Ho on my Kindle. I enjoyed it immensely. I was expecting fluff but what I discovered was a well-written adventure yarn that held my attention from start to finish. Mundy does a great job of recreating the India of the 1857 Sepoy Mutiny. I am reminded of Lawrence the of Arabia, the story of whom was still to be told a few years after the publication of Rung Ho. There is even a moment that predates that great shot of Omar Sharif riding out of the desert. I am looking forward to reading his next novel. The works of Talbot Mundy might turn out to be an addiction.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews