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Captain Rawson #2
Drums of War
We come across our hero, Captain Rawson, deep inside the war-ravaged borders of Europe, as he fights alongside the brave and resolute Earl of Marlborough in defeating the, self-proclaimed, ‘invincible’ French army. Yet victory is short lived, blunted by the dissenting voices of the Dutch, who secretly seek to wrestle the power and life from Rawson’s compatriot, Marlborough. In these hostile and insecure times, Captain Rawson is called on to succeed in his biggest, most daring mission to the rescue of a celebrated tapestry-maker turned spy from inside the fortified Bastille – the pride of a despotic France. Now alone behind enemy-lines, the undaunted Rawson must apply all his guile and wit in his rescuing of the renowned prisoner and his beautiful daughter, Amalia – a delicate girl to whom Rawson’s friendship soon blossoms into something more. However, unbeknownst to Rawson the French and Dutch have already combined to plot both the assassination of Marlborough and the reclaiming of his power. This time Europe is beginning to close in on him, and it will take all of his self-sacrifice, skill and sincerity to once again rescue the war and the army’s pride from out of the clutches of the betrayers.
310 pages, Hardcover
First published November 10, 2008
11 people are currently reading
129 people want to read
About the author
Edward Marston
228 books467 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
A pseudonym used by Keith Miles
AKA A.E. Marston
Keith Miles (born 1940) is an English author, who writes under his own name and also historical fiction and mystery novels under the pseudonym Edward Marston. He is known for his mysteries set in the world of Elizabethan theatre. He has also written a series of novels based on events in the Domesday Book, a series of The Railway Detective and a series of The Home Front Detective.
Series contributed to:
. Malice Domestic
. Crime Through Time
. Perfectly Criminal
A pseudonym used by Keith Miles
AKA A.E. Marston
Keith Miles (born 1940) is an English author, who writes under his own name and also historical fiction and mystery novels under the pseudonym Edward Marston. He is known for his mysteries set in the world of Elizabethan theatre. He has also written a series of novels based on events in the Domesday Book, a series of The Railway Detective and a series of The Home Front Detective.
Series contributed to:
. Malice Domestic
. Crime Through Time
. Perfectly Criminal
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
August 2, 2017
Another good story with a strong story line and many a twist along the way.
Looking forward to reading the next book in the series.
Looking forward to reading the next book in the series.
October 31, 2018
Edward Marston is a brilliant storyteller! His characters are unforgettable, whether they're from his imagination or actual historical figures, with a fantastic story weaved around them all.
Set a year after his victory at the Battle of Blenheim, the Duke of Marlborough is masterminding another big battle. He has his trouble with the Dutch allies, who would rather sue for peace. The duke also suffers several humiliating about turns, where the allied troops had to retreat from the battlefield without any shots being fired.
Eventually, the Duke of Marlborough, along with his translator, Captain Daniel Rawson, goes onto the field of battle. There is the almost inevitable rout of the French army of Louis XIV and the duke is congratulated at a banquet in his honour.
Daniel Rawson is alerted to danger by the daughter of a Dutch tapestry maker and manages to prevent the duke's assassination.
Looking forward to the next book in the series.
Set a year after his victory at the Battle of Blenheim, the Duke of Marlborough is masterminding another big battle. He has his trouble with the Dutch allies, who would rather sue for peace. The duke also suffers several humiliating about turns, where the allied troops had to retreat from the battlefield without any shots being fired.
Eventually, the Duke of Marlborough, along with his translator, Captain Daniel Rawson, goes onto the field of battle. There is the almost inevitable rout of the French army of Louis XIV and the duke is congratulated at a banquet in his honour.
Daniel Rawson is alerted to danger by the daughter of a Dutch tapestry maker and manages to prevent the duke's assassination.
Looking forward to the next book in the series.
May 25, 2020
Not a 'bad' book, but I struggled to enjoy this.
I think I may be judging too harshly (hence a 3 rather than a 2) as I'd just read a Sharpe book and I've loved Sharpe for years. Unfortunately, as a man who loves both the Sharpe Books and the James Bond Books, reading this felt like a bit of a let down. Daniel Rawson (British officer promoted from the ranks, fighting a European war, and going on spy missions that involve beautiful ladies) seems like an attempt to be some cross between the two However, in my opinion he is too perfect to be likable. He lacks Richard Sharpe's roguishness or James Bond's cynicism, and is effortlessly brilliant at everything he does - not what I want from a hero.
Again, I am perhaps being unfair as I'd just read a book by a longtime favourite author and couldn't help comparing this book with that, but this just wasn't for me and I won't be reading any more of Captain Rawson.
I think I may be judging too harshly (hence a 3 rather than a 2) as I'd just read a Sharpe book and I've loved Sharpe for years. Unfortunately, as a man who loves both the Sharpe Books and the James Bond Books, reading this felt like a bit of a let down. Daniel Rawson (British officer promoted from the ranks, fighting a European war, and going on spy missions that involve beautiful ladies) seems like an attempt to be some cross between the two However, in my opinion he is too perfect to be likable. He lacks Richard Sharpe's roguishness or James Bond's cynicism, and is effortlessly brilliant at everything he does - not what I want from a hero.
Again, I am perhaps being unfair as I'd just read a book by a longtime favourite author and couldn't help comparing this book with that, but this just wasn't for me and I won't be reading any more of Captain Rawson.
May 11, 2025
Daniel Rawson is a Captain in the 24th Foot in the army of Duke Marlborough. Having been promoted from the ranks, Daniel's ability to speak English, Dutch and French is invaluable. So he is sent to Paris to find the whereabouts of a Dutch spy.
He sneaks into Paris via the front door, finds the daughter of his target and moves her to a safe house... whilst falling in love with her - and vice-versa. He finds out her father is in the Bastille, and having determined there is nothing he can do, returns to the camp, attempts to rescue him.
If this is starting to feel unlikely, fear not. There is a second story throughout the book to keep our attention on the 24th Foot. A newly arrived drummer boy is being victimised by a Major. And he turns to Daniel to help him. This could be a perfect opportunity to bring the book down to earth. But because Daniel is sent to Paris he can't do anything to save the drummer.
Upon escaping Paris, Daniel and his party and captured, promptly escape and return to the army. All in time to fight the Battle of Ramillies.
Daniel join's the Duke's closest advisors, is involved with a cavalry charge, and saves the Duke.
Oh dear... Daniel Rawson is there nothing you can't do? And herein lies the problem. At no point in the book did he fail to do something he attempted. Sure he was ambushed... but escaped. That was the greatest bit of peril in the book. And that's without the whole Bastille debacle.
The secondary story is also weak with a very unsatisfactory ending. I will try book three, but I don't hold out a lot of hope given this book.
He sneaks into Paris via the front door, finds the daughter of his target and moves her to a safe house... whilst falling in love with her - and vice-versa. He finds out her father is in the Bastille, and having determined there is nothing he can do, returns to the camp, attempts to rescue him.
If this is starting to feel unlikely, fear not. There is a second story throughout the book to keep our attention on the 24th Foot. A newly arrived drummer boy is being victimised by a Major. And he turns to Daniel to help him. This could be a perfect opportunity to bring the book down to earth. But because Daniel is sent to Paris he can't do anything to save the drummer.
Upon escaping Paris, Daniel and his party and captured, promptly escape and return to the army. All in time to fight the Battle of Ramillies.
Daniel join's the Duke's closest advisors, is involved with a cavalry charge, and saves the Duke.
Oh dear... Daniel Rawson is there nothing you can't do? And herein lies the problem. At no point in the book did he fail to do something he attempted. Sure he was ambushed... but escaped. That was the greatest bit of peril in the book. And that's without the whole Bastille debacle.
The secondary story is also weak with a very unsatisfactory ending. I will try book three, but I don't hold out a lot of hope given this book.
September 30, 2018
Predictable tale with an upper class hero. Captain Rawson is the exact opposite of Sharp in Bernard Cornwell's books. Rawson knows how to at in polite society and is a true officer, despite not quite agreeing with the views of weaker officers. Whereas Sharp adds gritty realism to books, Rawson seems somehow more out of place. The language and his manners are too polite. The love interest too perfect. Rawson is still an OK character and the tale is OK rather than great.
March 4, 2018
No better than the first of the series. At least it's short. I don't really understand why Marston has churned out a hundred bad novels, instead of taking the time to write say 10 good ones. Oh well.
June 15, 2020
Like book 1 an enthralling read.
November 5, 2020
Marston makes war slow tactics until bodies fall. Capt Dan plots scary rescue of tapestry-maker in Bastille, lovely daughter, servants trapped at home. Sgt Wellbeck has nephew drummer Tom, persecuted by Major Cracknell. Allies thwart Duke of Wellington. Typo: 16.44 fontage IS fontange
October 30, 2021
A slow starter and not as good as Cornwell, but the story was pretty strong.
January 29, 2024
Much better story and good development of character, looking forward to next story.
March 16, 2025
A good military adventure with a good look at the history of the war of Spanish succession.
December 19, 2014
This is the second in the series of books about Captain Daniel Rawson, an officer in the British Army during the Spanish War of Succession and certainly an improvement on the first (Soldier of fortune) IMHO.
In this book Daniel is sent on a secret mission to Paris to rescue a Dutch tapestry maker cum spy who has gone missing. Away from his unit we get to see Daniel's character more widely, where he just act on his own intuition and resourcefulness rather than merely follow orders and as such we get much more of a boy's own yarn which on the whole is told well. There are also a couple of interesting sub-plots concerning an assassination attempt on the Duke of Marlborough, overall leader of the Allied forces, and a young drummer boy who becomes victimised by an over-bearing officer. These are again told well and give a little added colour.
However,for me,there are still problems with the book. Firstly, the love affair between Daniel and the tapestry maker's daughter Amalia just seemed somewhat forced.Secondly when we finally get to a pitched battle between the two opposing armies it lacks a certain passion and tends to read more like a history lesson rather than a account of someone who was supposedly actually there. Once again this feels such a shame as on the whole I felt that the story slipped along at a decent pace.
Edward Marston is certainly no Alexander Kent or Bernard Cornwell but I intend to press on with the next in the series at least.
In this book Daniel is sent on a secret mission to Paris to rescue a Dutch tapestry maker cum spy who has gone missing. Away from his unit we get to see Daniel's character more widely, where he just act on his own intuition and resourcefulness rather than merely follow orders and as such we get much more of a boy's own yarn which on the whole is told well. There are also a couple of interesting sub-plots concerning an assassination attempt on the Duke of Marlborough, overall leader of the Allied forces, and a young drummer boy who becomes victimised by an over-bearing officer. These are again told well and give a little added colour.
However,for me,there are still problems with the book. Firstly, the love affair between Daniel and the tapestry maker's daughter Amalia just seemed somewhat forced.Secondly when we finally get to a pitched battle between the two opposing armies it lacks a certain passion and tends to read more like a history lesson rather than a account of someone who was supposedly actually there. Once again this feels such a shame as on the whole I felt that the story slipped along at a decent pace.
Edward Marston is certainly no Alexander Kent or Bernard Cornwell but I intend to press on with the next in the series at least.
July 4, 2012
A random pickup from a charity shop. I am glad I didn't pay full price for this pulp. The language and descriptions felt cliched and stifled. To be honest I kept thinking this book had been written by a teenager for someone with a limited reading age, or else it has been edited with that audience in mind. This is not Sharpe by any stretch of the imagination.What is really missing is any sense of time or place behind the wooden cut-out characters. You don't 'feel the period' in this work. There is no sense of drama and the threadbare plot simply plods from A to B. These factors are probably why I kept thinking this was a book aimed at children. Passingly I made mental comparisons with the pulp fiction of the 1920s and 30s but that would be doing E.R. Burroughs and similar a disservice. Certainly this series is not a patch on the Jack Absolute series of C.C. Humphreys.
January 6, 2013
This is such a copy of the Sharpe novels you can never rid yourself of the thought that his book is Sharpe Lite.
It reads well and quickly but the hero is just too perfect to be believable.
The era it deals with, the British Army in the Low Countries under Marlborough, has been well researched but like I said the parallels between all the characters and the Sharpe novels are too close to make the best reading.
Edward Marston has quite a good go at describing battles but isn't in the same league as Bernard Cornwell.
I recall now I have read two other books in this series - enough said.
It reads well and quickly but the hero is just too perfect to be believable.
The era it deals with, the British Army in the Low Countries under Marlborough, has been well researched but like I said the parallels between all the characters and the Sharpe novels are too close to make the best reading.
Edward Marston has quite a good go at describing battles but isn't in the same league as Bernard Cornwell.
I recall now I have read two other books in this series - enough said.
February 23, 2016
Just rollicking good escapism fun. Nothing too taxing, with fairly simple characters and an engaging plot. As a fan of the Flashman novels, it was interesting to read about a good, clean, solid British hero-type who is the antithesis of Flashman. I would call this a nice, light holiday read.
April 27, 2020
A decent but not too taxing read in the second of the Captain Rawson series. Love the central character as he rescues an important spy from the Bastille and thwarts the nasty French. Lacks depth but is a decent afternoon meander.
March 23, 2010
I really liked the Inspector Robert Colbeck series, but have had trouble getting into this series, though I keep trying...
January 9, 2011
A good series, but not up to Sharpe status
October 14, 2013
Pretty poorly written piece of hokum but enjoyable for all that.
Boy's Own Stuff (except there is a bit of sex chucked in)
Boy's Own Stuff (except there is a bit of sex chucked in)
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews