The Generals

Although I didn't find 'The Generals' to as an absorbing a read as the first book in the quadrilogy, I still rate this as a top quality novel.

The book features two third-person specific narratives. It alternates between blocks of chapters focusing on Napoleon Bonaparte and on Arthur Wellesley.

We get many more battles and politics in this novel compared to the first one, which at times lost my interest. But when it's good, it's really good.

I like the girl-meets-boy storylines in both narratives, particularly Arthur’s.

Only things I can criticise in this compelling story are certain style issues, with ‘telling’, not ‘showing’, being the biggest offence. Things like, ‘He swallowed nervously’ is such an example. This is an show more oft-repeated phrase the author uses in this novel and several other titles I’ve read by him. If the context is obvious to the reader, ‘swallowed’ is enough to ‘show’ the reader that the character is nervous. No need to use an adverb to ‘tell’. Adverbs should be cut wherever possible or replaced with a strong verb.

In most reviews, I deduct a star for style issues like those mentioned above, but not in this case. It’s too good in terms of content. Napoleon and Arthur’s contrasting personalities provide a good change of pace whenever the third-person specific viewpoints change from one to the other.

I look forward to reading the next in the series. show less

First of all, this is not a book review. Since childhood, I've been fascinated by the Napoleonic Era. It seemed logical, therefore, for me to read this series of books by [a:Scarrow, Simon|4327672|Scarrow, Simon|http://www.goodreads.com/assets/nophoto/nophoto-U-50x66-251a730d696018971ef4a443cdeaae05.jpg], which is about two of the most important figures of that time - Napoleon and Sir Arthur Wellesley (later the Duke of Wellington). It was with some surprise, then, that I found myself being drawn more into Wellesley's history in India.

[bc:The Generals|679448|The Generals (Revolution, #2)|Simon Scarrow|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1177084690s/679448.jpg|665850] I confess that my knowledge of Wellesley's early years is sadly lacking. I show more was amazed to discover that this conservative, naturally arrogant, man had a conscience unlike most of his class. He deplored the abuse of the native Indian population by British officers and soldiers, and was forever looking for ways in which the lot of the people could be improved. Of course, this was partly because he recognised the danger of a general uprising - uncounted millions of Indians against a handful of British. It is clear, however, that he also had a moral conscience which drove him to genuinely try to make life better for the common people of India. He believed in Justice, above all else. When he was finally in a position to do so, he introduced new laws and procedures, whereby the beatings and killings of Indians by their British overlords would no longer go unpunished.

A blend of fact and fiction, superbly crafted so that it becomes impossible to tell which is which, these books are worth reading! show less

“Napoleon in Egypt. Wellington in India.” The front cover proclaimed. All right! I thought, finally things will start hotting up after the very slow first novel. But for the first 200 pages it was all I could do to keep my eyes open! This is mainly to do with the fact that there is a lot to do with Josephine and Kitty; the loves of Napoleon and Wellesley (Wellington) and nothing to do with the campaigns in Egypt or India which are my main interests of this period. However, once I had struggled through those 200 pages things got a lot better and started rattling along nicely and by the end of the book I was more than ready for the next book, I just hope that he starts “Fire and Sword” off at a run.

The Generals is the well written back story of both Napoleon and the Duke of Wellington in their parallel struggles to rise to the top. I much preferred Wellington's story--I had not read anything focused upon him, but I found a great deal in his attitude toward India's people and culture to please me.

Great literature this isn't; but it is a real page-turner. Well researched, it is a fictionalised account of the rise to eminence of both Wellington, in India, and Napoleon, in wars against the Italians and Austrians. There are obvious comparisons to Bernard Cornwell, but generally Scarrow is a better writer than his predecessor in the Napoleonic land warfare fiction genre.

I liked this a little less than the first book in the series. It was still interesting and I look forward to the next in the series.

Napoleón es un joven oficial de la Francia revolucionaria dispuesto a poner de manifiesto su ardor militar durante las campañas en Italia y Egipto, lo que no tarda en llevarlo a lo más alto de la política francesa. Mientras, Wellington embarcacon destino a la India, donde se gana la admiración de sus superiores por su inteligencia táctica.