
A Close Run Thing
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Narrated by:
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Errick Graham
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By:
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Allan Mallinson
It's 1814, and Napoleon is hard-pressed to defend France from a combination of Russia, Prussia, Austria and Britain. Nor is he the only one in a quandary.
Matthew Hervey, a young British cornet, is in a rather unusual situation. As far as he knows, it's highly irregular to be arrested on a battlefield after a successful action.
Still, it's hardly the first time politics has interrupted war, and as Hervey's career progresses, he increasingly balances both, sometimes more successfully than others!
©2000 Allan Mallinson (P)2017 W.F. Howes LtdListeners also enjoyed...













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Excellent
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I love historical fiction, and this story was good, but it wasn’t griping and page turning. I never once felt the story was boring or desired to stop listening, I never once regretted selecting the book, and I am glad I listened, but I regret to say I never felt I needed to hear what would next. The descriptions paint a clear picture of the landscape, life and times. You can absolutely walk off the page into the story. But, if you are coming into this book from the Cornwell’s Sharpe series, Mathew Hervey is not Richard Sharpe, nor is the story fast paced in the manner of Cornwell’s books. I liked a Close a Run thing well enough to buy the second book in the series, but despite this I have not felt compelled enough to listen to what happens to Mathew Hervey in his next adventure. One day I will find out what happens but not just yet.
Close, oh so close
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1. I thought the book lacked excitement. I never got the feeling of “being in the action” so to speak as I do when reading the Sharpe books. For example, Instead of saying “Matthew Hervey closed on the French, sword aiming for his enemy, screaming his battle cry as he rammed the cold steel through the Frenchman’s neck,” we would have something mild like “Hervey watched the dreadful carriage. It was unlike anything he had scene. The Frenchman’s attack had been quick, and he felt lucky to be alive.” In other words, we are told that he fought the French, but there’s no up-close in the moment descriptions of his fighting. I realize this is a stylistic difference, I just find the former more captivating. I don’t think Hervey tells
2. There’s not really a single unifying theme from beginning to end (other than Hervey’s desire for promotion) that the story revolves around, although this did not really bother me too much.
3. Hervey needs a companion. I realize he gets engaged to his sweetheart Henrietta Lindsey, and Sgt. Armstrong appears to be Hervey’s Patrick Harper, but the dialogue feels forced. The strict formality smothers any kind of intimacy, amorous or of friendship.
4. There’s not a real antagonist. General Slade is an irritating nuisance to Hervey’s career, but he is not the cunning villain whom Hervey must defeat.
My Praise:
1. The descriptiveness is excellent. The authors knowledge of smaller incidents, such as the troubles in Ireland, is impressive.
2. The female characters are more than the “bond girl” variety found in the Sharpe series.
3. The formal way of talking, though overdone, is refreshing at times.
Anyway, it’s a good story, but the authors style is far more akin to Jane Austin than Bernard Cornwell. If that’s what you like, you will love this book.
A little disappointed
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Detailed and well written
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Fascinating detail
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History
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The book is well written and meticulously researched. Mallinsen provides detailed information about the period as well as life in the army. The book is weak on dialog. The author has done an excellent job in putting the reader into the period of history. I assume that Mallinsen is setting the scene and building his background for the series. Hervey is a Calvary officer and the author provides a great deal of information about Calvary horses and their care during the Napoleonic Wars. I was impressed with the section about the battle of Waterloo; Mallinsen did an excellent job describing the battle. Napoleon came so close to winning. It started me thinking about what Europe and the world would be like today if he had won. The author is a retired British Army Officer who turned to writing both non-fiction and fiction. I enjoyed this and will be looking for book two of the series.
The book is fourteen and a half hours. Errick Graham did a good job narrating the book. Graham is an actor and audiobook narrator.
A Historical Military Story
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This book is like many others written by English authors, with exactly the same case of Hero-subjugation. In this case its the abasement to the legendary duke of wellington..
In relation to Ireland: .. This author should have been censored in relation to his presumption.
Knockoff Bernard Cornwell.
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