By
Alec Hawkes
on 11 Jun. 2017
Format: Kindle Edition
Verified Purchase
This is yet another top
quality offering from Mr. Lovatt. This story is enthralling, gripping,
exciting and many other things, all of which are good. The thing with
Lovatt is that his writing is so descriptive, never shirking an issue or
skirting around it; never lazy and too brief. Something he always
manages, with considerable aplomb, is to never leave out those who were
mentioned earlier in the saga - in either a small or large way. The
little details are so important, even vital, to the flow, enjoyment, and
accuracy of a good book. This, methinks, Lovatt is an expert at. He
has, I'm sure, spent many a year honing his technique. We are now seeing
and reading the results of many years of hard work; bravo sir! Well
done indeed. To the story itself. I never want to give away much of the
plot; I'm quite sure others will, but I would just like to mention a
couple of quite brilliant exchanges that had me smiling, nodding
approval, and appreciating fully what a brilliant writer this man is.
Firstly an exchange between the newly upgraded Lieutenant Stubb and
Private Carstair. The 51st were retreating from a rejuvenated force of
native Indians and French led by the cunning old fox La Lande. Stubb,
despite being only a Lieutenant, was in total command of the entire
company, the bastard rapist Captain Hume having met an ugly though
thoroughly deserved grisly demise, and was struggling to come to grips
with the entire situation. Unaccustomed, as he was, to being the one who
didn't merely follow orders, but had the unenviable task of hatching a
good plan and issuing his own orders, many things were forming doubts in
his mind. Was he really officer material? Would the men who he had
fought with, ate with, struggled with, laughed with and been good
friends with now follow him, without complaint or hesitation? Would he
be judged by fellow officers who were not his fellows at all? Would they
say he was well above his station and way out of his depth? As well as
so many nagging self doubts he knew that he WAS in command; he was
there, and no other was by his side. The lives of his men, his mates;
these were almost entirely dependant on Stubb making the correct
decision at the right moment. Racked as he was with so much self doubt,
unanswerable questions and memories both good and bad, he happened upon
Private Carstair. He was a young soldier, and had something of the
frightened rabbit about him. Having said that, his commanding officer
was only young himself, though Stubb had been much hardened by his
experiences in life. The foremost doubt that the Lieutenant could not
dispel from his mind was the one about whether the men would follow him,
carry out his orders without question, hesitation or complaint. What
followed was a quite superbly written exchange between the young
soldiers, culminating in Carstair's "the lads will do anything for you,
follow you anywhere, sir." Stubb was rather shocked, surprised, but in a
very pleasant way and in a way that would straighten his broad
shoulders, pump his chest and fill him with pride. These were good lads
in the 51st, as was their newly upgraded officer. Stubb was so
emboldened by this that he brushed all doubt aside and was able to lead
his men with renewed vigour, ultimately very successfully. Poor Carstair
met his own grisly end, but such is war. Another brilliantly written
exchanged occurred between La Lande and Stubb, at the point when Stubb
nearly had his man, only for the slippery old fox to outwit him and
slope off into the darkness of the forest. There are many more though,
many graphic descriptions of scenes that are so well described as to be
very real, almost as if the whole thing is on film in front of you. As
ever with Lovatt, the characters are many and varied and all so utterly
believable. I loved this story from start to finish and eagerly await
the next instalment. Brilliant writing from the master!
Click here to purchase your own copy of "Josiah Stubb: Interim."
