All go home. The pr cis is necessary as for the all the little incident and very real sense of disaster that runs through Bunker Soldiers the plot is as clockwork, sensible and cosy as one can go. Dodo is pushed into the background because that is in her place in historical context. There is no room for emancipation here. Descriptive passages are weighted with attention to detail but this is often over-written making what should have been small nuggets feel somewhat over bloated.
History is treated with respect - the story fits comfortably in place and time.
But it lacks bite. Whilst first-person narrative is always welcome in the range, one cannot help think Steven Taylor is a troublesome choice as narrator. He comes across as somewhat na ve and more than a little hotheaded, but rarely do we catch a glimpse of anything underneath. The other characters in the piece fair much better. Isaac's faith and counsel is an interesting sub-theme.