Kiwi Wars (Fancy Jack Crossman Novels)
Set in 1860, Kilworth's solid eighth military adventure novel (afterRogue Officer) takes series hero Capt. Fancy Jack Crossman to New Zealand, a recently acquired British colony whose natives, the Maori, are in revolt. Tasked with setting up a spy network among the Maori, Jack must also deal with an unscrupulous land agent, Abe Wynter, whose younger brother happens to be a private under Jack's command.Â A gold rush complicates Jack's mission, and he soon finds himself doing his best to maintain his standards of honor and humanity in the heat of a battle that includes the lethal rapid-firing steam gun. Patrick O'Brian fans will notice similarities between Crossman and Capt. Jack Aubrey (each has a wife waiting back home in England, and each is tempted to stray), but those who prefer straightforward action in the vein of Bernard Cornwell's Richard Sharpe series will be most satisfied.(Oct.)Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.