James Keane 3
My version: Paperback
Genre: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Napoleonic Wars
Publisher: Heron Books
First published: 2015
ISBN: 978-1-84866-4-838
Pages: 290
Bought
From the cover:
James Keane – soldier, card sharp and ladies’ man – is one of Wellington’s finest intelligence officers.
Tension in the British camp is high, fuelled by the discovery that there is a traitor operating in their headquarters. To stop him, Keane must locate a book of ciphers, allegedly to be found somewhere in the famous library of Coimbra, and crucial to French intelligence.
The city is back in British hands but remains a treacherous place for Keane and his men, who find themselves in danger from British looters, French spies, Spanish guerillas and Portuguese bent on revenge.
In the melting pot of Coimbra, Keane is a combustible element.
Set during something called the Peninsular War (1807–1814) — part of the wider Napoleonic Wars. The conflict was where British and Portuguese forces, under the command of the Duke of Wellington, fought against Napoleon’s French army on the Iberian Peninsula. The city of Coimbra played a significant role during Wellington’s campaigns. Captain Keane operates as a spy and intelligence officer behind enemy lines, which was a real and vital part of the war effort at the time.
Not a period in history I was particularly familiar with – and I’m still not really. Whist there are obviously some names (of places and commanders) that will pin the dates and situations down, the conflict is of course the background to the story. And the story is as before, derring-do, tight scrapes and trying to not think “why doesn’t he just machine-gun the lot of ’em down? Oh, wait it’s not that easy, mainly as the machine gun hasn’t been invented yet. OK.” That aside, is it an addictive series that’s for sure. Nicely written, fast paced, a motley crue of reprobates with, mostly, hearts of if not always gold, at least in the right place, a complete, convincing world to easily fall in to. Especially when they’re sticking it to the French, of course. If you are at all into the work of, for insrtance, Bernard Cornwell, you’ll enjoy these books. Read the others, then this. I’ve enjoyed them all and I’m pretty sure there’s a number four as well.
You can buy Keane’s Charge by Iain Gale from Amazon
*The image at the top was generated by WordPress’ AI. Because I’m lazy
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