Welcome to KIWIreviews - product reviews
•  click here to return to the homepage  •
Welcome visitor.Join us or log in

Product reviews on kiwireviews.nz : Tuesday 19th March 2024 - 21:29:51

QuickSearch for:    What is QuickSearch?
QuickJump to:    What is QuickJump?
logon name: p/w:  

I want to:

You Are Here...

Home > Categories > Books > Fiction > The First Casualty review

« Jamie's Italy reviewJamieAll That I Am reviewAll That I Am »

Score: 8.3/10  [1 review]
3 out of 5
ProdID: 832 - The First Casualty
Written by Ben Elton

The First Casualty
Price:
$36.99
Sample/s Supplied by:
Click to search for all products supplied by Penguin Random House

Disclosure StatementFULL DISCLOSURE: A number of units of this product have, at some time, been provided to KIWIreviews by Penguin Random House or their agents for the sole purposes of unbiased, independent reviews. No fee was requested, offered nor accepted by KIWIreviews or the reviewers themselves - these are genuine, unpaid consumer reviews.
Available:
December 2005

The First Casualty product reviews

It is Flanders in June 1917: a British officer and celebrated poet, is shot dead, killed not by German fire, but while recuperating from shell shock well behind the lines. A young English soldier is arrested and, although he protests his innocence, charged with his murder.

Douglas Kingsley is a conscientious objector, previously a detective with the London police, now imprisoned for his beliefs. He is released and sent to France in order to secure a conviction. Forced to conduct his investigations amidst the hell of The Third Battle of Ypres, Kingsley soon discovers that both the evidence and the witnesses he needs are quite literally disappearing into the mud that surrounds him.

Ben Elton's tenth novel is a gut-wrenching historical drama which explores some fundamental questions. What is murder? What is justice in the face of unimaginable daily slaughter? And where is the honour in saving a man from the gallows if he is only to be returned to die in a suicidal battle?

As the gap between legally-sanctioned and illegal murder becomes evermore blurred, Kingsley quickly learns that the first casualty when war comes is truth.

Check out Penguin Random House onlineClick here to see all the listings for Penguin Random House Visit their website They do not have a Twitter account Check them out on Facebook They do not have a YouTube Channel They do not have a Pinterest board They do not have an Instagram channel They do not have a TikTok channel



Tags:
-none-
Other listings you may be interested in:
The Wish ListThe Wish List
Rating: 9.8
Start Right Workbooks - Year 4Start Right Workbooks - Year 4
Rating: 10.0
The Rain Wild Chronicles #1 - The Dragon KeeperThe Rain Wild Chronicles #1 - The Dragon Keeper
Rating: 7.4
Planet Earth - Up Close!Planet Earth - Up Close!
Rating: 9.3
The RookThe Rook
Rating: 9.8
Red RocksRed Rocks
Rating: 8.8
Tractor Ted All About TractorsTractor Ted All About Tractors
Rating: 10.0
Oh Baby - Birth, Babies and Motherhood UncensoredOh Baby - Birth, Babies and Motherhood Uncensored
Rating: 9.9
My Big Brother BorisMy Big Brother Boris
Rating: 9.5
The Last Thirteen #12 - 2The Last Thirteen #12 - 2
Rating: 9.5
The Game of Love and DeathThe Game of Love and Death
Rating: 8.6
Killer Game Killer Game 
Rating: 8.9
The Invisible SentenceThe Invisible Sentence
Rating: 9.3

Product reviews...

Everyone is welcome to post a review. You will need to Join up or log in to post yours.

Click here to read the profile of diogenes

Review by: diogenes (Rob)
Dated: 31st of December, 2005

Link to this review Report this review

 

This Review: 8.3/10
Value for Money:
Score 9 out of 10
Level of Realism:
Score 7 out of 10
Rereadability:
Score 8 out of 10
Lose Track of Time:
Score 9 out of 10

The brief I read in one store catalogue says "Ben Elton revisits old Blackadder territory..." and from that, one would expect a comedy. The First Casualty is anything but a comedy. It is a gritty and gripping portrayal of a policeman who is consciencious objector, and ends up being sent to the trenches to investigate a suspicious death.

Elton writes a gripping novel about the reality of trench life, the horrors of trench warefare and the life and attitudes of the soldiers. He seems to have researched his subject well, though a pedant will be able to pick holes in it (as I did in a couple of places), it does not detract from the story. Elton shows the brutal reality of what it would be like to be a soldier on either side during the Great War on 1914-18, and the book is even dedicated to both his grandfathers who served on opposite sides during the Great War - No doubt, Elton had plenty of first hand stories told to him, something I expect he would have drawn on heavily

I found the dialogue of some of the key characters can be a little Blackadder-ish at times, maybe it just showed the blind optimism of the Tommies, and the carefree attitude to life and death in the trenches. Elton writes the attitudes and the dialogue of the officers with some degree of the language of the early part of the century, though like I said, it can be a little blackadderish at times. I could almost picture George and Nurse (from Blackadder IV) holding that boorish dialogue. Not sure if that is the sign of a great writer or my knowledge of a great writer or whether at times he was drawing on his writing of Blackadder for the dialogue. Language aside, he paints a stark picture of the landscape, the weather, the trenches, conditions, the bodies and blood and death; even down to the daily ablutions (at times I felt he spent a little too much time on the toileting habits of the Tommies), and of course, sex.

Elton's book is a great read, it flows quickly and cleanly from each scene and makes for a book that is difficult to put down, and a welcome re-read. I just had minor niggles but those niggles did not put me off from reading it. I still recommend The First Casualty as a great summer read.

Random listing from 'Books'...

Score: 10.0
Product reviews for listing 7261: Transformation 2 : War Factory -  Written by Neal Asher

Product image for Transformation 2 : War FactoryOne seeks judgement, another faces damnation and one man will have his revenge...

Thorvald Spear is losing his mind as he drowns in dark memories that aren't his own. Penny Royal, rogue artificial intelligence, has linked Spear with the stored personalities of those it's murdered. And whether the AI seeks redemption or has some more sinister motive, Spear needs to destroy it. He feels the anger of the dead and shares their ... more...

Go to the listing

General Disclaimer...

Protected by Copyscape Plagiarism Checker - Do not copy content from this page. Creative Commons Licence All trademarks, images and copyrights on this site are owned by their respective companies.
KIWIreviews is an independent entity, part of the Knock Out News Group. This is a free public forum presenting user opinions on selected products, and as such the views expressed do not necessarily reflect the opinion of kiwireviews.nz and are protected under New Zealand law by the "Honest Opinion" clause of the Defamation Act of 1992. KIWIreviews accepts no liability for statements made on this site, on the premise that they have been submitted as the true and honest opinions of the individual posters. In most cases, prices and dates stated are approximate and should be considered as only guidelines.

"How is it that we put man on the moon before we figured out it would be a good idea to put wheels on luggage?"
unattributed