Official Review: Brutal Valour: The Tragedy of Isandlwana

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Lest92
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Official Review: Brutal Valour: The Tragedy of Isandlwana

Post by Lest92 »

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Brutal Valour: The Tragedy of Isandlwana" by James Mace.]
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3 out of 4 stars
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Brutal Valour by James Mace is a historical fiction novel about the battle of Isandlwana during the course of the Anglo-Zulu war. Mace presents this novel as a historical account, and within this framework, explores the themes relating to the human cost of war and the process of colonialization as a result of Imperial greed.

Brutal Valour offers various points of view of the lead-up to the battle of Isandlwana on 22 January 1879, from the political machinations of the British stationed in Natal to the ground-level perspectives of a young British private, Arthur Wilkinson, and a Zulu warrior, Kwanele. They are, however, not main characters, which would have grounded the eagle’s eye perspective of the story. This aerial perspective invites the reader to contemplate the battle of Isandlwana as a part of the larger scheme of the Scramble for Africa. This novel is a particularly relevant read due to South Africa’s current political situation, where the issues of “decolonialization”, land redistribution and the motivation to establish an Africanised nation come to the fore. Viewed through the long lens of history, these tense political snarls make sense.

As a work in the historical fiction genre, Brutal Valour has a documentary feel to it; it includes real historical figures, from King Cetshwayo to several of the British officers. The author provided a helpful Cast of Characters page to help readers keep track of the personae. Mace also included photographs, illustrations and maps, which I referred back to often as the battle intensified. The author’s descriptions of the military practices and rituals of the Zulu regiments were fascinating. The amount of research Mace undertook to bring this battle and its surrounding causes to life was extensive – his author’s note is just as interesting to read as Brutal Valour itself. Readers who are sensitive to violence and gore might want to brace themselves during the drawn-out climax that is the battle and the civil war among the Zulu nation in the prologue.

Although I found the writing dry in places, it picked up its pace and even attained a lyrical quality during the battle. Otherwise, I had to concentrate to keep up with the military terminology. There is a glossary to clarify these terms, but they did slow me down a bit while I was reading. There were some spelling mistakes, not bad enough to distract me too much, but they were noticeable. Another round of editing and proofreading will definitely clear them up. Some of the images needed better formatting and higher quality scans of them would definitely help to give the layout of the book a professional appearance, since some images were blurry or too dark. The images in this book worked in tandem with the story to set the scenes and give faces to the characters, so their quality is important. I would have preferred a list of illustrations in the book too. Otherwise, the editing and layout of the writing are fairly professional, except for the spelling errors.

I’ll rate Brutal Valour 3 out of 4 stars. I did not give it a full 4 since I often came across spelling mistakes, and the formatting of the images could definitely be improved. Other than these editing issues, I highly recommend this book to readers who enjoy the historical fiction genre and those who like war stories.

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Brutal Valour: The Tragedy of Isandlwana
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Post by Amagine »

This does sound like a great piece of fiction that is full of action and war! This book will definitely be read by war enthusiasts.

Great Review! ❤
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Post by kandscreeley »

This book isn't my cup of tea, but it sounds good for what it is. Thanks for sharing with us.
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Post by Jaime Lync »

I am on the fence about this book after reading your review. I love the documentary feel you mentioned but the having to be slowed down to check the glossary is a major turn off. I am currently reading a book with a ton of footnotes - I'm struggling. Thanks for the review.
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Post by Lest92 »

Jaime Lync wrote:I am on the fence about this book after reading your review. I love the documentary feel you mentioned but the having to be slowed down to check the glossary is a major turn off. I am currently reading a book with a ton of footnotes - I'm struggling. Thanks for the review.
It did interrupt the flow somewhat. I know what you mean about all those footnotes - at least the plus there is that they are on the page near the passages they refer to, whereas the glossary is at the end - paging back and forth in a printed book doesn't bother me as much as scrolling around in a PDF, though.
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Post by MarisaRose »

This one sounds like it would be a little difficult for me to read! I'm glad the book is so well researched though. I'm sure it will appeal to fans of this genre. Great review :)
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Post by Lest92 »

Thank you all for the positive feedback:)
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Post by kimmyschemy06 »

Sounds like a very interesting historical fiction novel. I'm not much into war stories so I'm not sure I would try this one, but it seems like one enjoyable book for war story fans. Good job on the review.
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Post by Rosemary Okoko »

History is my cup of tea. Thanks for the review.
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Post by N_R »

I hear what you are saying about getting bogged down in the military terms and also ensuring that you are keeping up with who is who and what is what. I found I had to keep going back to see which commander, lieutenant and captain was attached to who and where they were located.
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Post by N_R »

Have you read the sequel?
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Post by Lest92 »

N_R wrote: 07 Jan 2018, 04:11 Have you read the sequel?
I had no idea there is a sequel, but I'll have a look on Amazon
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Post by N_R »

Yes, there is a sequel - on Amazon, I think. I haven't read it yet.
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Post by Bamporiki »

Love the story thanks for sharing
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