Not Great - Rated 
Not up to the standard of O'Brian or Mallinson. Needs to do more research to get it right. Plot was thin and the attempts to reproduce a Welsh accent were poor. Could do better
SORRY! Didnt like it all. - Rated 
Poor characters, flimsy and unlikely plot, thin on historical detail and does not flow at all. No improvement on the first book in the series, which was equally disappointing.
Entertaining read - Rated 
As a fan of Sharpe and Flashman, this was my first foray into the life on Simpon Fonthill. Although not written as well as Cornwell or Fraser it is still a very entertaining story. However it is slightly unbelieveable. Simon Fonthill appears to be a very lucky man escaping from scrapes (although not always unscathed) in a very timely manner. The female character Alice also appears to have multiple personalities and has not been developed well. I would still recommend this book if you want an entertaining and mildly educational historical story.
Fonthill comes of age! - Rated 
This represents a significant improvement over the first of the Fonthill novels, 'The Horns of the Buffalo', which I rated as a '4 star' read due to the relative weakness of the central character, the then Lt Simon Fonthill . In this latest offering, our characters have travelled from southern Africa to the North-West Frontier, where the 'hero' of the piece, Captain Simon Fonthill, now of The Queen's Own Corps of Guides, accompanied by the ever faithful Sgt Jenkins 352, must infiltrate the war-like hill tribes and provide intelligence for the Indian Army. The author, John Wilcox has successfully 'fleshed out' Fonthill's character, who now emerges as a far more convincing, red-blooded military hero in the Sharpe/Hornblower tradition. The book is beautifully written, well-researched, and pulls no punches in its depiction of the brutality of the battlefield in this theatre of war. Again, the 'romantic' interest is provided by the strong character of Alice, a very liberated woman for her day, now operating as a Foreign correspondent for the 'Morning Post' of Fleet Street. Additional colourful supporting characters such as 'W.G.', the Sikh guide and interpreter, provide further, entertaining additions to the central plot, ably underpinned by the brave yet still despicable Colonel Covington.
All in all, a most enjoyable read, which will appeal to fans of Cornwell, Scarrow, Mallinson, Iggulden et al.
Sharpe like thrills - Rated
This is the author's second book to feature Fonthill and his sidekick 352 Jenkins. This story takes the pair away from the Zulu conflict and into Afghanistan to gather intelligence on a possible uprising...
This is a vast improvement on the first book and although the dialogue is occasionally stilted, this is quite an entertaining romp.
This does tread on well-worn Bernard Cornwall territory and there are many familiar touches (such as the oafish senior officers) but the relationship between Fonthill and 352 is getting better and the introduction of an entertaining support character in 'WG' works very well.
So, while not quite up to Sharpe standards, this is still worth picking up and if the series continues to improve, a new star may be born!
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