The Guns of El Kebir - Rated 
The books go from strength to strength, I would reccomend them to anyone, particularly those who have an interest in the colonial period, the characters of Simon and 352 are good, and the story lines fast paced, only difficulty is Alice, who I find a little too liberated for the time period, nevertheless an entertaining read.
I am very partial to this kind of historical fiction book, so beware! - Rated 
As usual I got it and read it very fast. After all it is the fifth book in the series and I knew well what to expect.
I have always enjoyed ripping yarns, as a child BEAU GESTE was my favorite book (and still is in a way...), and I must confess I found John Wilcox is at his "P.C.Wrennish" with "touches of Cornwell" in this book.
So?, you will say.
Well, as I have already said in the reviews of the other four books, with time the characters improve a lot, I do found Alice (contrary to other reviewers) a great character (shades of Maria Vanbrugh there!) and she is welcomed to provide the romantic line (really Victorian) and also the excuse for many of the Fonthill&352 heroics...
Add to that... Wolseley is one of my favorite British generals and Tel el Kebir is probably his greatest campaign/battle/achievement, and you will see how partial I am!.
Curiously enough, what I enjoyed the most is the introduction of a proper "baddie"! (the more repulsive the better...it was about time...), but also the chapters in the Wales border, and the riots in Alexandria (influences of Zaguig's "BEAU IDEAL" come to mind), the rest is highly predictable if you know the real history, but a well researched frame is vital to the credibility of the series.
Action packed IT IS!, in fact a minor criticism is the disproportioned quantity of actions Simon Fonthill and 352 (plus the current novel sidekick... et cetera...) manage to get into (almost continuously to our delight) and leaves you with the feeling the rest of the Army&Navy&Wolseley have the "thing in the pocket" thanks to our heroes... they behave as a SAS mini-patrol all the time by day or by night... and excepting "the moonlight charge" they are crucial in almost any part or aspect of the campaign... well, good for them that is what heroe's stuff is supposed to be!.
So, resuming if a fan of the series (as me) you will enjoy. .
BUT, if you expect a Jane Austen novel you will be disappointed.
Guess I have made myself clear.
ADB
PS: my original review (28 September 2007) has been deleted and replaced by this one (02 April 2008) and I was not wrong in pre-awarding the five stars!... amazon always maintains the date of the first review NO matter what!...
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