Rating: 
Summary: Egad! Another wonderful Flashman!
Review: It is marvelous, begad, to be able to explore a batch of new papers written by that cowardly and toad-eating poltroon, Sir Harry Flashman. The three packets of memoirs, edited and annotated by the indomitable George MacDonald Fraser, contain a few surprises that significantly alter our view of Flashie. We discover, for example, that he is drinking more heavily as he gets older, although incipient alcoholism does not evidently prevent him from writing clearly and dramatically, as his harrowing account of the Zulu massacre and his escape at Sandhlwana shows. He has gained in cynicism and maintains a heightened sense of misogyny, but age and the ravages of time and crises has somewhat slowed him down. The book is vintage Flashie. The first packet of memoirs, entitled "The Road to Charing Cross," documents Sir Harry's trip on the maiden trip of the Orient Express. Betrayed by Princess Kralta - alas, will he ever learn to stay away from conniving women? - he has an almost fatal confrontation with a second-generation villain, Rupert Willen von Starnberg, the son of a villain who almost destroyed him in The Royal Flash papers in 1848 when Flashie was twenty-six. At any rate, Sir Harry is into Austrian debauchery and toadyism in this novel, gets mixed up with a plot to assassinate Emperor Franz Josef. The second set of papers, "The Subtleties of Baccarat," shows the deceitful and slimy Flashman "shoving a man down the drain," (as he puts it) by false innuendo and outright betrayal. In the past, Sir Harry has confessed to dreadful deeds (pushing women out of sleighs on the Russian tundra, selling a mistress into slavery, and having an innocent man executed to conceal his own toadying and cowardice); but here Flashman leads the arrogant Sir William Gordon-Cumming into disgrace. The papers also reveal a new and significant characteristic of Elspeth's personality, which surprises even Sir Harry. "After fifty years," says Flashman, "[Elspeth] knew no more of my true character than I, apparently, did of hers." Interestingly enough, Flashie at seventy years old has slowed down a bit, but has not lost his touch for initiating "scandal, disgrace, and general bedevilment." The final memoir is fascinating; Flashman meets Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson in 1894, as he becomes involved in Conan Doyle's story, "The Adventure of the Empty House." Flashie hilariously reveals to the world that Sherlock Holmes was also a fraud, an arrogant intellectual that could get all things wrong. This story is again vintage Flashman. One must also say a few words about the "editor" and "annotator" of these tales, George MacDonald Fraser. He continues to go back into the fascinating history of Victorian times, conjuring up massacres, scandals, political lunacy, and hypocrisy, placing Sir Harry Flashman in the center of things. God knows where Flashie will appear next. Flashman was alive during the time of Jack the Ripper, during the Karamazov murder and Anna Karen's suicide, and Scott's Antarctica disaster in 1911. It is possible that he had a hand in these too.
Rating: 
Summary: The return of Britain's greatest poltroon
Review: It's been a while between tots of brandy, but the most recent Flashman novel will prove to be no disappointment to fans of the arch-cad. Fraser has opted for brevity this time around, and delivered three short stories that range across years and locales, and share with us the exploits of an older, wiser, even more cynical and yet no less cavalier Harry Flashman. The first and longest story concerns our hero's being flung unwittingly (as always) into a covert scheme to foil the assassination of the Emperor of Austria and thus avert the start of World War I (or at least postpone it for 30 years). It's a brief yarn, but we're spared none of Flashy's trademark feigned bravado, uncontrollable lust and infuriating propensity to land himself belly-up in the direst of 19th-century predicaments. Fraser's attention to historical detail while adding his own humorous twist to particular events is, as always, flawless. The second story concerns a scandal erupting in the Prince of Wales' court over a game of baccarat, in which Flashman plays a cunning hand, and his wife Elspeth an even more cunning one, revealing a sly aspect to her character neither the reader nor Flashman himself could ever have suspected. The final story is the shortest, and details Harry's campaign to redeem the honour of his niece, while bumping into a handful of notable Victorian figures en route. This last episode also alludes to a larger adventure - Flashman's contribution to the Zulu Wars - which I only hope hits the shelves sooner rather than later!
A rollicking trio of yarns, and yet another worthy addition to the hoary old bugger's memoirs.
Rating:
Summary: History was never this much fun
Review: It's extraordinary that American fans of modern literature's greatest poltroon (no, there's no translation of this word in today's English) are prepared to wait a whole year between the UK and US releases of their antihero's unfolding saga - especially in the age of the internet.For those of you new to Fraser's creation, you can read the reviews of the other titles in the series. Enough to say they're a brilliant and unique mix of history, action and comedy. This volume breaks with the tradition by presenting three short stories (rather than a single novel-length episode). The format suits the character particularly well. Each of the three stands alone, yet each also links to the other stories in the series. One describes the great Boer War skirmish of Rourke's Drift, with a surprise guest star from the Wild West. Another delves into the intricacies of late 19th Century politics, with French journalist spies, courtesans, and an early plot to assassinate Emperor Franz Josef (our hero naturally delaying an early start to WW I here). Yet the undisputed star of the trio tells of Flashman's encounter with the other semi-mythical character of the era - Sherlock Holmes. The irony here is entrancing, as the two literary figures have so much in common - not least occupying worlds so superbly crafted you almost want to believe in them - and yet are polar opposites in temperament. The wit is glittering; the attention to historical detail is breathtaking; and the reader, as ever, is left wishing that the encounter had lasted just a little longer. This is not the best Flashman to read if you're new to the character; but absolutely unmissable if you're already hooked.
Rating:
Summary: Not his best, but still a fun read
Review: It's three short stories of Flashman, and in his old age he becomes a bit more caring, a bit more understanding, and (dare we say it?) a bit more courageous. He's as randy as ever, but a more likeable poltroon we've never seen in fiction or real-life. Fraser, never one to use time-worn metaphors, invents his own delightful tropes and references. His books are hilarious and not to be missed.
Rating:
Summary: The Long Awaited Return of Flashman is here
Review: Just when you thought you heard the last of Sir Harry Flashman he pops his head up with more tales told out of school. This is his 11th Adventure, and it seems that even as he ages he never changes. George MacDonald Fraser has done it once again with the ever cowardly Flashman, put in with some well known people and places and dispite his being a coward, a liar, a rogue, and more Sir Harry comes up smelling like a rose. Mr. Fraser has mixed fact and fiction to bring his charater to life. I have read all of Mr. Fraser's Flashman stories and at the end of each one I wanted to see what Harry would do next. This novel is no different. Who will be next, Tombstone AZ, or will it be with "Chinese" Gordon? I will eagerly await for more from Mr. Fraser.
Rating:
Summary: Flashman Begins to Age
Review: Like any other Flashman fanatic I'd been looking forward with great anticipation to this newest installment. My enthusiasm, though, was tempered with a little apprehension: it has been five years since the last Flashman novel, Angel of the Lord, and that one showed unmistakable signs of fraying around the edges. Sadly, the pattern continues with this one. Oh, it's still a great read, and on numerous occasions I found the familiar grin coming to my face at Flashman's irreverant witticisms, but unfortunately, they don't come as often as they once did. The plot seems a little tired also: Flashman's entanglement in the first packet's escapade is recycled completely from Royal Flash, even to the villian being the son of Royal Flash's Rudy Starnberg. And worst, God help me for saying so, the expository narrative at the beginning of the first packet was--dare I say it--a little tedious. But the fraying, unmistakable as it may be, is slight. Flashman is still Flashman after all, and the murderous plot against Franz-Joseph, culminating in a couple of wildly exciting sword fights--which take place in an old salt mine no less--are as entertaining as anything in the entire series. The second two packets are also a lot of fun, but very, very short. Indeed disappointingly so, and one wonders if we'll ever get the chance to find out how Flashman did end up in South Africa in 1890. Mr. Fraser is not getting any younger you know. In summary, this is a good read, although not among the best, (the "best" being every single one of the first nine), and any Flashman fan will find great enjoyment in it. It seems that this would be the appropriate time to comment on the series in general, which is the finest historical fiction series that I have ever come across. And so you know, I have come across some great ones: Hornblower, Dumas, and Aubrey-Maturin, to name a few. If you are reading this and have any interest at all in fiction or history (and you must, or you wouldn't be reading this), and haven't yet read these Flashman books, I urge you to do so. Start with the first one. You will be hooked irrevocably, and I assure you that you will devour the rest of them in short order. Perhaps one day we shall meet each other in a tavern somewhere, and perhaps during the course of our conversation the name Flashman will come up. We will immediately grin at each other in recognition, knowing that we share the secret, unfettered, unmitigated joy of these brilliant, delightful novels. Thank you Mr. Fraser. Thank you.
Rating: 
Summary: Is Mr. Fraser getting tired?
Review: Like other reviewers, I was disappointed that this was NOT, as the cover implied, a book about Zulu War. Unlike other reviewers, I think "The Road to Charing Cross" was the best part. Count Rudy Starnberg was always my favorite villain in the entire Flashman series, and his son is just as good. I also enjoyed conniving Princess Kralta, borderline-moronic Emperor Franz-Josef, and a French secret agent "as lovely as any woman can be, while frantically plucking goose feathers off her bottom." In fact, if "The Road to Charing Cross" were the whole book (and with a different cover!), I'd give it 5 stars. As is... "The Subtleties of Baccarat" was an engaging story - and it did show a wholly unexpected side of Elspeth, - but the history involved did not interest me in the least. As for the last part, it just plain sucked. I had the feeling Fraser either got tired, or was rushing to meet a deadline. Zulu War/Rorke's Drift got a few pages, and the rest was a completely inane crossover with a Sherlock Holmes story. Most disappointing.
Rating:
Summary: For Diehard Fans Only
Review: Not GMF's best but even so it's a terrific read. The Flashy series is one of the most brilliantly concieved and consistently entertaining literary series going. I'll take 'em over Patrick O'Brian any day. But if you haven't read a Flashman, don't start with this book. It's best to read the first one first; after that, take your pick.
Rating:
Summary: Another Great Flashman from the peerless pen of G.M.Fraser!
Review: Oh, happy day! Another Flashman book from George MacDonald Fraser! FLASHMAN AND THE TIGER does not disappoint (as if any Flashman could), bringing the trimly aging Flashy--still his appealingly reprehensible self--into contact with a blast from his past in the person of Willem von Starnberg (Rudi's son/ROYAL FLASH), the staid and stuffy Emperor Franz-Josef, and the customary bevy of wily and manipulative female beauties panting after Our Hero's legendary manhood. EGAD! At sixty, Flashy can still put a lusty temptress half his age through her paces from dusk 'til dawn, and after a bottle of champagne or brandy at that! Not a Viagra case he! As we fans all know, in spite of his many decadent indulgences, Flashman suffers very little ill health--apart from a tendency toward chronic flatulence--throughout his long life (he lives into his nineties). In many ways, he is a second literary embodiment of Wilde's Dorian Gray--with an infinitely better sense of humor. Suffice to say that any Flashman is a joy, and G.M.Fraser is at the top of his usual superb form with FLASHMAN AND THE TIGER. Live long, Mr. Fraser: we need at least ten or twenty more Flashman books from you!
Rating:
Summary: Strikes gold again
Review: Once again, GMF delivers a well crafted, historically accurate, yet side-splitting Flashman adventure. As a veteran of the Flashman Papers, I cannot say this is my favorate, however I wouldn't be able to choose just one anyway. If you've read any of the other books, you'll love this one. If you haven't, you'll want to read them all!
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