Synopses & Reviews
Review
"Wary readers will encounter none of the bogus reverence that is the curse of most American aboriginal epics in this dry, mildly overlong story of the Maoris' hopeless fight to hold off total European settlement and dominance of their island. Clever and unpretentious, remarkable for the subtle anti- touristic depiction of the islands and the natives." Kirkus Reviews
Review
"The fast-moving, vivid tale presents riveting accounts of warfare, in which Titoko both defeats and is defeated by British soldiers. The narrative is propelled mainly through dialogue, much of it hilarious....Shadbolt is an accomplished raconteur, and his dramatic, atmospheric story is a winner." Publishers Weekly
Synopsis
War stories don't come much wilder or woolier than this rollicking, riveting story of Kimball Bent, born in Eastport, Maine, and dragooned into Her Majesty's army in the middle of the last century. Sent off to subdue the restless Maori in distant New Zealand, Bent finds himself at the wrong end of too many court-martials and deserts his regiment, becoming the unlikely hero and chief strategist of a Maori band that fights the British to a standstill in what proves to be the bloodiest and most terrifying of the colonial wars.