Great War fiction series by Stewart Binns

[Le_Treport]

I'm just finishing the second in Stewart Binns' series of fiction books set in the GW. The first (covering 1914) is 'The shadow of war' and the second (covering 1915) is 'The darkness and the thunder'.

First of all, I should point out that these are FICTION, and the author himself makes that clear at the start.

Overall, I've really enjoyed them, and can best liken them to the sweeping family sagas of R.F.Delderfield which I read in my youth, or the John Masters trilogy set in the war.

The books follow a number of characters from across the UK, and across the class spectrum through the war years. I presume (and hope!) that there are future editions for 1916 - 1918 to come in due course.

We follow a family group from the Welsh borders; the family of the Duke of Atholl; A pair of cockney Colour Sgts; Winston Churchill; a group of Lancashire miners/mill workers. The chapters featuring the Cockneys and the Lancastrians are all written in dialect, so take a bit of getting used to. All the action is war-related, so there aren't scenes of domestic life on the home-front other than as background. I did get a little bit worried when one of the maile characters showed an interest early on in writing poetry - but he didn't hang around too long! Are there coincidences/clichés? Possibly - too many chance meetings etc, but once past those, it's a cracking read which rolls along. Following the different groups allow the story to unfold at the relevant battles in the year, so Gallipoli featured heavily in this second book.

They are, as I say, fiction, and I'm lousy at spotting technical or historical inaccuracies. but it all reads good to me!

[daggers]

I have just started the first of this series and find that the author's use of the present tense makes the narrative a little uncomfortable.  I get a feeling that some of the expressions he uses would not have been current a century ago.  So far, I have not stumbled over any military howlers, but I am not sure whether I will be seeking out another of the series.

D