Saratoga: A Novel of the American Revolution

This is a great book. The author uses widely accurate information to give a detailed account of the battle and the events that led up to it. He also uses an action packed story line to help tell the story. This book would be a perfect read for anyone who enjoys American history.

I am a fan of all historic novels, but most stray from the actual accounts. This book does not. It is neat to actually learn something while reading a novel for entertainment. It is not necessarily a page-burner, but it kept the action rolling pretty well.

In 1777, loyal veteran British Captain James Skoyles joins the 24th Foot marching down the Hudson Valley from Canada under the command of General John Burgoyne. A courageous warrior who earned his commission on the battlefield, James believes the upstart colonists will be quickly defeated once they reach the mouth of the Hudson in New York City and thus slice the colony in half. This major force easily takes the undermanned Fort Ticonderoga from the rebels that lead to "Gentleman Johnny" and his senior advisors being confident that the ragtag group will be routed. Only James retains a healthy skepticism as he notices the intelligence and grit of the enemy. However, even James is somewhat distracted when he meets Elizabeth Rainham engaged to marry Major Harry Featherstone, who he realizes is an abusive officer with no concern about the soldiers dying or maimed and cares even less about the civilian populace becoming casualties. As they compete for Elizabeth's affection with James dreaming of a post war future in New York with her, Saratoga is reckoning. This engaging revolutionary War historical fiction novel is at its best when the story line concentrates on the British military politics that hampered a powerful force. The plot loses some sting when it focuses on a romantic triangle between the two British officers and Elizabeth especially since James is all good and caring while Harry is all evil and a sociopath. Still the insight into the British military of 1777 makes for a fine tale as readers observe a confident James becoming increasingly a skeptic. Harriet Klausner

It seems Jamie Skyoles could be a possible Sharpe character set in the Rev War. The author has obvisouly read the Sharpe series by Cornwell and has adapted many of that style here. We have Skyoles, who seems to be able to do everything. He is a scout, a captain in the 24th Foot, a German translator, a rogue, and a lover of women! The author never makes Skyole's position clear to us. This enables his character to be able to do a bit of anything. Quite unlikely in reality, but amusing here. We have the standard nasty commanding officer, a beautiful lady of superior social standing that our hero seeks to love, and the usual assortment of characters that we have come to associate with this genre of miliary/historical fiction. The plot swiches back - in - forth in the usual cliff-hanger way, keeping the general interest of the reader as tension mounts and resolves in the end. The method is effective, but is starting to be over-used a bit. The author made extensive use of Richard Ketchum's non-fiction work on Saratoga for historical references, and quotes quite freely from it. He provides a general outline of the campaign and battles with Skyoles moving about it all. We get some interesting character development of general Burgoyne and his staff, and the growing animosity between Skyoles and his commanding officer. Frankly I think our protagonist should have been satisfied with Maria Quinn for a mistress. She seems buxom and available. Miss Rainham is out of our heros league and seems not worth all the trouble he must go through for her. But thats all part of the plot and the adventure Skyoles must endure. Very Sharpe like in that respect. American readers may be put off with the idea of a British officer being as good a skirmesher as the rebels. Skyoles represents the adaptability of the British army to fight according to the environment. The British were able to do this quite well. Where they were compromised was with inadequate generalship and bad bureaucratic meddlings from London. The author shows this with the storyline of the book. This would cost them the war in the end. I liked this noval over all, but I dont know if I want a whole series on Skoyles in the Revolution! We seem to have enough of these already. The book is interesting with some of the character development of historical personages, both British and American. The description of battles is cursory at best. Here the author differs from Cornwell and others in not providing strong battle pieces. Not a bad read for historical fiction set in the Rev War. Jeff Shara probably does it better though. If Burgoyne had only listened to Skyoles he could have won at Saratoga!