THOSE who have watched the classic action film Zulu will revel in this novel, the first in a new series of 19th century wartime adventures in the tradition of Bernard Cornwell and C.S. Forester.
The year is 1879 and the British army is constantly in action to defend the Empire. Young Lieutenant Simon Fonthill has been dispatched to South Africa with much to prove, for Colonel Covington, his former Commanding Officer, has slanderously branded him a coward. In the Cape, Fonthill, together with his servant trooper '352' Jenkins, is sent deep into Zululand to discover the intentions of the Zulu king. After contending with violence and imprisonment, Fonthill faces his greatest challenge: escaping from the massacre at Isandlwana, then he must warn the tiny garrison at Rorke's Drift of the massive Zulu force advancing towards them...
It's a knockout combination of great characterisation, fast-moving battle scenes and the drama of South Africa at a tumultuous period in the country's history. A dangerous mission, for the territory is aflame with talk of war.
The Horns of the Buffalo by John Wilcox (Headline, £18 99)
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