Review by kinyaemulatyamatt -- Brutal Valour: The Traged...

kinyaemulatyamatt · Post by **kinyaemulatyamatt** » 09 Apr 2018, 01:23

[Following is a volunteer review of "Brutal Valour: The Tragedy of Isandlwana" by James Mace.]

3 out of 4 stars

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[Brutal Valour: The Tragedy of Isandlwana by James mace/i] is a narrative of historical fiction that entails a conflict that got underway in South Africa at Isandlwana. It was one of the foremost combat during the Anglo-zulu confrontation between .

The author ensures timeliness of the story is maintained by providing dates at certain points in the flow of the narrative.

The story is interesting and draws close attention to readers but it is blemished by errors of grammar such as inappropriate use of articles and omission of letters in some words. some paragraphs are used by the British.The heavy weapons made the British to feel unconquerable. This hastened the British high commissioner's, Sir Henry Bartle-Frere, hanker to knock down the neighboring kingdom of the Zulus.

It came a time when the nationals became courageous and developed a sense of self confidence to overturn the British empire. It is during this time when the British high commissioner obliged the Zulu king, Cetshwayo, to split up his armies. This was a premeditated move to culminate the formidable Zulu kingdom. He delineated several stipulations that the Zulu king was to cohere to since the legality of the military actions in England did not allow the approval of the high commissioner's demands.

The high commissioner also orchestrated for protests to knock down king Cetshwayo. This was nothing more than feign to allure the Zulu king that he was of no peril. Later, the Zulu king fathomed that he had been hoodwinked after ascertaining the exigencies of the British high commissioner to eliminate him from his supremacy. According to the high commissioner, the conquest of the Xhosa tribe could be purloined away through war. Unenthusiastically, the Zulu king enlightened the populaces for a fracas against his counterpart.

There existed a group of youthful men amongst the zulus who were exceedingly focused and much concerned about the future state of their kingdom. For instance, the young Zulu known to be Kwanele was chosen by king Cetshwayo to be his representative on the grounds of his unavailability. He was later taken to scouting training. Others who brought victory to the Zulu kingdom due to their outshining visions were Arthur wellington and Richard Lower who were depots in natal. They anticipated that military training could change their lifestyles. Arthur befriended a military recruit while in natal.

The author, James Mace, lucidly charted episodes that resulted to the tragic confrontation. All the players, the Zulus and the British, are unambiguously habituated to the book lovers. This brings an understanding of the contestants in the narrative. photographs that are widely used convey a sense of authenticity correlating to the Zulus and the British.

The author also provides a cast of characters to enable the readers to be familiar with the participants in the story as it unfolds. This ensures that the story is compelling to the readers and parents them from switching off in the event of reading.

A prologue is also provided to keep the reader enlightened that the information provided in the narrative does not trail at flow of time implying that the overture of the story is out of sequence.

The author ensures timeliness of the story is maintained by providing dates at certain points in the flow of the narrative.

The story is interesting and draws close attention to readers but it is blemished by errors of grammar such as inappropriate use of articles and omission of letters in some words. some paragraphs are too elongated such that the story is sometimes perplexing. proof reading and careful editing can eliminate these errors.

The errors are inconsequential to affect the understanding of the readers. I therefore rate the tragic battle of isandlwana a 3 out of 4. The story fascinates history book lovers and those who are eager in understanding social relationship that develop among people.

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Brutal Valour: The Tragedy of Isandlwana
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Post by **kandscreeley** » 12 Apr 2018, 08:40

Sadly, I've never really been much into history, so I probably wouldn't enjoy this book. I do appreciate the information in your review as this is a battle that I'm not really familiar with. I'm glad that you were able to enjoy it.

stacie k · Post by **stacie k** » 12 Apr 2018, 10:23

This battle of Isandlwana is one that I'm not at all familiar with. I'm sure I could learn a lot from this book, especially with the author's provision of dates and pictures. Too bad about the editing errors. That can definitely detract from the enjoyment of the story. Thanks for your review!