The Reavers

February 25, 2008
The late author of the beloved Flashman Papers (Flashman on the March
, etc.) offers a 16th-century tale of swordplay and gleefully anachronistic wordplay along the Scottish borderlands. Fraser does a Highland fling with the English language as he unfolds a tortuous and torturous tale of four heroes: Gilderoy, dashing Scottish highwayman; Archie Noble, gallant Englishman and proud “double-nought operative, licensed to slay”; and a beauteous pair of ladies, the noble Lady Godiva Dacre and her randy companion, Kylie. Together the four must stop a Spanish plot to kidnap and replace James VI of Scotland with an impostor who will then gain the English throne on the death of Queen Elizabeth. They must overcome wizards, witches, warlocks and sundry other hazards while Archie and Gilderoy vie for Godiva's fickle affections. Readers must stay alert to keep up with the author's constant verbal sallies. Fraser died on January 2, 2008.

April 1, 2008
Fraser's posthumously published tale takes the reader from the Victorian realms of his Flashman novels to the Elizabethan era for a wildly nonsensical romp involving highwaymen, 16th-century secret agents, a beautiful heiress, and a Spanish plot against the crown. Set on the border between England and Scotland, the plot (if it can be called that) revolves around a Spanish effort, led by the mysterious La Infamosa, to kidnap King James and replace him with an impostor. Attempting to foil her are the ravishing Lady Godiva Dacre and her dimwitted companion, Kylie, along with Gilderoy, part-time highwayman and Scotland's best-known secret agent, and Archie Noble, English "double-nought" secret agent and ostensible hero of the tale. After a series of hilarious complications, the unlikely foursome finds itself at La Infamosa's cave just as the coup is about to take place. A piece of inspired silliness and a worthy companion to the Flashman tales, this novel is hard to resist with its beginning: "It was a dark and stormy night in Elizabethan England." Recommended for public libraries.Lawrence Rungren, Merrimack Valley Lib. Consortium, Andover, MA

Copyright 2008 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from March 1, 2008
In the late Frasers rollicking Elizabethan-era swan song, hero Archie Noble (a Tudor James BondSteve McQueen charmer), subhero Gilderoy (a Scotch highwayman with swoon-inducing lips), and heroine Lady Godiva Dacre (a breathtaking mix of Marlene above the neck and Jane Russell below) stumble upon a fiendish Spanish plot to install an impostor James VI to the throne. Alongside a supporting cast of borderland rogues, the heroes engage in a headlong rush of bursting bodices, clattering rapier duels, and any number of intrigues, exploits, and mischief, all amply endowed with Frasers elite sense of humor, crack comic timing, and spot-on imitations of haughty period dialect and rakish accents. Akin to Frasers stand-alone adventure The Pyrates (1983), this is a wild and woolly departure from his popular historical satires starring Harry Flashman, and he dutifully warns readers that this book is nonsense. It is meant to be. What it all amounts to is a genre unto itself, the ahistoric historical costume drama, maybe, or perhaps the outlandishly anachronistic swashbuckler. Whatever you want to call it, itis the literary equivalent of a joyous celebration of old-fashioned, flat-out, high-flying, over-the-top tales of derring-do and ribald romancing. Its a hell of a ride, but dont expect it to make a whole lot of sense. If you do, youve missed the point and likely missed the sheer exuberance in storytelling on display here.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2008, American Library Association.)