Flashman on the March Audiobook By George MacDonald Fraser, Kati Nicholl cover art

Flashman on the March

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Flashman on the March

By: George MacDonald Fraser, Kati Nicholl
Narrated by: Toby Stephens
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Buy for $19.22

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Harry Flashman: the unrepentant bully of Tom Brown’s schooldays, now with a Victoria Cross, has three main talents – horsemanship, facility with foreign languages and fornication. A reluctant military hero, Flashman plays a key part in most of the defining military campaigns of the 19th century, despite trying his utmost to escape them all.

Many have marvelled at General Napier's daring 1868 expedition through the treacherous peaks and bottomless chasms of Abyssinia to rescue a small group of British citizens held captive by the mad tyrant Emperor Theodore. But the vital role of Sir Harry Flashman, V.C., in the success of this campaign has hitherto gone unrecorded.

Flashman's undeserved reputation for heroism renders him the British Army's candidate of choice when it comes to skulking behind enemy lines in Ali Baba attire. After all, who but the great amorist could contemplate navigating a land populated by hostile tribes and the loveliest (and most savage) women in Africa, from leather-clad nymphs with a penchant for torture to a voluptuous barbarian queen with a reputation for throwing disobliging guests to her pet lions?

 Action & Adventure Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Literature & Fiction Mash-Ups Romantic Suspense

Critic reviews

'The Flashman Papers do what all great sagas do – winning new admirers along the way but never, ever betraying old ones. It is an immense achievement.' Sunday Telegraph

‘Not so much a march as a full-blooded charge, fortified by the usual lashings of salty sex, meticulously choreographed battle scenes and hilariously spineless acts of self preservation by Flashman.’ Sunday Times

‘Not only are the Flashman books extremely funny, but they give meticulous care to authenticity. You can, between the guffaws, learn from them.’ Washington Post

‘A first-rate historical novelist’ Kingsley Amis
All stars
Most relevant
Indianna Jones and The Temple of Doom images where sparking in my minds eye.
This was my first Flashie . I can't wait to get more ....but which one ?

Indianna Jones and The Temple of Doom

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Not the usual narrator for the series, but Toby Stephens does a good job. Quick story but a good one nonetheless for fans of Flashman! If you're new to the series I'd recommend Flashman & the Mountain of Light for a starter rather than this book.

Quick Flashman adventure, good story

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I listen to a lot of nonfiction and this was a nice break from reality. A fun romp across Africa with Flashman's typical pitfalls and high jinks. The narration was excellent. The story was average.

Flashman Hits the Dark Continent

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What did you like best about Flashman on the March? What did you like least?
While this is not anywhere near my favorite narrator of the Flashman series, he does a serviceable job. But what kills this audiobook is the fact that it's abridged. The Flashman series relies on historical detail and plot twists -- the abridged version simply skims the important points of action. You lose so much of the period flavor and historical feel of the complete books. GMF is a talent writer who is an utter joy to read; if you want to abridge something, abridge those awful lawyer books by hacks like John Grisham. Leave the good books alone.

#UnlikelyHero #Funny #Satire #Colonial #Africa #tagsgiving #sweepstakes

Just doesn't work as an abridged book.

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I don't often give in on a book. This one, this time, I did. And about 80% of the way through! On the rare occassions when I abandon a book it is usually early on but this one took hours to grind me down.

I suspect that I kept giving it the benefit of the doubt because I have enjoyed other tiles in the Flashman series.It may be because the historical background to this one is little known to me. It may be because the narration didn't strike me as well fitted. It may be because even a great author (MacDonald Fraser is quite good but definitely not great) pushes out a dud every now and then. More realisically it is a mix of all of them.

I came to this after relistening to an old Flashman favourite (F in the Great Game) and a new addition (Flashman).

The first of these is narrated by Timothy West who is perfect for the part.

The second by Rupert Penry-Jones who was startlingly adequate at the role. I was wthin a whisker of abandoning that one when it finished.

But this title is narrated by Toby Stephens whose performance was as patchy as they come. The reason West is perfect is because these are the memoirs of a man being read in his later years relating his exploits as a young man. They should be read by an old duffer and Timothy West does old duffer about a hundred times better than either of the other two. I'll be willing to bet cash money that he costs more than either of the other two but the quality is there all the way through the recording. It just sounds very very wrong to have a 12 year olds voice reading an old man story.

So I'm left up a stump now. I had intended to build a listening career on this series but now find that unless they are narrated by West I am quite likely to abandon them.

My advice is probably to either only listen to the ones narrated by West or never listen to them. Without his performance they are pretty insipid stuff.

I gave in.

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