The First Casualty - Ben Elton

The First Casualty – Ben Elton ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Firstly, a confession. I didn’t mean to buy this book; I wanted the Elton book about the reality TV show (Dead Famous) and picked this up by mistake and didn’t realise the error until I started reading the first pages. I mention this because one of the joys of reading is the anticipation you feel before starting a new book and realising this wasn’t the book I wanted set me back ...
...the first few days of reading. Ben Elton doesn’t really need much of an introduction as one of the things he is most famous for is how prolific he is. He’s written several sitcoms, hosted Saturday Night Live and enjoyed a successful stand up career. He’s scripted a number of West End plays and written a string of best seller books. There’s not much I don’t like about Ben Elton and his work and having read a couple of his early novels several years ...

brereton66 14.06.2007 · Read full review
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Review of The First Casualty - Ben Elton

...is another best seller. The story is set mainly in the 3rd battle of Ypres in WW1, and as I am not really into history or war books I was not sure if this was the book for me. I decided that if I borrowed it from the library and didn't like it, it would cost me nothing to find out. The Story ------------- The story starts with a trial of Inspector Kingsley who is refusing to go to war as he feels that this was is not rational. He is sentenced ...
...who put many people inside the prison himself. As the story moves on you follow Inspector Kingsley as he is drawn into the SIS (secret service) in very odd circumstances so that he can investigate the death of a British Officer believed to have been murdered whilst recuperating from war wounds. Kingsley must find out who killed the officer, was it a lovers tiff, was it a suspected Bolshevik (sympathiser with Russia), or could there be another person ...

mum2boys82 18.08.2008 (16.08.2008) · Read full review
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Review of The First Casualty - Ben Elton

...London and Belgium, it captures the real horror and pointlessness of the First World War. The military action centres on the Third Battle of Ypres and the often brutal writing captures the horror with disgusting candour. The historical detail is carefully researched with graphic and detailed descriptions of life in the trenches, the journey up and down the line, and the total devastation that had befallen the Belgian town. The main characters are ...
...from my total absorption in the tale. Kitty Murray was certainly my favourite character - a woman way ahead of her time! The plot is well crafted and imaginative. At times I thought maybe it was a little far fetched, but then given the appalling hopelessness of the situation in the trenches, just about anything could happen. In that situation nothing compared to normal life. I don't think any of us can get anywhere close to imagining what it was ...

Countdown 12.06.2006 · Read full review
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Review of The First Casualty - Ben Elton