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Milligan and the Samurai Rebels
“Milligan and the Samurai Rebels” is a humorous, historical novel set in the Japan of the 1860s. The Shogun has been forced by the threat of Western firepower to re-open Japan to the outside world, while samurai outraged at this decision are scheming to topple the Shogunate and re-establish Imperial rule. In parallel to this struggle, Britain and France are fighting by every means except open warfare to establish themselves as the leading influence on the government of Japan and to secure the accompanying trading privileges.
Into this maelstrom steps Robert Seamus Milligan, a young British diplomat with a weakness for women and drink, who has joined the diplomatic service only to escape a contretemps back home. Upon his arrival in Japan and entirely against his will he is immediately plunged into the clash between Japan and the West, between the Shogunate and Imperial forces, and between Britain and France.
Milligan takes part in several real historical events: the murder of a British merchant by the forces of the province of Satsuma; the Anglo-Satsuma war that follows (on the Satsuma side); the “Forbidden Gate incident”, in which Satsuma and the Shogunate successfully defend the Imperial Palace in Kyoto from the armies of the province of Choshu; and the war between the allied Western powers and Choshu (this time on the Western side). He survives all this – plus a Royal Navy Commodore on the warpath, humiliation at the hands of a French spy, sex in the bath with a female Japanese aristocrat, life as a Satsuma samurai, and a sumo bout against a homicidal maniac – thanks on more than one occasion to his Japanese servant, Miyazawa, and with much more credit than he deserves.
Into this maelstrom steps Robert Seamus Milligan, a young British diplomat with a weakness for women and drink, who has joined the diplomatic service only to escape a contretemps back home. Upon his arrival in Japan and entirely against his will he is immediately plunged into the clash between Japan and the West, between the Shogunate and Imperial forces, and between Britain and France.
Milligan takes part in several real historical events: the murder of a British merchant by the forces of the province of Satsuma; the Anglo-Satsuma war that follows (on the Satsuma side); the “Forbidden Gate incident”, in which Satsuma and the Shogunate successfully defend the Imperial Palace in Kyoto from the armies of the province of Choshu; and the war between the allied Western powers and Choshu (this time on the Western side). He survives all this – plus a Royal Navy Commodore on the warpath, humiliation at the hands of a French spy, sex in the bath with a female Japanese aristocrat, life as a Satsuma samurai, and a sumo bout against a homicidal maniac – thanks on more than one occasion to his Japanese servant, Miyazawa, and with much more credit than he deserves.
338 pages, Paperback
First published May 29, 2012
4 people are currently reading
201 people want to read
About the author
Simon Alexander Collier
2 books25 followersOn a whim and the recommendation of a friend, after university Simon went to Osaka to teach English, thus beginning a lifelong interest in and affection for things Japanese. He returned to the UK for further study, after which he became a civil servant. In 1999 he was sent by the British government as a diplomat to Japan. Although Simon has now left government service, he has lived in Tokyo almost continuously ever since.
Simon's interests include books, Japanese history, football and politics. He is married with two children.
Simon's interests include books, Japanese history, football and politics. He is married with two children.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
September 27, 2012
Let me begin this review by saying I like funny books. I like characters that make me laugh. I like hilarious situations with unexpected outcomes. Oh, and I like a good sword fight, too. And have I mentioned how much I LOVE karate? That's right, Jackie Chan, is on my FB favorites list. So when I saw Milligan and the Samurai Rebels and its striking cover, HOT DAMN, I had to click on that Kindle purchase link.
I initially bought this book for the laughs and the entertainment value. What I got in return was so much more. First off, after reading the author's bio, I discovered that Simon Alexander Collier has spent a great deal of time in Japan. His knowledge of the country and its rich cultural history shows. Not only did I laugh my ass off while reading this book (Wait, no, it's still there hogging up the chair. Damn.) but I learned a great deal about Samurai and Japanese history.
The book follows the adventures of Robert Seamus Milligan, a young British diplomat serving in Japan, who either by luck, chance or just plain stupidity is thrown into (and then rescued) from several bizarre and life-threatening situations. His missions require that he travel the Japanese countryside during a time of civil war and political unrest. To compound the dangers Mr. Milligan faces, many sword-wielding Japanese Samurai despise Westerners.
Add an irate English general and his `compromised' daughter, one sadistic, ball-busting French spy, a mysterious kick-ass Japanese servant, a strange little Samurai bent on finding unique ways to kill Milligan, plus Milligan's penchant for beautiful, forbidden women, and you have one hell of a funny and entertaining read. I sure hope Mr. Collier plans on releasing another book of this caliber soon. I look forward to reading more like this.
I initially bought this book for the laughs and the entertainment value. What I got in return was so much more. First off, after reading the author's bio, I discovered that Simon Alexander Collier has spent a great deal of time in Japan. His knowledge of the country and its rich cultural history shows. Not only did I laugh my ass off while reading this book (Wait, no, it's still there hogging up the chair. Damn.) but I learned a great deal about Samurai and Japanese history.
The book follows the adventures of Robert Seamus Milligan, a young British diplomat serving in Japan, who either by luck, chance or just plain stupidity is thrown into (and then rescued) from several bizarre and life-threatening situations. His missions require that he travel the Japanese countryside during a time of civil war and political unrest. To compound the dangers Mr. Milligan faces, many sword-wielding Japanese Samurai despise Westerners.
Add an irate English general and his `compromised' daughter, one sadistic, ball-busting French spy, a mysterious kick-ass Japanese servant, a strange little Samurai bent on finding unique ways to kill Milligan, plus Milligan's penchant for beautiful, forbidden women, and you have one hell of a funny and entertaining read. I sure hope Mr. Collier plans on releasing another book of this caliber soon. I look forward to reading more like this.
December 30, 2012
Humour and history do not often go together well, and it is a hard trick to pull off to combine them successfully. However, Simon Collier succeeds brilliantly in this first novel.
July 25, 2015
This was a mildly interesting book, which contained nearly every possible cliche a male Orientalist writing about Japan would consider useful to employ – and which also seems to have been heavily influenced by the Flashman books. I think it’s been intended as a light entertainment, but I’ve seen these motives and characters already, and the whole thing tastes a bit stale, like an old pastry. Not filling enough, not fresh enough.
The bumbling, incompetent hero finds himself in the middle of the conflict between Great Britain and Satsuma, and despite his incompetence and awkwardness is able to survive, to be made a samurai in a matter of minutes, to get himself a mistress… The mistress is a feudal lady who is also a ninja! Can you guess the additional bonuses? Yeah yeah, she is beautiful and good in bed – aint’t that a given – but she also acts as his bodyguard!
By the way, he meets her at an inn. Here’s the description:
“This third lady, clearly the social superior of the others, was covered from her swan-like neck to her hidden feet in a garment of fiery red silk decorated with motifs of white cranes and silver flowers, bound together with a wide yellowy brocade sash. Her black shining hair was piled high on top of her head, held there and ornamented by a number of elaborate kanzashi hairpins. Between the red of her kimono and the black of her head was the stark white of her heavily powdered face, a coating that could not hide the sculpted symmetry of real beauty, in the centre of which sat perfect lips as red as the kimono.”
Sitting lips aside, these are the looks of a courtesan. A garish red kimono, brocade, numerous hairpins, heavy makeup – this is not how a feudal lady would dress herself, on the road no less. Why doesn’t the hero know this? Did he get confused? I’m the last person to shame a woman on being sexually aggressive – she visits the hero the very night, driven, I guess, by curiosity – but you know, in Edo it took three visits before the courtesan agreed to untie her sash for you. Yeah, it’s an Orientalist fantasy, I get it, I get it…
Or do I? See, the guy has a girl in a Yokohama brothel, named Hanako (of course!), whom he visits regularly for his sexual needs.
“She told me of her desperately poor family in some far-flung part of northern Japan where the rice crop was poor, the winters harsh, and younger daughters a particular burden. Hanako’s father was not the first in her village to sell a daughter to one of the brothels of a big city and was unlikely to be the last. She had accepted her fate stoically – the Japanese can do stoicism like no others –“
How very deep!
“Reluctant at first to fraternise with barbarians, she now claimed a preference for Western customers as most of them treated her if not as an equal then at least as a human being, which could not be said of her countrymen.”
What do you expect, o gentle 21st-century reader, after a bold statement such as this? That the valiant hero refuses to take advantage of Hanako the sex slave? (Let’s not mince words.) Maybe he buys her out? Marries her? Helps her in any way? You bet. Hanako disappears off the radar. He goes on to the ninja/lady/courtesan’s bed, and then marries a white girl. He’s more humane than Japanese men, because he tells you so. Orientalist masturbation at its finest, o gentle reader!
“I had come to prefer a futon to a bed, rice to potatoes and fish to meat, green tea to its English equivalent.” Let’s put aside the fact that most Japanese at that time could afford neither futons nor fish, and that green tea was not unknown in the West at that time – but if the hero has to be more Japanese than the Japanese, he should know certain things. Thus:
“Ichibu” is not a currency. “Bu” is. “Ichibu” means “one bu”. “Seiza” not “sea”, “itterasshai” (too modern btw) and not “ittarasshai”. Wearing thick makeup was not common for all women – that’s a mistake usually made by casual travelers who had contact with professional ladies only. Takoyaki is a 20th century invention.
Well, maybe he’s confused, because he’s been knocked unconscious so many times… Why no one ever realizes how dangerous is that? I hate this, really. Don’t want to see this way of ending a scene again. Way too unrealistic and lazy.
If not for the style, which flows quite pleasantly, it would be 1 star. Let’s cheer with other guests at the British Minister’s residence to “the items of lost property that he inadvertently left behind in Japan” – what are these, you ask? Why, they are women, Mrs McGovern and her beautiful daughter, the future wife of the hero.
Oh the women, the items. What would the random Japanese Orientalist do without them? Acknowledge that samurai bonked each other like crazy? Oh, I am dreaming… *evil and knowledgeable laugh*
The bumbling, incompetent hero finds himself in the middle of the conflict between Great Britain and Satsuma, and despite his incompetence and awkwardness is able to survive, to be made a samurai in a matter of minutes, to get himself a mistress… The mistress is a feudal lady who is also a ninja! Can you guess the additional bonuses? Yeah yeah, she is beautiful and good in bed – aint’t that a given – but she also acts as his bodyguard!
By the way, he meets her at an inn. Here’s the description:
“This third lady, clearly the social superior of the others, was covered from her swan-like neck to her hidden feet in a garment of fiery red silk decorated with motifs of white cranes and silver flowers, bound together with a wide yellowy brocade sash. Her black shining hair was piled high on top of her head, held there and ornamented by a number of elaborate kanzashi hairpins. Between the red of her kimono and the black of her head was the stark white of her heavily powdered face, a coating that could not hide the sculpted symmetry of real beauty, in the centre of which sat perfect lips as red as the kimono.”
Sitting lips aside, these are the looks of a courtesan. A garish red kimono, brocade, numerous hairpins, heavy makeup – this is not how a feudal lady would dress herself, on the road no less. Why doesn’t the hero know this? Did he get confused? I’m the last person to shame a woman on being sexually aggressive – she visits the hero the very night, driven, I guess, by curiosity – but you know, in Edo it took three visits before the courtesan agreed to untie her sash for you. Yeah, it’s an Orientalist fantasy, I get it, I get it…
Or do I? See, the guy has a girl in a Yokohama brothel, named Hanako (of course!), whom he visits regularly for his sexual needs.
“She told me of her desperately poor family in some far-flung part of northern Japan where the rice crop was poor, the winters harsh, and younger daughters a particular burden. Hanako’s father was not the first in her village to sell a daughter to one of the brothels of a big city and was unlikely to be the last. She had accepted her fate stoically – the Japanese can do stoicism like no others –“
How very deep!
“Reluctant at first to fraternise with barbarians, she now claimed a preference for Western customers as most of them treated her if not as an equal then at least as a human being, which could not be said of her countrymen.”
What do you expect, o gentle 21st-century reader, after a bold statement such as this? That the valiant hero refuses to take advantage of Hanako the sex slave? (Let’s not mince words.) Maybe he buys her out? Marries her? Helps her in any way? You bet. Hanako disappears off the radar. He goes on to the ninja/lady/courtesan’s bed, and then marries a white girl. He’s more humane than Japanese men, because he tells you so. Orientalist masturbation at its finest, o gentle reader!
“I had come to prefer a futon to a bed, rice to potatoes and fish to meat, green tea to its English equivalent.” Let’s put aside the fact that most Japanese at that time could afford neither futons nor fish, and that green tea was not unknown in the West at that time – but if the hero has to be more Japanese than the Japanese, he should know certain things. Thus:
“Ichibu” is not a currency. “Bu” is. “Ichibu” means “one bu”. “Seiza” not “sea”, “itterasshai” (too modern btw) and not “ittarasshai”. Wearing thick makeup was not common for all women – that’s a mistake usually made by casual travelers who had contact with professional ladies only. Takoyaki is a 20th century invention.
Well, maybe he’s confused, because he’s been knocked unconscious so many times… Why no one ever realizes how dangerous is that? I hate this, really. Don’t want to see this way of ending a scene again. Way too unrealistic and lazy.
If not for the style, which flows quite pleasantly, it would be 1 star. Let’s cheer with other guests at the British Minister’s residence to “the items of lost property that he inadvertently left behind in Japan” – what are these, you ask? Why, they are women, Mrs McGovern and her beautiful daughter, the future wife of the hero.
Oh the women, the items. What would the random Japanese Orientalist do without them? Acknowledge that samurai bonked each other like crazy? Oh, I am dreaming… *evil and knowledgeable laugh*
December 13, 2013
There is much that is very enjoyable in this romp in the Land of the Rising Sun. In addition to the fascinating historical context in which the story is set (the author seems to know what he is talking about here—he convinced me, anyway), there is the anti-hero, Robert Milligan, a member of the British Diplomatic Mission in Japan at the time (1862 – 1864). He is a likely lad, fleeing scandal in the motherland, ill-equipped for his present mission, but somehow muddling through with oodles of good luck.
The story of Milligan’s sexual and political misadventures is narrated in the first person in a pompous, slightly long-winded style, served with a large dose of irony. For the most part, I thought this worked well, although some readers may prefer a faster pace. There were times when I also thought that the narrative style weighed the story down, and sometimes the irony became laboured and predictable. Adopting a first person narrative is always, I think, a risky strategy. The reader can become bored with hearing the same voice continuously. This happened from time to time, and was exacerbated by the particular style.
In a story like this there are always at least two components. First there is the historical component, the broad, historical story. Second there is the personal story of the protagonist. The former provides the context for the latter. The historical narrative moves forward quite well, and Milligan is swept along by events. At around two-thirds of the way through the book I began to have doubts about Milligan’s personal story. He seemed to be simply drifting from one event to another. A clear story arc appeared to be lacking. This was almost redeemed just in the nick of time when the author linked the story with the opening events, providing such an arc. I say ‘almost’ because I think this came a little late, and Milligan’s own story arc, his personal journey, could have been given more structure at various points in the story, so that more progress and more continuity were evident. Instead, for much of the time, there is just a series of loosely connected events. I also think that the resolution of that arc (between Milligan and a certain lady by the name of Catherine) was a little rushed and unlikely.
The other characters in the story play very much supporting roles, and consist of a fairly predictable bunch of pompous Brits, enigmatic Japanese and villainous French. The main support is provided by Miyazawa, Milligan’s manservant, with a suitably mysterious and noble past. I am probably being a little unfair to these other characters, some of whom are not so stereotypical and have some depth and complexity. Nevertheless, it is again an issue with a first person narrative that one character inevitably overshadows others, who are only seen through the central character’s eyes.
Unlike some other reviewers, I am not an aficionado of this type of literature: I have never read anything by James Clavell, and I have no idea what ‘the Flashman’ series is; so I am in no position to compare it with them. For me, this was sufficiently educational, humorous and enjoyable to warrant four stars.
The story of Milligan’s sexual and political misadventures is narrated in the first person in a pompous, slightly long-winded style, served with a large dose of irony. For the most part, I thought this worked well, although some readers may prefer a faster pace. There were times when I also thought that the narrative style weighed the story down, and sometimes the irony became laboured and predictable. Adopting a first person narrative is always, I think, a risky strategy. The reader can become bored with hearing the same voice continuously. This happened from time to time, and was exacerbated by the particular style.
In a story like this there are always at least two components. First there is the historical component, the broad, historical story. Second there is the personal story of the protagonist. The former provides the context for the latter. The historical narrative moves forward quite well, and Milligan is swept along by events. At around two-thirds of the way through the book I began to have doubts about Milligan’s personal story. He seemed to be simply drifting from one event to another. A clear story arc appeared to be lacking. This was almost redeemed just in the nick of time when the author linked the story with the opening events, providing such an arc. I say ‘almost’ because I think this came a little late, and Milligan’s own story arc, his personal journey, could have been given more structure at various points in the story, so that more progress and more continuity were evident. Instead, for much of the time, there is just a series of loosely connected events. I also think that the resolution of that arc (between Milligan and a certain lady by the name of Catherine) was a little rushed and unlikely.
The other characters in the story play very much supporting roles, and consist of a fairly predictable bunch of pompous Brits, enigmatic Japanese and villainous French. The main support is provided by Miyazawa, Milligan’s manservant, with a suitably mysterious and noble past. I am probably being a little unfair to these other characters, some of whom are not so stereotypical and have some depth and complexity. Nevertheless, it is again an issue with a first person narrative that one character inevitably overshadows others, who are only seen through the central character’s eyes.
Unlike some other reviewers, I am not an aficionado of this type of literature: I have never read anything by James Clavell, and I have no idea what ‘the Flashman’ series is; so I am in no position to compare it with them. For me, this was sufficiently educational, humorous and enjoyable to warrant four stars.
September 29, 2013
I read Simon Alexander's "Milligan and the Samurai Rebels" last spring and just haven't gotten around to finally writing a review, but I was thinking about it this evening and the impression finally gelled in my brain.
I think Simon Alexander has created a new genre...for me anyway...the Historical Action Comedy! :) So, I am rating this book based on those elements.
What I really appreciate about Simon Alexander's writing is that it is very well balanced. It is historically very well researched at a level that doesn't beat you over the head or bog you down, but provides enough accurate information to set the scene and carry the story. So, historically speaking, considering that his story is also an action/comedy, I'm going to give him the whopping 5-star rating for historical accuracy.
For the next element of the genre, the action, again, he does a great job balancing the action through the story, building climaxes that flow very well in the historical setting he has provided. Milligan and the Samurai Rebels is going to get a 4-star action rating, because this category has some stiff competition and I think perfect might be pushing it. Sometimes the situations Milligan got himself into were a little too coincidental, but I wouldn't knock more than one star off from that because even though they seemed a little too neat, as a comedy it still worked really well. Milligan is a great character! (But I wanted him to end up with Lady Murakami - sorry if I got that name wrong...I read it 7 months ago...)
For Simon Alexander's comedy, he's going to get another 4-star rating. I really like how he developed Milligan. The humor was smart, and even, and again really well balanced with the rest of the action and the setting. If there is another Milligan book, I will definitely pick it up. And I might be picking up a few Milligan and the Samurai Rebels, if I can get them in paperback, to give as holiday gifts.
A couple of housekeeping notes that seem to be important for self-published authors: Excellent editing. I don't recall any issues on my Kindle version with typos, grammar, or layout. I also love the cover art, so 4 stars also to your cover artist!
You know when you go to the Trader Joe's and you take a chance and pick up an unknown bottle of $8-9 wine, and it turns out to be pretty darn good...that's Milligan and the Samurai Rebels! I took a chance, and it was pretty darn good.
I think Simon Alexander has created a new genre...for me anyway...the Historical Action Comedy! :) So, I am rating this book based on those elements.
What I really appreciate about Simon Alexander's writing is that it is very well balanced. It is historically very well researched at a level that doesn't beat you over the head or bog you down, but provides enough accurate information to set the scene and carry the story. So, historically speaking, considering that his story is also an action/comedy, I'm going to give him the whopping 5-star rating for historical accuracy.
For the next element of the genre, the action, again, he does a great job balancing the action through the story, building climaxes that flow very well in the historical setting he has provided. Milligan and the Samurai Rebels is going to get a 4-star action rating, because this category has some stiff competition and I think perfect might be pushing it. Sometimes the situations Milligan got himself into were a little too coincidental, but I wouldn't knock more than one star off from that because even though they seemed a little too neat, as a comedy it still worked really well. Milligan is a great character! (But I wanted him to end up with Lady Murakami - sorry if I got that name wrong...I read it 7 months ago...)
For Simon Alexander's comedy, he's going to get another 4-star rating. I really like how he developed Milligan. The humor was smart, and even, and again really well balanced with the rest of the action and the setting. If there is another Milligan book, I will definitely pick it up. And I might be picking up a few Milligan and the Samurai Rebels, if I can get them in paperback, to give as holiday gifts.
A couple of housekeeping notes that seem to be important for self-published authors: Excellent editing. I don't recall any issues on my Kindle version with typos, grammar, or layout. I also love the cover art, so 4 stars also to your cover artist!
You know when you go to the Trader Joe's and you take a chance and pick up an unknown bottle of $8-9 wine, and it turns out to be pretty darn good...that's Milligan and the Samurai Rebels! I took a chance, and it was pretty darn good.
September 3, 2013
History is fun. I know, I know, you might not believe this, but hear me out. Since high school, I loved history, and there is one period of time that always kept pulling back in for more, the Meiji Era in Japan (roughly 1860 to 1910). Great samurai battles, the Bushido code, and the setting of most Akira Kurosawa films. Of course, as I got older and bitter, so did my views on this period. I was beginning to be set in my ways, and then Simon Alexander Collier wrote this book. After reading it, I thought to myself, “History is fun again.”
Taking place on the eve of the Meiji Restoration, Robert Seamus Milligan is a young British diplomat that finds himself in a troublesome quandary. His drinking and care free attitude has him in hot water again with everyone, from the English to the Japanese. Western and Japanese tensions are high, and it quickly becomes a game of cat and mouse with Milligan as the cheese. Everyone is a threat and no one can be trusted.
Collier mixes the right amount of humor with history to create a marvelous formula. There is a quirkiness that Collier brings to the genre as a whole, that separates him from the rest. Milligan, as a character, could of easy overtake the events and the whole book, but, Milligan and plot, work together beautifully. All the other characters feel real and have strong depth to them. The pace is quick and fun, once you begin to read it, you can't stop. I have even written essays on some of these events, like the incident involving C.L. Richardson, but the unpredictability of the story kept me glued to the page. Collier's style of writing creates a beautiful picture in the minds eye, even if you haven’t been to Japan.
Anyone with an interest in Japan, or likes historical fiction, will enjoy this book. I highly recommended it for being an enchaining and profound read. I can not wait for the sequel, or at the very least, another book by Simon Alexander Collier.
Taking place on the eve of the Meiji Restoration, Robert Seamus Milligan is a young British diplomat that finds himself in a troublesome quandary. His drinking and care free attitude has him in hot water again with everyone, from the English to the Japanese. Western and Japanese tensions are high, and it quickly becomes a game of cat and mouse with Milligan as the cheese. Everyone is a threat and no one can be trusted.
Collier mixes the right amount of humor with history to create a marvelous formula. There is a quirkiness that Collier brings to the genre as a whole, that separates him from the rest. Milligan, as a character, could of easy overtake the events and the whole book, but, Milligan and plot, work together beautifully. All the other characters feel real and have strong depth to them. The pace is quick and fun, once you begin to read it, you can't stop. I have even written essays on some of these events, like the incident involving C.L. Richardson, but the unpredictability of the story kept me glued to the page. Collier's style of writing creates a beautiful picture in the minds eye, even if you haven’t been to Japan.
Anyone with an interest in Japan, or likes historical fiction, will enjoy this book. I highly recommended it for being an enchaining and profound read. I can not wait for the sequel, or at the very least, another book by Simon Alexander Collier.
May 15, 2016
Excellent! This is both funny and interesting; it had me laughing out loud whilst learning in rich detail about Japanese culture and politics in that time period. It was a real page turner with lots of dangerous and funny incidents throughout, with a loveable main character who bumbles his way through the story, swept up in the events.
The history and culture are put across expertly, a bit like Bernard Cornwell's Sharpe, but with a comical cowardly figure instead of a hero! The author lives in Japan and you can tell.
Some people have compared it to Flashman, due to it being a historical comedy, but this is way better than Flashman.
The cover art - amazing! I kept on looking at it admiring the layout, colours and laughing at the character's expression. The book becomes a beautiful object on its own.
Thoroughly recommended, I checked out the author and there is another Milligan adventure available! Hurrah! I am putting it straight on my wishlist.
Received as a Goodreads giveaway for an honest review.
The history and culture are put across expertly, a bit like Bernard Cornwell's Sharpe, but with a comical cowardly figure instead of a hero! The author lives in Japan and you can tell.
Some people have compared it to Flashman, due to it being a historical comedy, but this is way better than Flashman.
The cover art - amazing! I kept on looking at it admiring the layout, colours and laughing at the character's expression. The book becomes a beautiful object on its own.
Thoroughly recommended, I checked out the author and there is another Milligan adventure available! Hurrah! I am putting it straight on my wishlist.
Received as a Goodreads giveaway for an honest review.
March 22, 2016
A fun and fantastic rollercoaster ride through Japanese history at one of its most crucial junctures as relayed by a bumbling Irish descended diplomat that saves the day, changes history and manages to have disappeared from any official record. Simon Collier (the author) has clearly done a lot of research to make the book authentic to its time. There are a lot of events that actually happened in the book and Simon weaves a tale around the official versions to incorporate the junior diplomat and his trusty manservant into the key historical turning points of this crucial period in Japan's history. There's the seriousness of the competing powers of the day and the machinations of politics in the background, all told in a flowing, comedic style that has smiles aplenty.
I would say that the comparator for me for the main character is Rincewind from the Terry Pratchett discworld novels, which is high praise indeed.
I would say that the comparator for me for the main character is Rincewind from the Terry Pratchett discworld novels, which is high praise indeed.
September 24, 2012
4 1/2 stars, but I haven't worked out how to give half-stars here. I liked this a lot. Some of the places mentioned are places I have been to and I can visualise in my mind's eye, and I know a little about the politics of the time mentioned. The way in which a fictional hero finds himself at the centre of real events is ingenious - and plausible.
The hero of the book is very much in the mould of the popular Flashman, but with a little less caddishness and somewhat more self-aware of his shortcomings.
Highly entertaining for me, and fascinating to anyone who has lived in Japan, or with an interest in the culture that extends beyond pop idols, anime and manga. Maybe perhaps not quite as good a read for those who have little knowledge of or interest in the country.
Recommended.
The hero of the book is very much in the mould of the popular Flashman, but with a little less caddishness and somewhat more self-aware of his shortcomings.
Highly entertaining for me, and fascinating to anyone who has lived in Japan, or with an interest in the culture that extends beyond pop idols, anime and manga. Maybe perhaps not quite as good a read for those who have little knowledge of or interest in the country.
Recommended.
December 30, 2013
This is a really fun tale of a young British diplomat in Japan toward the end of the feudal period, who gets himself into various scrapes and thus inadvertently alters the course of Japanese history. It's a clever idea and the author manages to make it both entertaining and believable. It's light-hearted and easy-to-read but also well-researched, providing an interesting glimpse into a particularly turbulent point in Japan. Recommended not only for people interested in Japan but anyone who enjoys good historical fiction or humorous writing.
June 12, 2014
A very enjoyable historical comedy starring a flawed but lovable protagonist. The author's research was painstaking, and his understanding of Japanese history and culture is formidable. As a result he's managed to weave a really good story into real historical events. Not only was it a good read, but I was also left with a much better understanding of Japanese history and culture. If I was teaching anything about Japan I'd want this book to be on the reading list of my students.
November 11, 2012
An educational and funny read. set in 1860's Japan and follows young British diplomat Robert Seamus Milligan (and not to forget his faithful man-servent Miyazawa) on his many adventures and into some trouble along the way at a time of political unrest. If you love Japanese culture and history, adventures, or love a good laugh, pick this up!
July 21, 2016
This tale takes me back to my childhood of watching movies with Abbott & Costello, Bob Hope, Danny Kaye, etc. I love the humorous misadventures of this book's main character and appreciate the author's lessons in Japan's history. The narrative weaves these two elements brilliantly to make one great story that anyone with a penchant towards slapstick comedy and/or a love of history will enjoy.
October 7, 2012
I started this book expecting a humorous historical novel in the vein of Fraser's Flashman Diaries. In addition I got an interesting well done novel about the politics of 1860's Japan after it was forceably re opened to the West.
November 5, 2013
Galloping fun read... in the Flashman mould.
January 2, 2025
If you don't mind blatant white savior complex and the author fundamentally believing that the Japanese are a lower race than white people then it's a pretty good story. In addition, as you see so often post WW2, the white guy takes complete advantage of japanese hospitality two stars
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