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Sergeant Jack Crossman #3
Soldiers in the Mist
Garry Douglas Kilworth's third Jack Crossman novel finds the man they call 'Fancy Jack' with little time to recover from the horrors of Balaclava. Following the terrible massacre of the Light Brigade, morale is low, supplies are scarce and the Crimean Winter is beginning to take its toll. Determined to capture the Russian port of Sevastopol, the British and French lay siege to the city. The Russians send a huge force to break the siege and the scene is set for the Battle of Inkerman. Jack Crossman is sent on another covert mission to cut Russian supply lines but there is an added element of danger when it is discovered that there is a traitor on the loose in the British ranks. Fancy Jack and his men are once again risking their lives to help ensure the success of the Allied war effort.
256 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1999
About the author
Garry Kilworth
228 books124 followersGarry Douglas Kilworth is a historical novelist who also published sci-fi, fantasy, and juvenile fiction.
Kilworth is a graduate of King's College London. He was previously a science fiction author, having published one hundred twenty short stories and seventy novels.
Kilworth is a graduate of King's College London. He was previously a science fiction author, having published one hundred twenty short stories and seventy novels.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
November 27, 2021
Read this book in 2010, and its the 3rd volume of the exciting "Fancy Jack" Crossman series.
Sergeant Jack Crossman of the 88th Regiment, the Connaught Rangers, and the rest of the British Army are licking their wounds after the Battle of Balaclava, where the Light Brigade got destroyed by the Russians.
With morale low and very unfriendly surroundings, whether people and/or weather, and supply scarce, Jack Crossman and his men are once again sent on a suicide mission, a fox hunt, to cut off Russian supplies from the North, and in doing so risking once more life and limb for the rest of the British Army.
In the meantime the Russians are launching another attack to get possession of Shell Hill, and that Battle will turn out into another black powder one.
What is to follow is a very satisfactory story about the battles in the Crimea, whether face to face on the ground, or behind enemy lines, and these enterprises are wonderfully pictured by the author.
Very much recommended, for this is another very entertaining addition to this likeable series, and that's why I like to call this episode: "A Very Enjoyable Crimean War Story"!
Sergeant Jack Crossman of the 88th Regiment, the Connaught Rangers, and the rest of the British Army are licking their wounds after the Battle of Balaclava, where the Light Brigade got destroyed by the Russians.
With morale low and very unfriendly surroundings, whether people and/or weather, and supply scarce, Jack Crossman and his men are once again sent on a suicide mission, a fox hunt, to cut off Russian supplies from the North, and in doing so risking once more life and limb for the rest of the British Army.
In the meantime the Russians are launching another attack to get possession of Shell Hill, and that Battle will turn out into another black powder one.
What is to follow is a very satisfactory story about the battles in the Crimea, whether face to face on the ground, or behind enemy lines, and these enterprises are wonderfully pictured by the author.
Very much recommended, for this is another very entertaining addition to this likeable series, and that's why I like to call this episode: "A Very Enjoyable Crimean War Story"!
April 13, 2023
Not a good read, or even a good story. The book started off well enough but didn't stay that way for very long. Too much happened too quickly and then everything degenerated. Chapter after chapter became a military report, based on a report, based on a military report based on.....
Mr Kilworth's research is admirable but the story lost its impact in the tedious detail of the Battle of Inkerman Heights. If the author could have infused this report with the same spark he had displayed in the opening chapters, the entire book could have been far more gripping and enjoyable than it was.
Once the description of the battle was done, the tone of the book changed back to the promise of the opening only to degenerate into an almost fairytale ending, which I knew was coming well before it happened. Even the villain of the endpiece was predictable.
Mr Kilworth is undoubtedly a good researcher but his story loses its spark in the telling and lacks credibility.
Mr Kilworth's research is admirable but the story lost its impact in the tedious detail of the Battle of Inkerman Heights. If the author could have infused this report with the same spark he had displayed in the opening chapters, the entire book could have been far more gripping and enjoyable than it was.
Once the description of the battle was done, the tone of the book changed back to the promise of the opening only to degenerate into an almost fairytale ending, which I knew was coming well before it happened. Even the villain of the endpiece was predictable.
Mr Kilworth is undoubtedly a good researcher but his story loses its spark in the telling and lacks credibility.
December 30, 2023
Sgt. Jack Crossman is a nobleman who has enlisted in the British Infantry under a false name because of hatred of his father. He has found a niche operating as the leader of a group of what would now be referred to as special forces, undertaking clandestine missions against the Russians in the Crimean War. This book opens with Jack being sent on a secret mission to assassinate a British traitor, who is delivering plans to the enemy.
The majority of the book deals with the Russian offensive on the Allied British, French, and Turkish positions in the Battle of Shell Hill.
Again, excellent writing and a lot of history. The Crimean War is not just the failure of the charge of the Light Brigade.
The majority of the book deals with the Russian offensive on the Allied British, French, and Turkish positions in the Battle of Shell Hill.
Again, excellent writing and a lot of history. The Crimean War is not just the failure of the charge of the Light Brigade.
June 3, 2019
Exciting story continues. I enjoy that its based in the Crimea war. Its a war I do not know much about and I just can't believe how the British troops even though they were vastly out numbered and lacked warm clothes and decent equipment. The soldiers fought and died and won against all odds.
Not many people know about the sacrifice they made at this time in history?
Not many people know about the sacrifice they made at this time in history?
October 24, 2019
This is the second book by this author that I've read and I realise that I am reading them out of order, but this did not spoil the enjoyment of reading this book. A good story wrapped around factual battles during the Crimean war, and the author added a map to help understand the real battle.
November 29, 2017
An easy and enjoyable read will have me looking for more in the series....in the future.
September 30, 2019
Another brilliant book in the series fancy jack gets up to some adventures lots of fighting and action
February 6, 2023
An excellent addition to the Jack Crossman series.
September 25, 2012
I know. I've been spoiled by having read Sharpe and other Cornwell books, and By Hornblower and the Louis L'Amour Sackett books. Garry Kilworth is an excellent writer, and the Crimean War a brilliant backdrop to stories about Fancy Jack Crossman and what is probably the birth of the British Intelligence Corps (of which I was a member)
Like the other two I've read, it does seem to take an age to get to the action, but when it does, there it is in glorious (gorious?) technicolour detail. I'm not as well informed about the Crimean War as I was about the Napoleonic era (my dad was in the household cavalry, I grew up with stories of Eagles and daring deeds) so I have no ideahow many of the details are history and how much is added by the author.
Now I have to track down The Winter Soldiers and Attack on the Redan - but I think they're out of print so it's not going to be easy.
Like the other two I've read, it does seem to take an age to get to the action, but when it does, there it is in glorious (gorious?) technicolour detail. I'm not as well informed about the Crimean War as I was about the Napoleonic era (my dad was in the household cavalry, I grew up with stories of Eagles and daring deeds) so I have no ideahow many of the details are history and how much is added by the author.
Now I have to track down The Winter Soldiers and Attack on the Redan - but I think they're out of print so it's not going to be easy.
September 12, 2013
A number of British soldiers are sent on spy / covert missions during the Crimean war.
The story is reasonable, but the majority of the writing is very long winded (with every detail / relationship being explained at least once) so I found that it read like an overblown text book rather than a novel.
I have rated this 3 star for the story, but the writing (in my opinion) doesn’t rate that highly.
The story is reasonable, but the majority of the writing is very long winded (with every detail / relationship being explained at least once) so I found that it read like an overblown text book rather than a novel.
I have rated this 3 star for the story, but the writing (in my opinion) doesn’t rate that highly.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews