A Breed of Heroes

Charles Thoroughgood #1

by Alan Judd

After university and Sandhurst, Charles Thoroughgood has now joined the Assault Commados and is on a four-month tour of duty in Armagh and Belfast. The thankless task facing him and his men -- to patrol the tension-filled streets through weeks of boredom punctuated by bursts of horror -- takes them through times of tragedy, madness, laughter and terror.

Genres: Fiction, Ireland, Espionage, War, Novels, Thriller, Historical Fiction

347 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 1, 1981

About the author

Alan Judd is a pseudonym used by Alan Edwin Petty.

Born in 1946, he graduated from Oxford University and served as a British Army officer in Northern Ireland during 'The Troubles', before later joining the Foreign Office; he currently works as a security analyst. He regularly contributes articles to a number of publications, including The Daily Telegraph, and The Spectator as its motoring correspondent. His books include both fiction and non-fiction titles, with his novels often drawing on his military background.

He lives in Sussex with his wife and daughter.

Reviews

[Corto · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Guy Crouchback goes to Northern Ireland". This book could have been written by Evelyn Waugh. Cynical, darkly humorous and tragic. The author, Alan Judd is a former British Army officer, and veteran of Northern Ireland which accounts for the tone of the book. The story details one officer's tour (presumably inspired by his own) with a fictional parachute regiment during the early heat of The Troubles. Complex and well done.

[Ryan Wulfsohn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I recently re-read this, it really is one of my favourite novels. The feelings of emptiness and ennui that come to pervade a battalion of paratroopers (and more specifically the main character, Charles Thoroughgood) serving in Northern Ireland in the early' 70s are pefectly evoked. However the humorous and farcical aspects of army life are there too. Strikes a great balance between absurd comedy and grim reality.

[Eric Grounds · Rating 3 out of 5]

Having served in Armagh, Londonderry and Belfast in the 1970s, this book was always going to interest me. It is pretty accurate and quietly entertaining....so much so, in fact, that I went on to read the whole sequence

[Justin Nelson · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting account of life in a peacetime army - albeit in Belfast during the Troubles: boredom, incompetence, lack of action - and sudden dreams, followed by bathos. Not a thrilling book, but well-written and enjoyable.

[Getvoldsen · Rating 1 out of 5]

Read on waiting for Judd to drive the characters towards a goal, conclusion or end point. Never happened

[Eve · Rating 1 out of 5]

absolutely awful, there was no real narrative, just a list of things he did. I couldn't even finish it.

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

The ordinariness of army life, even in war.

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cynical and darkly funny

A novel masquerading as a memoir. Don’t expect nuance or political insight. A graduate of Oxford and Sandhurst, Charles Thoroughood is thoroughly numb; unsure what, if anything, he feels for his girlfriend; unsure as to why exactly he’s in an Assault Commando Regiment of the British Army; muddling through his tour of duty in the Northern Ireland of the Troubles; hardly caring what he will do after buying himself out. He’s not so much a hero, or anti-hero, as a non-hero.

But in his narration of the characters and events of that tour of duty, he displays the wit of the cynic. His depiction of his senior officers is hilarious: the gung-ho company commander who thinks he’s always right as he ‘charges in where angels fear to tread’. The 2IC who is the epitome of English aristocratic nonchalance. As the RSM would no doubt confirm “lions led by donkeys”. Obviously written from the POV of the occupying army, it’s still troubling to see how the people of Northern Ireland are portrayed, the women are all ugly or promiscuous, the men are unthinking violent brutes. And not one passage about the colonial history of Ireland.

[Jory · Rating 1 out of 5]

Poorly written and without any real characters or plot -- but that's second to the fact that this is such a disgusting and blatant piece of violent imperialist propaganda that it singlehandedly restored my good opinion of the rioters. The author does everything in his power to paint poor Irish catholics as subhuman and repeatedly does open apologism for child murder by the British Army, and that's after he jokes about it within the first few chapters. Pity the poor soldier who can't fire live ammunition at a crowd of primary school kids for annoying him without being cancelled by the Woke Media, I guess. Jesus Christ.

[Ali Morgan · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF after 13%. Unfortunately, any reliance on description in the absence of material events to engage me, didn’t work. While a very different book, the descriptive narrative in Crawdads was page turning. In the absence of being in the situation of those soldiers, nothing attracted me to persevere. It was meant to be fiction so could have been riveting. Having read other reviews, I’m satisfied my DNF status is right for me. No plot! No excitement. The author’s had success and I wish him well. Not for me or many others which is allowed.

[Annette Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alan Judd captures the atmosphere of 1970s Belfast in a way that only someone with first-hand experience could. His insights into the chain of command and internal politics of the British army's elite Assault Commando unit provide context that enhances the reader's understanding of events. A glossary of important military terms would have been helpful. For example, a quick internet search for relevant vehicles turned up images of the Humber Pig and Ferret scout car. However, I'm still trying to figure out what a Scoopy-do is (possibly a JCB HMEE Backhoe Loader?).

[Ian · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you started with the later books in the Charles Thoroughgood series, you'll find this one very different. Depicting his early career as a subaltern in 1970s Northern Ireland, it paints a vivid portrait of army life. From the day-to-day absurdities, to the black humour and moments of outright terror, Judd portrays it all with a gritty realism.

There are perhaps a few too many characters which makes it hard to keep track at times, but it will keep you gripped right to the end.

[Christine Lapping · Rating 4 out of 5]

I dithered between 3 or 4 stars because the detail does become a bit tedious at times, but overall it gives a true picture of the boring routine of army life, interspersed with periods of fear, confusion and thrills. My brother did 2 tours of Northern Ireland during The Troubles and this book captures the atmosphere and relationships as he related them.

[Jonathan McKay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Convincing

There are very few books about the "troubles" and even fewer that are fair to the army, recognising the very difficult duty they were assigned, inadequately trained and equipped as they were. My only regret is that this series moves away from the army.

[Pete · Rating 5 out of 5]

A compelling narrative of army life in Ulster at the height of the troubles.

[Pat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Those in the know say this is a true-to-life account of serving in the Army during the Troubles. I felt it started well but then dragged. Some interesting characters - but no plot.

[M C · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ebook. Semi autographs all of the troubles in Northern Ireland

[Lysergius · Rating 3 out of 5]

It has the ring of authenticity of experience lives and retold.

[Patricia Mcadden · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent story about a very difficult time in Ireland.