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James Ogilvie #6
Subaltern's Choice
The men of the 114th Queen’s Own Royal Strathspeys are posted in Peshawar, an outpost of the British Raj near the North-West Frontier. But word comes that trouble is brewing in the region, and that the princeling Jahangir Khan – who has the support of the British - may need the army’s assistance.The pressure on the brave Strasthspeys begins to mount after a fact-finding patrol led by zealous new subaltern Hamish Dewar goes disastrously he is the only survivor.Now Captain James Ogilvie’s regiment has a clear duty to defend their honour and protect Jahangir Khan by marching to the nearest city of Kalandabad. There they meet more than they bargained angry natives and what may be even a city riddled with cholera. As the army’s leaders one by one begin to fall prey to the dread disease, reinforcements fail to arrive and the situation becomes ever more desperate, it is left to the cool head and bravery of Ogilvie to try to steer the Strathspeys through what is looking like their darkest hour. He is not helped by hot-headed Hamish Dewar, whose foolhardiness and lack of diplomacy only make things worse. Then Dewar commits an action so foolish, he is forced into making the ultimate Subaltern’s Choice. ‘Subaltern’s Choice’ is the next thrilling historical adventure story in the James Ogilvie series. It was originally published under the pen name Duncan MacNeil.Praise for Philip "His character conflicts are well organised." — Daily Telegraph "A most exciting successor to his first novel — and it is just as rugged." — The Times, Hamilton, New Zealand Philip McCutchan (1920-1996) grew up in the naval atmosphere of Portsmouth Dockyard and developed a lifetime's interest in the sea. Military history was an early interest resulting in several fiction books, from amongst his large output, about the British Army and its campaigns, especially in the last 150 years.Endeavour Press is the UK's leading independent digital publisher. For more information on our titles please sign up to our newsletter at www.endeavourpress.com. Each week you will receive updates on free and discounted ebooks. Follow us on @EndeavourPress and on Facebook via We are always interested in hearing from our readers. Endeavour Press believes that the future is now.
240 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 1, 1974
35 people are currently reading
37 people want to read
About the author
Philip McCutchan
183 books36 followersaka Robert Conington Galway, Duncan MacNeil
Philip McCutchan (1920-1996) grew up in the naval atmosphere of Portsmouth Dockyard and developed a lifetime's interest in the sea. Military history was an early interest resulting in several fiction books, from amongst his large output, about the British Army and its campaigns, especially in the last 150 years.
Philip McCutchan (1920-1996) grew up in the naval atmosphere of Portsmouth Dockyard and developed a lifetime's interest in the sea. Military history was an early interest resulting in several fiction books, from amongst his large output, about the British Army and its campaigns, especially in the last 150 years.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
May 2, 2019
The continuing British Army saga of adventure, action and life on the Indian Frontier.
The book is one of a series that covers the British Army in its quest to tame the border lands of India adjacent to Afghanistan. The antagonists, long term and otherwise do much to test the patience of the protagonists more so at times than the warrior natives do. Or so it seems. The main characters of the series by this time are very well developed and quite dimensional as are the long term antagonists. The newer characters are given dimension and strength and believability fairly quickly as only a master of his craft could only successfully pull off so quickly and so convincingly. Basically, an excellent read that is certain not to disappoint. Again, the only criticism is the company that reprinted this exciting serious has failed the deceased author and the readership by failing to pay proper attention to editing after having digitalized the printed book. But, don’t let this stop you from reading this book or the other books in the series. The number of editing errors is not so rampant or hard to figure out nor overly annoying. For me it’s the fact that the errors even exist after being digitalized and to me little editing demonstrates a dire lack respect is shown to the author and extrapolates to little respect to the readership. The errors sometimes distracts the reader sometime at key points. The errors are certainly not the fault of the author who passed away in the mind 1990’s. If you enjoy a certain amount of relative history in action and adventure novels then I know you will enjoy this book and the other books in the series. I certainly did ! Enjoy the read !
The book is one of a series that covers the British Army in its quest to tame the border lands of India adjacent to Afghanistan. The antagonists, long term and otherwise do much to test the patience of the protagonists more so at times than the warrior natives do. Or so it seems. The main characters of the series by this time are very well developed and quite dimensional as are the long term antagonists. The newer characters are given dimension and strength and believability fairly quickly as only a master of his craft could only successfully pull off so quickly and so convincingly. Basically, an excellent read that is certain not to disappoint. Again, the only criticism is the company that reprinted this exciting serious has failed the deceased author and the readership by failing to pay proper attention to editing after having digitalized the printed book. But, don’t let this stop you from reading this book or the other books in the series. The number of editing errors is not so rampant or hard to figure out nor overly annoying. For me it’s the fact that the errors even exist after being digitalized and to me little editing demonstrates a dire lack respect is shown to the author and extrapolates to little respect to the readership. The errors sometimes distracts the reader sometime at key points. The errors are certainly not the fault of the author who passed away in the mind 1990’s. If you enjoy a certain amount of relative history in action and adventure novels then I know you will enjoy this book and the other books in the series. I certainly did ! Enjoy the read !
September 1, 2018
As always Wareham has produced a very good read in this series about colonial India. Excellent characters, good story line, lot of action & well researched history combined with excellent cultural accuracy make this a very, good read!
June 29, 2016
Sometimes hero have feet of clay
I have read several of the James Ogilvie books and enjoyed them a great deal. This one was no exception, now some might feel that the plot is given away at the beginning of the story. I felt that it was obvious the story was going to center around the actions of one character in this case, Hamish Dewar. But that was okay because Ogilvie now has to deal with being a good officer on three fronts; his men, his regiment , and his fellow officers. There are mistakes made by one and all some of which have dire consequences for everybody. Then you throw in a little Cholera outbreak and a power grab by the Indians to get a big mess. If you like a fast paced story that deals with India during the time of Raj then this is a book for you.
I have read several of the James Ogilvie books and enjoyed them a great deal. This one was no exception, now some might feel that the plot is given away at the beginning of the story. I felt that it was obvious the story was going to center around the actions of one character in this case, Hamish Dewar. But that was okay because Ogilvie now has to deal with being a good officer on three fronts; his men, his regiment , and his fellow officers. There are mistakes made by one and all some of which have dire consequences for everybody. Then you throw in a little Cholera outbreak and a power grab by the Indians to get a big mess. If you like a fast paced story that deals with India during the time of Raj then this is a book for you.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews