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By the Hands of Men #5
By the Hands of Men, Book Five: Robert The Wrath of a Righteous Man
Another great book in this series!This is another action packed book that is hard to put down. The characters have become real friends and I certainly will read the last book!-- Amazon Reviewer, 5 starsRobert is a warrior without a war. Unable to escape his past and incapable of political intrigue, he faces exile in the backwaters of colonial Africa. When innocents are threatened, are honor and duty reason enough to risk everything?For the simple act of telling an ugly truth, Robert Fitzgerald is banished to the African Congo, where the legacy of colonialism is as foul upon the land as the stain of cannibalism. He once more takes up arms for King and Country until he can no longer abide the slaughter and the lies of political convenience.He walks away from it all, but peace eludes the English lieutenant. Whether riding through the jungle with the Boer Commando, battling Muslim slavers in the desert, or laboring on a farm, Robert is bound to confront evil or cruelty. But how can a man fight injustice when the greatest war rages within himself?The Wrath of a Righteous Man is the fifth volume of the By the Hands of Men series. Historical fiction by Roy M. Griffis, this epic sweeps across four continents in a gripping tale of fate, loss, redemption, and love.Read the entire seriesThis series of books was breathtaking. Not only was it very educational, the characters grabbed you from the very beginning and continued throughout the series. I would be inclined to read everything this author writes.-- Amazon Reviewer, 5 stars
- GenresHistorical Fiction
267 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 1, 2019
About the author
Roy M. Griffis
21 books150 followers I was born in Texas City, TX, the son of a career Air Force meteorologist. Attended a variety of schools at all of the hot spots of the nation, such as Abilene, Texas and Bellevue, Nebraska. Sent to my grandparent’s house in Tucson, Arizona when things were tough at home. I was pretty damn lost, as my grandparents were largely strangers to me. My older brother, a more taciturn type, refused to discuss what was going on. Fortunately, like so many kids before me, I was rescued by literature. Or, at least, by fiction.
In a tiny used bookstore that was just one block up from a dirt road, I discovered that some good soul had unloaded his entire collection of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ “John Carter of Mars” series in Ballantine Paperback. Moved by some impulse, I spent my RC Cola money on the first book, “A Princess of Mars.” I think what struck me was how these books were possessed of magic: they were able to transport me far from this dusty land of relatives who I didn’t know and relatives pretended not to know me to another dusty land of adventure, heroism, nobility, and even love. It was the first magic I’d encountered that wasn’t a patent fraud, and when I closed the stiff paperback with the lurid images on the cover, I decided it was the kind of magic I wanted to dedicate the rest of my life to mastering. And, thus, I was saved.
Since then, I’ve never looked back. I’ve written poems, short stories (twice runner-up in the Playboy college fiction contest), plays (winning some regional awards back East and a collegiate Historical Play-writing Award), and screenplays. I’m a member of the WGAw, with one unproduced screenplay sold to Fox Television. Along the way, I’ve done the usual starving artist jobs. Been a janitor, a waiter, a clerk in a bookstore. I was the 61st Aviation Rescue Swimmer in the Coast Guard (all that Tarzan reading wasn’t wasted). I’m also not a bad cook, come to think of it. Currently, I’m a husband, father, and cat-owner. I’m an avid bicyclist and former EMT.
I live in Southern California with my lovely wife. My friends call me “Griff,” my parents call me “Roy,” and my college-age son calls me “Dadman.” It’s a good life. By the Hands of Men, Book Three: “The Wrath of a Righteous Man” will be released in May, 2016.
In a tiny used bookstore that was just one block up from a dirt road, I discovered that some good soul had unloaded his entire collection of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ “John Carter of Mars” series in Ballantine Paperback. Moved by some impulse, I spent my RC Cola money on the first book, “A Princess of Mars.” I think what struck me was how these books were possessed of magic: they were able to transport me far from this dusty land of relatives who I didn’t know and relatives pretended not to know me to another dusty land of adventure, heroism, nobility, and even love. It was the first magic I’d encountered that wasn’t a patent fraud, and when I closed the stiff paperback with the lurid images on the cover, I decided it was the kind of magic I wanted to dedicate the rest of my life to mastering. And, thus, I was saved.
Since then, I’ve never looked back. I’ve written poems, short stories (twice runner-up in the Playboy college fiction contest), plays (winning some regional awards back East and a collegiate Historical Play-writing Award), and screenplays. I’m a member of the WGAw, with one unproduced screenplay sold to Fox Television. Along the way, I’ve done the usual starving artist jobs. Been a janitor, a waiter, a clerk in a bookstore. I was the 61st Aviation Rescue Swimmer in the Coast Guard (all that Tarzan reading wasn’t wasted). I’m also not a bad cook, come to think of it. Currently, I’m a husband, father, and cat-owner. I’m an avid bicyclist and former EMT.
I live in Southern California with my lovely wife. My friends call me “Griff,” my parents call me “Roy,” and my college-age son calls me “Dadman.” It’s a good life. By the Hands of Men, Book Three: “The Wrath of a Righteous Man” will be released in May, 2016.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
May 30, 2019
I can't sing enough praises for this entire series!
I read the first three books a while back. They quickly became some of my favorites. So, then I received the request to read the next three, I certainly jumped at the opportunity!
These books have all been so well-written. The character building amazes me! When you read a book that makes you feel like you are in it, like you know the characters, that is a great book!
Thank you again, Roy Griffis, for writing these books and for introducing them to me! I love them and I highly recommend them!
*Note: I received copies of these books in exchange for honest reviews.
I read the first three books a while back. They quickly became some of my favorites. So, then I received the request to read the next three, I certainly jumped at the opportunity!
These books have all been so well-written. The character building amazes me! When you read a book that makes you feel like you are in it, like you know the characters, that is a great book!
Thank you again, Roy Griffis, for writing these books and for introducing them to me! I love them and I highly recommend them!
*Note: I received copies of these books in exchange for honest reviews.
June 27, 2021
Because she is descended from Russian nobility Charlotte is in danger of being assassinated by the Cheka even in England. She and Zlata, a child she rescued from Russia, travel to America where they make a life running a ranch with Charlotte’s WWI nursing colleague Kathleen and her husband Hector. The combination of the Dust Bowl and the Depression drive them to leave the ranch and find work in the film industry where Hector cares for animals, Zlata is a stunt rider, and Kathleen and Charlotte provide meals for film crews.
In the meantime Robert travels across Africa where he encounters disturbing violence against man and beast. He ends up in Kenya studying under a veterinarian and making a life with his old friend Orlando and his wife Deirdre. After witnessing a slaughter of a herd of zebra, Robert has to get out of Africa so the three travel to the United States hoping William Randolph Hearst will make good on a promise to help them made after Robert rescued his mistress Marion Davies from a lion attack. They end up in California where Robert helps care for the animals in the struggling Selig Zoo (a real place). and does some work with animals used in jungle films and Westerns. This leads to a reunion, long anticipated by the reader, between Robert and Charlotte.
This book is the sixth in a series which takes us from the trench warfare and battlefield medicine of WWI to the atrocities of the Bolshevik revolution to the hypocrisy, decadence, and brutality of colonialism in the Far East and Africa including the mistreatment of the Boers by the British and the deal with the devil the British make with a cruel Arab slave trader for protection of trade routes to the Great Depression to the decadence of Hollywood and the mistreated of animals in the film industry. The reader learns a lot that is usually not covered in literature about this time period
In the meantime Robert travels across Africa where he encounters disturbing violence against man and beast. He ends up in Kenya studying under a veterinarian and making a life with his old friend Orlando and his wife Deirdre. After witnessing a slaughter of a herd of zebra, Robert has to get out of Africa so the three travel to the United States hoping William Randolph Hearst will make good on a promise to help them made after Robert rescued his mistress Marion Davies from a lion attack. They end up in California where Robert helps care for the animals in the struggling Selig Zoo (a real place). and does some work with animals used in jungle films and Westerns. This leads to a reunion, long anticipated by the reader, between Robert and Charlotte.
This book is the sixth in a series which takes us from the trench warfare and battlefield medicine of WWI to the atrocities of the Bolshevik revolution to the hypocrisy, decadence, and brutality of colonialism in the Far East and Africa including the mistreatment of the Boers by the British and the deal with the devil the British make with a cruel Arab slave trader for protection of trade routes to the Great Depression to the decadence of Hollywood and the mistreated of animals in the film industry. The reader learns a lot that is usually not covered in literature about this time period
August 25, 2019
Absolute five-stars!!!
This is, yet, another five-star read in this amazing series! I cannot praise it enough!
The attention to detail in regards to feel, smell, imagery and emotion is of the highest quality that is born by a gifted author such as this.
The continuing saga of the life of Robert Fitzgerald as he now travels to Nigeria is highlighted by his experiences there. What an amazing and adventurous undertaking! His love of animals surfaces as his discovery of humanity's inhumanity becomes more and more apparent.
This is beyond good writing! Recommend to readers of historical fiction. A must -read!
This is, yet, another five-star read in this amazing series! I cannot praise it enough!
The attention to detail in regards to feel, smell, imagery and emotion is of the highest quality that is born by a gifted author such as this.
The continuing saga of the life of Robert Fitzgerald as he now travels to Nigeria is highlighted by his experiences there. What an amazing and adventurous undertaking! His love of animals surfaces as his discovery of humanity's inhumanity becomes more and more apparent.
This is beyond good writing! Recommend to readers of historical fiction. A must -read!
September 10, 2026
Another wonderful entry into the series, By the Hands of Men. In this one, Robert is sent into another hotbed of danger and violence. He then decides to leave his commission after finding out the government has interfered with an act he and several men risked their lives to have a successful mission. He then goes to South Africa and then starts to become certified to be a veterinarian.
Such an eventful life!! Can't wait for the final installment!! This is a wonderful series and we truly see the good and evil done at the hands of men!!
Such an eventful life!! Can't wait for the final installment!! This is a wonderful series and we truly see the good and evil done at the hands of men!!
October 21, 2019
Number 5 of 6 continues this series with Lord Robert's years in Africa.
The African adventure continues to mirror true historical events that Robert participates in for about 7 years. Brutal, but true to life in the 1920s. He becomes a very hard man during this period to the point he feels he must leave Africa to save himself. Onto book 6 and more heartfelt events in the stories of Charlotte and Robert.
The African adventure continues to mirror true historical events that Robert participates in for about 7 years. Brutal, but true to life in the 1920s. He becomes a very hard man during this period to the point he feels he must leave Africa to save himself. Onto book 6 and more heartfelt events in the stories of Charlotte and Robert.
February 27, 2025
Can't stop reading
I've been reading this series of books since the weekend. My life is on hold until the final book in the series is read. Good thing I'm a senior citizen and can just read. I've learned many things from reading book 5 about land and the people of Africa. This series of books has given me an education on the era of Lord Fitzpatrick and Nurse Charlotte. Great books.
I've been reading this series of books since the weekend. My life is on hold until the final book in the series is read. Good thing I'm a senior citizen and can just read. I've learned many things from reading book 5 about land and the people of Africa. This series of books has given me an education on the era of Lord Fitzpatrick and Nurse Charlotte. Great books.
October 14, 2021
By the Hands of Men, Book Five.
The saga continues with Robert's arrival in Africa where he becomes a soldier once again. After becoming sickened by his experiences he resigns his commission and travels through Africa ending up in Kenya.
I found this book hard to put down, a real page turner.
Looking forward to reading book six as the story continues.
The saga continues with Robert's arrival in Africa where he becomes a soldier once again. After becoming sickened by his experiences he resigns his commission and travels through Africa ending up in Kenya.
I found this book hard to put down, a real page turner.
Looking forward to reading book six as the story continues.
November 1, 2019
Twists and turns
Wow, I couldn't out it down. What realism woven into the historical facts. I am on to the next series to see what awaits
Wow, I couldn't out it down. What realism woven into the historical facts. I am on to the next series to see what awaits
February 22, 2022
By the hands of men book 5
As usual a story of life and learning. Africa was definitely a dark continent. It was definitely not for the faint of heart.
As usual a story of life and learning. Africa was definitely a dark continent. It was definitely not for the faint of heart.
April 12, 2026
really enjoyed the stories from Africa
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews