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Jack Lark #9
Fugitive (Jack Lark, Book 9): British Expedition to Abyssinia, 1868
In this ninth action-packed Victorian military adventure, Paul Fraser Collard's roguish hero Jack Lark - soldier, leader, imposter - crosses borders once more as he pursues a brand-new adventure in Africa.
As he journeys across the table-top mountains of Abyssinia to the fortress of Magdala, Jack quickly discovers that nowhere is safe and nobody can be trusted. Expect devious spies, brutal murders, treasure hunting and action aplenty.
Praise for the Jack Lark series:
'Brilliant' Bernard Cornwell
'Enthralling' The Times
'Dusty deserts, showdowns under the blistering sun, bloodthirsty bandoleros, rough whisky and rougher men. Bullets fly, emotions run high and treachery abounds in The Lost Outlaw ... an exceptionally entertaining historical action adventure' Matthew Harffy
'I love a writer who wears his history lightly enough for the story he's telling to blaze across the pages like this. Jack Lark is an unforgettable new hero' Anthony Riches
'You feel and experience all the emotions and the blood, sweat and tears that Jack does... I devoured it in one sitting' Parmenion Books
'Expect ferocious, bloody action from the first page. Fast-paced, compelling, and with more villains than a Clint Eastwood classic, this unputdownable novel strongly reminded me of that legend of western writers, Louis L'Amour. A cracking read!' Ben Kane
348 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 20, 2020
35 people are currently reading
58 people want to read
About the author
Paul Fraser Collard
18 books137 followersPaul's love of military history started at an early age. A childhood spent watching films like Waterloo and Zulu whilst reading Sharpe, Flashman and the occasional Commando comic, gave him a desire to know more of the men who fought in the great wars of the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries. At school, Paul was determined to become an officer in the British army and he succeeded in winning an Army Scholarship. However, Paul chose to give up his boyhood ambition and instead went into the finance industry. Paul stills works in the City, and lives with his wife and three children in Kent.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
August 20, 2020
You can also find this review on my blog The Tattooed Book Geek: https://thetattooedbookgeek.wordpress...
I only started the Jack Lark series with the previous book, the eighth, The Lost Outlaw. When I have the time, that precious commodity that always seems to be slipping away from us all I’d love the opportunity to start the series from the beginning, going back to where it all began and witnessing the birth of and the origin of Jack Lark. Belatedly starting a series can be very hit-and-miss, sometimes it works, other times, it doesn’t. For me, the Jack Lark series worked well and I found The Lost Outlaw very easy to pick up and read without any prior knowledge. I feel that Fugitive works well, extremely well in the same regard, it is accessible for newcomers and gives the reader an addictive and gripping action-packed historical adventure.
It is 1868 and five years have passed since the end of The Lost Outlaw. Jack Lark, after his time in the US during the American Civil War, has found his way back to where he was born. Not back home, nowhere is home for Jack but, after many miles and many years Jack has returned, stepping back into his past to the place where the child that would later become Jack Lark was born and raised the East End, Whitechapel, London.
Jack has laid the soldier to rest, closed the chapter, turned the page on his soldiering days and left behind the battlefield and the bloodshed to become a business owner. Over the five years since his return to the mean streets of the East End, Jack has built up a thriving business. What started as a one-man enterprise has flourished, grown and he now has a partner and employees to help run the Babylon, a gentleman’s club.
Only a few close and trusted associates know Jack by name, to everyone else he is known simply as ‘The Captain’. Jack’s business runs on his reputation and recommendations from previous clients. Under the guise of ‘The Captain‘ Jack entertains rich and wealthy clients facilitating for them, an unforgettable night of drink, vice and entertainment in the East End that culminates in their visit to the Babylon.
The Babylon is situated in an area of the East End that is run by the crime lord, Finch. Jack gets on the wrong side of Finch by refusing to play by his rules and by refusing to pay protection fees for the Babylon. Finch is an influential and powerful man. He isn’t someone who you cross, disrespect or whose offer you decline. You don’t say no to Finch, not once and definitely not many times unless you want to end up beaten bloody and broken, your body weighed down and your throat slit as you sleep with the fishes in the murky depths of the Thames. After one refusal too many, one night it all comes crashing down for Jack. Finch can’t appear weak, in the back alleys and backstreets of the East End, it would jeopardise his reputation and status if he wasn’t seen to seek retribution for Jack’s denial and lack of respect. Finch sends his thugs, his bastards and brutes to attack the Babylon and teach Jack a lesson. As the assault ends, in the aftermath and with the blood of the dead still warm and coating his hands, Jack has no choice but to flee.
Abyssinia (Ethiopia) is a country that was made up of small independent provinces that were all ruled by various minor warlords. Until, one day, a warlord, a tyrant, rose up by the force of his power, of his will and defeated all the others, risen on a sea of blood to claim the title of Emperor. Uniting the country under his rule, that warlord would call himself Emperor Tewodros. Tewodros, also known as ‘The Mad King’ is a dictator, legendary for his cruelty, his barbaric nature and his savagery, like a storm, going from calm to raging fury in an instant. He rules by the way of the fist and thinks nothing of killing and torturing not only his prisoners but his own subjugated subjects too. Tewodros has taken European prisoners and is holding them captive at Magdala, an impenetrable mountain fortress deep in Abyssinia. The British army, under Lieutenant-General Sir Robert Napier, is on a campaign to rescue the prisoners.
Throughout his reign, Tewodros has accumulated a vast wealth of treasure, relics and valuable artefacts. By attaching himself to the British army expedition, George Macgregor, a friend of Jack’s and an ex-army officer has been planning to go treasure hunting in Abyssinia. With the army assaulting Magdala, Tewodros and his horde of fanatical followers will be preoccupied and in the carnage and confusion of battle, the treasure will be ripe for the taking. Mcgregor has asked Jack to join him before and each time Jack has declined. Jack had made a new life for himself, trading his day’s trekking across dangerous foreign lands for walking the Whitechapel streets and the comforts of the Babylon. That life has now fallen to shattered shards, it has been destroyed, out of options, with no one else to turn to and nowhere else to go, Jack, along with Cooper (Jack’s associate and employee who was also caught up in the chaos with Finch’s men) and Watson (an academic and scholar who is a friend of Mcgregor’s) join Macgregor as they journey into the belly of the beast, into the hell of Abyssinia.
Whether it is London, Jack’s club the Babylon, the grime, the gloom and the all-enveloping fog that shrouds the dark and dreary streets. Or, Abyssinia, the baking hot days and freezing cold nights, the desolate, dusty and harsh terrain and the mountain pass and range where Tewodros’s unassailable fortress Magdala is located. Collard brings the sights, sounds and smells of the setting and of the era to life. You witness the horrors, the broken bodies, the ground a churned up soup of blood and earth and then, the fury of the guns, the artillery fire and the sounds of battle raging all resonate from off the pages. The action is ferocious, visceral in its depiction, bloody and vicious. There is a weight to the blows and Collard doesn’t pull his punches or shy away from depicting the brutality of the fighting, be it brawling or the battlefield.
As a character, I really like Jack Lark. A bit of a rogue, sardonic, a tormented soul and, at times, an instrument of violence, there are many facets to him, he is flawed, he is human and there is a depth to him. He believes in fate and he is a man of many masks, a killer, a liar, a survivor and a veteran who has seen conflict across the world. The past is a cross to bear for Jack and a burden that he has to carry. He is forged from battle, pain and loss. His battered body is a map of scars that tell the story of his life. He has stared death in the face many times and lived to tell the tale, but if it is his time to die, he won’t run, he won’t cower, he will look death straight in the eye and fight. During his time back in the East End, something was lacking, a yearning buried beneath that he refused to acknowledge. In Abyssinia, he will find himself and back with the army, back with a revolver and a sword in his hands he will again feel whole.
Fugitive is a brutal and engaging story that is never anything less than thoroughly entertaining and in Jack Lark, Collard has created a compelling main character who is a joy to follow on his perilous exploits.
I only started the Jack Lark series with the previous book, the eighth, The Lost Outlaw. When I have the time, that precious commodity that always seems to be slipping away from us all I’d love the opportunity to start the series from the beginning, going back to where it all began and witnessing the birth of and the origin of Jack Lark. Belatedly starting a series can be very hit-and-miss, sometimes it works, other times, it doesn’t. For me, the Jack Lark series worked well and I found The Lost Outlaw very easy to pick up and read without any prior knowledge. I feel that Fugitive works well, extremely well in the same regard, it is accessible for newcomers and gives the reader an addictive and gripping action-packed historical adventure.
It is 1868 and five years have passed since the end of The Lost Outlaw. Jack Lark, after his time in the US during the American Civil War, has found his way back to where he was born. Not back home, nowhere is home for Jack but, after many miles and many years Jack has returned, stepping back into his past to the place where the child that would later become Jack Lark was born and raised the East End, Whitechapel, London.
Jack has laid the soldier to rest, closed the chapter, turned the page on his soldiering days and left behind the battlefield and the bloodshed to become a business owner. Over the five years since his return to the mean streets of the East End, Jack has built up a thriving business. What started as a one-man enterprise has flourished, grown and he now has a partner and employees to help run the Babylon, a gentleman’s club.
Only a few close and trusted associates know Jack by name, to everyone else he is known simply as ‘The Captain’. Jack’s business runs on his reputation and recommendations from previous clients. Under the guise of ‘The Captain‘ Jack entertains rich and wealthy clients facilitating for them, an unforgettable night of drink, vice and entertainment in the East End that culminates in their visit to the Babylon.
The Babylon is situated in an area of the East End that is run by the crime lord, Finch. Jack gets on the wrong side of Finch by refusing to play by his rules and by refusing to pay protection fees for the Babylon. Finch is an influential and powerful man. He isn’t someone who you cross, disrespect or whose offer you decline. You don’t say no to Finch, not once and definitely not many times unless you want to end up beaten bloody and broken, your body weighed down and your throat slit as you sleep with the fishes in the murky depths of the Thames. After one refusal too many, one night it all comes crashing down for Jack. Finch can’t appear weak, in the back alleys and backstreets of the East End, it would jeopardise his reputation and status if he wasn’t seen to seek retribution for Jack’s denial and lack of respect. Finch sends his thugs, his bastards and brutes to attack the Babylon and teach Jack a lesson. As the assault ends, in the aftermath and with the blood of the dead still warm and coating his hands, Jack has no choice but to flee.
Abyssinia (Ethiopia) is a country that was made up of small independent provinces that were all ruled by various minor warlords. Until, one day, a warlord, a tyrant, rose up by the force of his power, of his will and defeated all the others, risen on a sea of blood to claim the title of Emperor. Uniting the country under his rule, that warlord would call himself Emperor Tewodros. Tewodros, also known as ‘The Mad King’ is a dictator, legendary for his cruelty, his barbaric nature and his savagery, like a storm, going from calm to raging fury in an instant. He rules by the way of the fist and thinks nothing of killing and torturing not only his prisoners but his own subjugated subjects too. Tewodros has taken European prisoners and is holding them captive at Magdala, an impenetrable mountain fortress deep in Abyssinia. The British army, under Lieutenant-General Sir Robert Napier, is on a campaign to rescue the prisoners.
Throughout his reign, Tewodros has accumulated a vast wealth of treasure, relics and valuable artefacts. By attaching himself to the British army expedition, George Macgregor, a friend of Jack’s and an ex-army officer has been planning to go treasure hunting in Abyssinia. With the army assaulting Magdala, Tewodros and his horde of fanatical followers will be preoccupied and in the carnage and confusion of battle, the treasure will be ripe for the taking. Mcgregor has asked Jack to join him before and each time Jack has declined. Jack had made a new life for himself, trading his day’s trekking across dangerous foreign lands for walking the Whitechapel streets and the comforts of the Babylon. That life has now fallen to shattered shards, it has been destroyed, out of options, with no one else to turn to and nowhere else to go, Jack, along with Cooper (Jack’s associate and employee who was also caught up in the chaos with Finch’s men) and Watson (an academic and scholar who is a friend of Mcgregor’s) join Macgregor as they journey into the belly of the beast, into the hell of Abyssinia.
Whether it is London, Jack’s club the Babylon, the grime, the gloom and the all-enveloping fog that shrouds the dark and dreary streets. Or, Abyssinia, the baking hot days and freezing cold nights, the desolate, dusty and harsh terrain and the mountain pass and range where Tewodros’s unassailable fortress Magdala is located. Collard brings the sights, sounds and smells of the setting and of the era to life. You witness the horrors, the broken bodies, the ground a churned up soup of blood and earth and then, the fury of the guns, the artillery fire and the sounds of battle raging all resonate from off the pages. The action is ferocious, visceral in its depiction, bloody and vicious. There is a weight to the blows and Collard doesn’t pull his punches or shy away from depicting the brutality of the fighting, be it brawling or the battlefield.
As a character, I really like Jack Lark. A bit of a rogue, sardonic, a tormented soul and, at times, an instrument of violence, there are many facets to him, he is flawed, he is human and there is a depth to him. He believes in fate and he is a man of many masks, a killer, a liar, a survivor and a veteran who has seen conflict across the world. The past is a cross to bear for Jack and a burden that he has to carry. He is forged from battle, pain and loss. His battered body is a map of scars that tell the story of his life. He has stared death in the face many times and lived to tell the tale, but if it is his time to die, he won’t run, he won’t cower, he will look death straight in the eye and fight. During his time back in the East End, something was lacking, a yearning buried beneath that he refused to acknowledge. In Abyssinia, he will find himself and back with the army, back with a revolver and a sword in his hands he will again feel whole.
Fugitive is a brutal and engaging story that is never anything less than thoroughly entertaining and in Jack Lark, Collard has created a compelling main character who is a joy to follow on his perilous exploits.
November 13, 2020
With villains aplenty, and a cast of memorable characters surrounding Jack Lark, Fugitive is a great addition to this fabulous series. From the smog-filled alleys of Victorian London to the arid plains of Abyssinia, Jack, is never far from danger. The battles are loud with cannon-fire and the screams of the dying. The stench of gunpowder and death is heavy in the air, as Collard's wonderful rogue, Jack Lark, rampages through skirmishes and cataclysmic battles, in search of riches, vengeance and, ultimately, his place in the world.
Once again, Paul Fraser Collard proves he is a true master of action adventure.
Once again, Paul Fraser Collard proves he is a true master of action adventure.
November 3, 2020
Another excellent Jack Lark adventure, this time in Abyssinia in the 1860s. It also features an extended opening in London and I found that riveting. The rest of the tale is also entertaining, action-packed and full of historical military details. Possibly a little too gory and a bit too much cussing for my sensitive nature (this is particularly in your face in the audiobook, probably less so in the treebook). The audiobook is really well read and brings Jack to life. Such a good series. review to follow shortly on For Winter Nights.
November 3, 2020
One of my top ten books of the year (109 read so far). It's always a joy to read a new Jack Lark. The action whips along and as Paul Fraser Collard bases so many of the stories on little known historical events one never knows what's going to happen next - except that Jack will probably live to fight another day. Looking forward to Jack's further adventures in Africa.
August 31, 2021
Best so far. Keep them coming Paul love 'em
September 28, 2020
Not your usual dose ofoulp fiction
The ninth book in the series does not disappoint. The action is more muted but the introduction of Watson as a side character revealed a human side to Jack that made him all the more realistic. As always not disappointed and left wanting more please.
The ninth book in the series does not disappoint. The action is more muted but the introduction of Watson as a side character revealed a human side to Jack that made him all the more realistic. As always not disappointed and left wanting more please.
August 24, 2020
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. Another brilliant Jack Lark adventure with all the daring and adventure you'd expect. These books keep getting better, and the bonus on top of Cornwell-esque battle scenes is that I'm learning plenty about campaigns I never knew even happened. Great stuff!
August 31, 2020
The first Jack Lark book I have read and certainly won't be the last! What a great read, from the opening chapters set in the East end of London, through to Jack heading into Africa.
Very much like Bernard Cornwell's Sharpe series, perhaps with a little more historical description and background. Highly recommended.
Right I am off to track down the first eight books in the series....
Very much like Bernard Cornwell's Sharpe series, perhaps with a little more historical description and background. Highly recommended.
Right I am off to track down the first eight books in the series....
February 5, 2021
Great Series of Books
Enjoyed this last book in series well written. Great author. Recommend reading Jack Lark series from 1st to last in order enjoyed it?
Enjoyed this last book in series well written. Great author. Recommend reading Jack Lark series from 1st to last in order enjoyed it?
May 31, 2021
Entry number 9 in Paul Fraser Collard's Jack Lark series, this is an entry which - speaking personally - I very much found could be split into two main parts: the first part of the novel primarily concerns itself with the Victorian pursuit of 'slumming' (where rich toffs paid good money to see how their poorer counterparts lived in the slums and tenements of London), and the second with the Abyssinian campaign against the mad 'Gorilla King' (in modern day Ethiopia, I believe)
I'd heard, and even knew a bit, about the former. The latter? Sad to say, not so much.
So, for my part, a little new knowledge is a good thing!
As the novel begins, Jack Lark is back in England after his exploits in America (during the Civil War) and Mexico of the previous entries; back where - I feel - he belongs (ummm, speaking internationally, that is, rather than his precise circumstances!) and running Victorian slumming 'tours' (for want of a better word) for the rich who have more money than sense!
I don't *think* I'm giving anything away when I say that one such tour inevitably goes wrong, leading Jack - and a few companions - to flee the country, travelling to Ethiopia to join the expedition against the Emperor Tewodros II of Ethiopia, more concerned with what they can purloin along the way than the rights and wrongs of the situation that led to the campaign in the first place!
All in all, another solid entry in the series: I'm looking forward to where Jack ends up next!
I'd heard, and even knew a bit, about the former. The latter? Sad to say, not so much.
So, for my part, a little new knowledge is a good thing!
As the novel begins, Jack Lark is back in England after his exploits in America (during the Civil War) and Mexico of the previous entries; back where - I feel - he belongs (ummm, speaking internationally, that is, rather than his precise circumstances!) and running Victorian slumming 'tours' (for want of a better word) for the rich who have more money than sense!
I don't *think* I'm giving anything away when I say that one such tour inevitably goes wrong, leading Jack - and a few companions - to flee the country, travelling to Ethiopia to join the expedition against the Emperor Tewodros II of Ethiopia, more concerned with what they can purloin along the way than the rights and wrongs of the situation that led to the campaign in the first place!
All in all, another solid entry in the series: I'm looking forward to where Jack ends up next!
December 30, 2020
Good Old Jack Lark, back from his Mexico adventure, but why go back to London? The man has no luck there at all, especially running something called Babylon, where the well-to-do can let more than their hair down. Of course he's got to run into risky, dangerous people, the protection racket who remember Jack from books past.
Well, don't you know Jack's got to run afoul of these criminals, Which naturally means he does some rash things and he must run for his life out of the UK.
A friend helps escape into Abyssinia in 1868 and you know that means becoming a plain British soldier in General Robert Napier's rescue of British hostages held captive by King Tweodros II. If the king's soldiers don't get him and his party, then Mister Finch leader of those pesky criminals will, for you see Finch and his gang is following Jack. How they sign up for the army is a mystery, but crooked money talks I guess.
There's a great deal of set up to get Jack and his friends to Abyssinia and once there the story moves fast. I remembered the last Flashman novel of George MacDonald Fraser, which covered the same territory, but thankfully Jack's author skirts around the name-dropping that Flashman does. So you get an inside look at the campaign to Magdala in a totally unexpected way.
Interested to see where Jack ends up in his next adventure, cause you know there'll be number ten.
Just never go back to London, too much trouble there. Let Paul know.
Well, don't you know Jack's got to run afoul of these criminals, Which naturally means he does some rash things and he must run for his life out of the UK.
A friend helps escape into Abyssinia in 1868 and you know that means becoming a plain British soldier in General Robert Napier's rescue of British hostages held captive by King Tweodros II. If the king's soldiers don't get him and his party, then Mister Finch leader of those pesky criminals will, for you see Finch and his gang is following Jack. How they sign up for the army is a mystery, but crooked money talks I guess.
There's a great deal of set up to get Jack and his friends to Abyssinia and once there the story moves fast. I remembered the last Flashman novel of George MacDonald Fraser, which covered the same territory, but thankfully Jack's author skirts around the name-dropping that Flashman does. So you get an inside look at the campaign to Magdala in a totally unexpected way.
Interested to see where Jack ends up in his next adventure, cause you know there'll be number ten.
Just never go back to London, too much trouble there. Let Paul know.
September 30, 2020
If you enjoy reading Bernard Cornwall books then you will love Paul Fraser Collard Jack Lark novels. This is the 9th in the series and in my personal opinion the best book so far. Fast paced with plenty of action, the story starts with Jack running a club in the London before moving on to the battlefields of Abyssinia in Africa. I literally couldn't put the book down and can't wait to read the next book in the series.
April 1, 2021
Yet another great book from Paul , looking forward to the next book from Paul.
August 28, 2024
This was a bit of a slow burn as the first quarter of the book was more about setting the scene. This could have been shortened and made the whole book more enjoyable. But when the action got down to Egypt and Abyssinia, this was more of what the Jack Lark books are about. Great page turning action ... and about a campaign I knew nothing about until the book. The slaughter of the native population remains, but this was the 1870s. So let's see what book #10 has to offer from Mr F C and where Jack the lad will end up this time.
December 12, 2024
El peor de esta serie y con diferencia. Empieza en Londres con el protagonista timando a los ricos. Luego tiene un encuentro con un tío del hampa, que por mucho que intente matarle no lo consigue. Huye a Africa, donde se encuentra con el tío del hampa que sigue intentando matarle, y tras situaciones del tipo que no te crees, y tras no morir otras cinco veces, consigue… puff, porque solo hay dos mas y soy un completista, pero dan ganas de dejar la serie. B
March 25, 2022
My least favorite of Collard’s stories by far. The characters are poorly fleshed out and have few redeeming qualities. Consequently I didn’t care much about what happened to them. Like most of this series there’s overly repetitive descriptions of the gore of battle injuries which gets to the point of tedium.
February 19, 2022
I was interested in the history behind this book. As I did not know much about it, i went online and learned about it. Helped when I read the book. Jack lark is almost not quite as good as Mr. Sharpe. But when there are not Sharpe Books to read I have read 9 in the series and about to read #10
August 1, 2022
A great read full of excitement
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews