SARATOGA

Author: David Garland ISBN: 0312361483 8/2006 HISTORICAL Publisher: ST. MARTIN'S PRESS
Time Period: American Revolution, 1777

It is May 1777 nearly a year after the British colonies in America have declared independence from the crown. The mammoth British military machine has been dispatched to stamp out this minor annoyance, but the American rebels have shown a surprisingly stubborn resistance to being put back in their place. The past year has seen skirmishes from Crown Point to Fort Ticonderoga. Captain Jamie Skoyles is a career soldier in the British Army who has made a reputation of conspicuous gallantry for himself with his unswerving bravery and uncanny luck. He fights alongside unquestioning British patriots in the unfamiliar lands of America. As costly, bumbling mistakes begin to pile up, and the American rebels surge with confidence, Skoyles can't help but begin to mistrust the arrogant generals whom he serves. Unable to pursue his love, a woman betrothed to a fellow officer, Skoyles must instead focus on staying alive and furthering the empire’s cause in his own small corner of the war. As the two vast armies converge on Saratoga in what will prove the first large-scale test of the conflict, the American rebels gain momentum and British victory no longer seems certain. Captain Skoyles soon finds his loyalties severely tested as he imagines life after the war, which he intends to live in the new world, no matter which flag flies over it.

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

David Garland's SARATOGA is like a mix of three different stories and characters I've read before. The story's backdrop reminds me of the movie, The Last of the Mohicans, with its depictions of the frontier wilderness, rough settlers and the ruthless Indian warriors who seem to side with no one, though they're paid by the English to abet them in their fight against the Americans. The title character of Jamie Skoyles is a near mirror image of one of my favorite fictional British heroes, Richard Sharpe, who was created by Bernard Cornwell in his fabulous Sharpe series. Skoyles seems to possess the same background and character qualities as does Sharpe, right down to dealing with the same pompous, arrogant English officers in similar situations. It was as though Sharpe had traveled back through time over several decades and landed in the thick of things in colonial America, only this time he was fighting against the American revolutionaries instead of against the French.

There's also Elizabeth Rainham in SARATOGA, who, while betrothed to Major Featherstone falls in love with Skoyles, as he does with her. She's a cross between Madeline Stowe's Cora in Mohicans and Elizabeth in Sara Donati's INTO THE WILDERNESS. The love triangle storyline does offer some respite from the numerous battle scenes and the brutality of the Indians, but Major Featherstone is portrayed as such an pompous and diabolical English officer, that it's a no brainer Elizabeth will end up with the good guy, Skoyles

I will give Garland a lot of credit for his excellent battle depictions as well as his spot on characterization of General Burgoyne (at least from what I've read about the man, although I'm no expert and don't claim to be), and his knowledge of the period and battles has obviously been well researched. Several other players in SARATOGA, such as Simon Fraser and some of the fictional secondary characters are also well written and keep the story flowing along at a very quick pace.

While you might experience several bouts of déjà vu while reading SARATOGA, this story of an English soldier fighting rebels in America is told from the British point of view, which makes it rather unique. You can tell, as well, that Skoyles is a bit conflicted. He is a tried and true "For King and Country" English soldier, and yet he knows that no matter the outcome of the war he's in, his future belongs in the Americas. The next installment will find Skoyles in VALLEY FORGE, and it will be interesting to see if his participation in that famous encampment will further his sympathies toward the American cause. Will he change from a Lobsterback to a revolutionary? And will he become reunited with Elizabeth, the woman he loves but had to leave behind? I'm looking forward to reading VALLEY FORGE to find out.

Nancy Davis