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jmkemp's review
5.0
Command the Raven is the second book in the Uncivil Wars series by M J Logue. It follows almost directly on from Red Horse with the start of Spring 1643.
Although set in the midst of the first English Civil War of the 17th century the Uncivil Wars are more social history than military. The focus is on the people, and horses, in Captain Hollie Babbitt's troop and their associates.
Command the Raven opens with the siege of Reading and the troop's ennui with it. Luce Pettitt takes bad news from his widow very hard, and Hollie wants to be away and moving. A transfer from Essex's army to Fairfax in the north sees Babbitt change his fortunes. After a short period of recovery in Essex Babbitt marries. He then faces his father followed by dealing with Fairfax's almost four year old daughter.
Babbitt has demons galore in Command the Raven, we start with his fevered nightmares about his first wife Griete. Later his father and then there is the sea. We find him a poor sailor when his troop are called across the Humber. He spends most of his time puking over the gunwales of captain Tom Rainsborough's boat.
South of the Humber we run into Noll Cromwell and his Lovely Company. Cromwell is portrayed here as a disciplined cavalry commander with a strong personal interest in horses. He also has a strong godly streak too. He comes across as a competent human and not the puritanical fanatic that he is often erroneously played as in popular works.
Although set in the midst of the first English Civil War of the 17th century the Uncivil Wars are more social history than military. The focus is on the people, and horses, in Captain Hollie Babbitt's troop and their associates.
Command the Raven opens with the siege of Reading and the troop's ennui with it. Luce Pettitt takes bad news from his widow very hard, and Hollie wants to be away and moving. A transfer from Essex's army to Fairfax in the north sees Babbitt change his fortunes. After a short period of recovery in Essex Babbitt marries. He then faces his father followed by dealing with Fairfax's almost four year old daughter.
Babbitt has demons galore in Command the Raven, we start with his fevered nightmares about his first wife Griete. Later his father and then there is the sea. We find him a poor sailor when his troop are called across the Humber. He spends most of his time puking over the gunwales of captain Tom Rainsborough's boat.
South of the Humber we run into Noll Cromwell and his Lovely Company. Cromwell is portrayed here as a disciplined cavalry commander with a strong personal interest in horses. He also has a strong godly streak too. He comes across as a competent human and not the puritanical fanatic that he is often erroneously played as in popular works.
didactylos's review
4.0
Interesting and more involving as the characters and interplay unfold. I like the way the narrative is bound in small scale material emphasising the 'bitty' nature of the conflict.
Would be great if this series were followed up by one taking us through the 30 Years War with Hollie.
Would be great if this series were followed up by one taking us through the 30 Years War with Hollie.
jameskemp's review
5.0
Command the Raven is the second book in the Uncivil Wars series by M J Logue. It follows almost directly on from Red Horse with the start of Spring 1643.
Although set in the midst of the first English Civil War of the 17th century the Uncivil Wars are more social history than military. The focus is on the people, and horses, in Captain Hollie Babbitt's troop and their associates.
Command the Raven opens with the siege of Reading and the troop's ennui with it. Luce Pettitt takes bad news from his widow very hard, and Hollie wants to be away and moving. A transfer from Essex's army to Fairfax in the north sees Babbitt change his fortunes. After a short period of recovery in Essex Babbitt marries. He then faces his father followed by dealing with Fairfax's almost four year old daughter.
Babbitt has demons galore in Command the Raven, we start with his fevered nightmares about his first wife Griete. Later his father and then there is the sea. We find him a poor sailor when his troop are called across the Humber. He spends most of his time puking over the gunwales of captain Tom Rainsborough's boat.
South of the Humber we run into Noll Cromwell and his Lovely Company. Cromwell is portrayed here as a disciplined cavalry commander with a strong personal interest in horses. He also has a strong godly streak too. He comes across as a competent human and not the puritanical fanatic that he is often erroneously played as in popular works.
Although set in the midst of the first English Civil War of the 17th century the Uncivil Wars are more social history than military. The focus is on the people, and horses, in Captain Hollie Babbitt's troop and their associates.
Command the Raven opens with the siege of Reading and the troop's ennui with it. Luce Pettitt takes bad news from his widow very hard, and Hollie wants to be away and moving. A transfer from Essex's army to Fairfax in the north sees Babbitt change his fortunes. After a short period of recovery in Essex Babbitt marries. He then faces his father followed by dealing with Fairfax's almost four year old daughter.
Babbitt has demons galore in Command the Raven, we start with his fevered nightmares about his first wife Griete. Later his father and then there is the sea. We find him a poor sailor when his troop are called across the Humber. He spends most of his time puking over the gunwales of captain Tom Rainsborough's boat.
South of the Humber we run into Noll Cromwell and his Lovely Company. Cromwell is portrayed here as a disciplined cavalry commander with a strong personal interest in horses. He also has a strong godly streak too. He comes across as a competent human and not the puritanical fanatic that he is often erroneously played as in popular works.
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