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biscuitben's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, War, and Rape
thegreatlesley's review against another edition
4.0
I was interested to read a novel by Ben Elton because I love him from the TV series Blackadder. I was in for something a little different than a dry British sitcom. This book is a sobering look at the realities of World War I and our own understanding of the limitations of human morality. This book made me feel shockingly connected to the horrors of WWI while continuously reminding me that I will never truly understand what it felt like to be present. Elton's overarching theme teaches us that often our uncontrollable circumstances will rock the foundations of our morals and make us question right and wrong. Things are never as black and white as justice seekers hope. I gave it four rather than five stars because I disagreed with the ending. But, that is a matter of opinion.
caramay's review
Dnf @ page 148/ start of chapter 26
Book was not living up to the blurb/description and was very slow paced - took way too long before anything started to happen.
Couldn’t connect to the characters or to the story; was not drawn in and felt like an outsider/observer.
Overall, just was not feeling compelled to continue and finish the book.
Book was not living up to the blurb/description and was very slow paced - took way too long before anything started to happen.
Couldn’t connect to the characters or to the story; was not drawn in and felt like an outsider/observer.
Overall, just was not feeling compelled to continue and finish the book.
_bookmoth's review against another edition
2.0
Reading Ben Elton's The First Casualty is a like a knife going through soft butter, but with the atrocities of the Great War in the back of my mind it didn't taste very well.
Douglas Kingsley is sent to the front in the Great War to investigate the murder of an officer and finds out that investigating a murder in such a bloody war is almost idiotic. So far so good. But it all starts with Kingley's intellect. The story is full of his great intellect, but while Elton only makes him cheeky and bold he never shows any of Kingsley's intellect at all. I also got the feeling that Kingsley is a character from the future who knows everything about the madness of the Great War and judges his contemporaries with this knowledge.
The hatred towards his refusal to fight in the war is not very convincing. He is treated as the disgrace of England, a pariah, by the judge, the public, the wardens and his cell mates. Of course many of them also hated Kingsley because he put them in prison, but many loath him for not fighting in the war. There was disgust for war refusers in those days, but Elton brings it over the top.
The novel turns into a kind of hilarious fantasy story when Kingsley goes to the front line thrice. He confronts German machine guns, fights in German trenches, gets shelled in a bombardment and gets out without too much damage. These heroic deeds were done merely to find the murder weapon (first run), speak to a witness (second run) and speak to an officer (third run). Of course everybody surrounding the detective is turned into jelly, stabbed, shot or drowns in the mud.
Also the ending is like an episode of Murder She Wrote. We all get to know the truth, the murderer confesses and the case is closed. It would have been better to let the truth sink into the mud like the truth about the Great War, in which so many people needlessly died for politics showing off.
Douglas Kingsley is sent to the front in the Great War to investigate the murder of an officer and finds out that investigating a murder in such a bloody war is almost idiotic. So far so good. But it all starts with Kingley's intellect. The story is full of his great intellect, but while Elton only makes him cheeky and bold he never shows any of Kingsley's intellect at all. I also got the feeling that Kingsley is a character from the future who knows everything about the madness of the Great War and judges his contemporaries with this knowledge.
The hatred towards his refusal to fight in the war is not very convincing. He is treated as the disgrace of England, a pariah, by the judge, the public, the wardens and his cell mates. Of course many of them also hated Kingsley because he put them in prison, but many loath him for not fighting in the war. There was disgust for war refusers in those days, but Elton brings it over the top.
The novel turns into a kind of hilarious fantasy story when Kingsley goes to the front line thrice. He confronts German machine guns, fights in German trenches, gets shelled in a bombardment and gets out without too much damage. These heroic deeds were done merely to find the murder weapon (first run), speak to a witness (second run) and speak to an officer (third run). Of course everybody surrounding the detective is turned into jelly, stabbed, shot or drowns in the mud.
Also the ending is like an episode of Murder She Wrote. We all get to know the truth, the murderer confesses and the case is closed. It would have been better to let the truth sink into the mud like the truth about the Great War, in which so many people needlessly died for politics showing off.
riedk's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
coops456's review against another edition
5.0
A gripping detective story and so much more. Ben Elton's latest has to be his best yet and should ensure he is taken seriously as a novelist.
fionab_16's review against another edition
dark
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
didactylos's review against another edition
1.0
Preposterous nonsense gets heaped in very large chunks from about 50% of the book onwards. One of many examples is the tired old cliche of an ‘officer’ becoming just one of the ‘lads’ to listen to them chatting - an officer who has had no military experience whatsoever and his deception is to remove his rank badges from his uniform...... if you are going to write about a period at least do some rudimentary research to discover an officer’s tunic was totally different in style cut and material to lesser ranks..... another one is doing a surgical procedure on a dead enemy to retrieve a bullet from his head, in the dark, in the middle of a trench raid... and not being medically qualified..... I could go on....and on....
z_reads4's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
informative
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
I was going to give it a 3 but I did finish it so that's gotta count for something. 3.5 stars
Historical Fiction is Maybe Not Elton's Strength:
This book really made me think about how we 'do' historical fiction but, overall, this fell flat.
The exposition was not my favorite, often it is clear that it is Elton (and historical hindsight) speaking rather than Kingsley. This book would have benefitted from a breaking-the-third or fourth-wall arrangement, or a witty omnipotent narrator. Or just really Monty Python it. Commit to the bit.
I haven't read Elton before but I suspect he would be really good at pulling that off. As it stands, the half-baked narration style only hindered my immersion in the book. Elton also really wanted to tell us all about the cool research he did, which is awesome but Kingsley would definitely not be talking about those facts in the same way. Again, maybe a change in narrative style could fix this. That being said, his research was obviously very cool and I'd love to read a book just about all the fun facts about daily WWI life he found out. He did focus a great deal on the sensory experience of war, and no other book has set my skin crawling in the same way-great!
Character
Kingsley is, obviously, insufferable, but that melts away once he's actually on the field. Not sure if that's meant to show character development but it happens. Kingsley's thoughts definitely do change, growing more and more contemplative by the end. Maybe less of that. Elton isn't subtle, unfortunately. The remaining characters resemble more the rotating cast of fools in a play, but it works. Everyone is a caricature but in an interesting way. They hold attention and make the point he needs them to make. What is he trying to say about Socialists besides that they exist? I'll let you know when I figure it out.ew they should not have slept together
Plot
Interesting enough, though the big reveal at the end didn't feel as exciting as it could have. Elton weaves in actual battlefield logistics and wow. The plot also lagged a little in the middle. There was too much before Kingsley started investigating and that made it feel too long. A lot of that did contribute to the comedic atmosphere though. The only really emotionally investing part was Abercrombie was writing to Golden Boy's mother.
Historical Fiction is Maybe Not Elton's Strength:
This book really made me think about how we 'do' historical fiction but, overall, this fell flat.
The exposition was not my favorite, often it is clear that it is Elton (and historical hindsight) speaking rather than Kingsley. This book would have benefitted from a breaking-the-third or fourth-wall arrangement, or a witty omnipotent narrator. Or just really Monty Python it. Commit to the bit.
I haven't read Elton before but I suspect he would be really good at pulling that off. As it stands, the half-baked narration style only hindered my immersion in the book. Elton also really wanted to tell us all about the cool research he did, which is awesome but Kingsley would definitely not be talking about those facts in the same way. Again, maybe a change in narrative style could fix this. That being said, his research was obviously very cool and I'd love to read a book just about all the fun facts about daily WWI life he found out. He did focus a great deal on the sensory experience of war, and no other book has set my skin crawling in the same way-great!
Character
Kingsley is, obviously, insufferable, but that melts away once he's actually on the field. Not sure if that's meant to show character development but it happens. Kingsley's thoughts definitely do change, growing more and more contemplative by the end. Maybe less of that. Elton isn't subtle, unfortunately. The remaining characters resemble more the rotating cast of fools in a play, but it works. Everyone is a caricature but in an interesting way. They hold attention and make the point he needs them to make. What is he trying to say about Socialists besides that they exist? I'll let you know when I figure it out.
Plot
Interesting enough, though the big reveal at the end didn't feel as exciting as it could have. Elton weaves in actual battlefield logistics and wow. The plot also lagged a little in the middle. There was too much before Kingsley started investigating and that made it feel too long. A lot of that did contribute to the comedic atmosphere though.