Title: An intentional G.M. Fraser derivative?
Review: Certainly not up to the standard of Fraser's excellent Flashman series! I can't help but think it must be intentionally paying homage to its superior, and to other Northwest Frontier fiction and nonfiction. The "native" detail which impresses some reviewers could have been lifted straight from Fraser and from John Masters' autobiographical "Bugles and a Tiger". But where Stirling seems to be winking at us is in naming the Pathan who eventually accompanies the Anglo-Indian protagonist and his Sikh brother-in-arms: Ilderim Khan. As any Flashman fan knows, this is the name of Flashman's alter ego when in disguise as a Pathan. After encountering this character, it's rather hard to think the rest is anything but a bit silly.
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