The First Casualty

by Ben Elton | Literature & Fiction |
ISBN: 0552771309 Global Overview for this book
Registered by wingmaid-of-kentwing of Amstelveen, Noord-Holland Netherlands on 3/5/2007
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3 journalers for this copy...
Journal Entry 1 by wingmaid-of-kentwing from Amstelveen, Noord-Holland Netherlands on Monday, March 5, 2007
I'm a huge fan of Ben Elton, but this one just didn't hit the spot for me.

Journal Entry 2 by DJgib from Cambridge, Cambridgeshire United Kingdom on Sunday, June 17, 2007
Thanks Mum!

Journal Entry 3 by DJgib from Cambridge, Cambridgeshire United Kingdom on Saturday, January 31, 2009
I actually thought this was a pretty good read. Compared to Blackadder Goes Forth, Elton has this time produced a much gorier version of World War I, which was at times quite uncomfortable to read about. Elton's whodunnits are never of the most intricate kind, but this one held the imagination and at least you didn't see the identity of the killer coming a mile away (cf. Past Mortem).
Yes, this wasn't as funny as Elton's usual offerings, but the social commentary was still there. I think the thought of a WWI conscientious objector on intellectual grounds would still be hard to stomach for many today. The chauvenistic feelings of many men over women, despite the herioc efforts of women during the war, is also an important issue, and not fully eradicated today.
At the end of the day though, wat you want from a novel is to entertain, and it certainly did.

Journal Entry 4 by RonOren at Cambridge, Cambridgeshire United Kingdom on Saturday, July 16, 2011
I quite enjoyed this book! It's refreshing to read a Ben Elton where the emphasis is on the story, rather than the humour; or, in fact, hardly has any humour in it. I agree with DJgib that the idea of a conscientious objector, who doesn't actually object to killing itself but to the industrialised version of it, is quite an interesting one; and I really did like the irony of Kingsley becoming a decorated war hero, after his troubles due the objections.

If I have one criticism, it's that Kingsley is a little too much of a superhero. While I can understand that someone who can stay calm under pressure will do well in a war; and while it makes sense that a high-fying police officer would have that ability, it stretches the imagination a bit too far that Kingsley does so well and survives everything. But then, I guess no novel is possible without some narrative imperative...

As DJgib said, it's an enjoyable read, even if I did see the murderer coming a long way off in this one (but then, I didn't in Past Mortem). Not one that I think we need to keep, but one that someone else will hopefully enjoy, too.

Released 12 yrs ago (11/19/2011 UTC) at Caffe Nero, King's Parade OBCZ in Cambridge, Cambridgeshire United Kingdom

WILD RELEASE NOTES:

Left in the back of Caffe Nero, at the OBCZ

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