A very good book of a genre that I don't usually care much for. If you're the sort of person who enjoys military fiction, this is easily five stars. Anyway, of Fraser's many virtues as a writer, I shan't comment -- they're well known.

Instead, I'll talk a little about something more in my wheelhouse, which is how Fraser uses history. Namely, he uses it very, very well. He takes a piece of history that in the US is rather less known (the Crimean War), combines it with another piece of history that is virtually unknown all over (Yakub Beg), and spins a fascinating and insightful look into the past out of it. I suppose that, as a Russian-American, I ought to be slightly offended at how Fraser talks about Russia, but his critiques are entirely just, and it's not as if Flashman isn't hilariously bigoted against every single color, creed, and country under the sun.

Anyway, very fun book.