While Ritchie’s War
does stand alone as a novel and touches on various aspects of the three
previous volumes, readers might get a better understanding of the complexities
of the situation if they read the other three novels in sequence before
tackling this one. (Review by Barry Meehan)
Author Neville Herrington is a former lecturer at the
University of KZN. He is also a director of the award-winning Durban-based
Tekwini Production company, which specialises in documentaries.
Ritchie’s War
relates the story of Ritchie Gray, who volunteers at the tender age of 19 for
active service in the First World War, and barely survives the East African
campaign, which is fought out in near-impossible conditions, with more soldiers
dying of malaria, dysentery and black fever than are killed in battle. Decent
rations are barely enough to keep a man alive, owing to supply chain problems,
and added encounters with warring local tribes, cannibals and a canny German
commander, whose force consists mainly of black askaris, add to the confusion
of a war being fought a continent away from the main battlefield arena of
Europe. Any romantic notions of soldiering and heroism rapidly dissipate, and
Ritchie rapidly comes face-to-face with the futility of war.
An heroic act sees him close to death in a military
hospital, where he has an “out-of-body” experience that brings back vivid
memories of his childhood and sets him on a remarkable and life-threatening
journey back in civilian life, determined to investigate the circumstances
surrounding the execution of his mother, which draws him into a world of black
prostitutes, demonic possession and exorcism.
In his preface to Ritchie’s
War, Herrington states that what started out as a trilogy covering the life
of Ritchie’s mother, Brigid O’Meara (England
Wants Your Gold, which covers the Jameson Raid and the consequent
Anglo-Boer War, The Irish Boer Woman,
which details the horrors of the British concentration camps, and The Dark Night of the Soul, in which she
is drawn in to the demonic world which destroys her) became a quartet with the
continuing story of Ritchie. While Ritchie’s
War does stand alone as a novel and touches on various aspects of the three
previous volumes, readers might get a better understanding of the complexities
of the situation if they read the other three novels in sequence before
tackling this one.
History buffs, especially those interested in the First
World War and the East African campaign, which was fought by the colonies
rather than the main protagonists, will get a good insight into the campaign, as
all the battles featured in Ritchie’s War
are based on well-documented, actual conflict skirmishes and situations. Those
who have followed the story of Brigid O’Meara in the first three books in the
series will be able to sink their teeth into this story of her son. And dare I
say it – it would appear from the ending of Ritchie’s
War that the stage has been set for a fifth novel in the series, although
it would of necessity be on a very different path to the others.
There are a few typos, grammatical errors and mis-spellings
in Ritchie’s War which have slipped
past the editor, as with many self-published works, and I must say I found
Herrington’s writing in the present tense, as opposed to the accepted norm,
somewhat off-putting and stilted on occasion.
“Ritchie, Kosie, David and Billy are members of a patrol
sent on a reconnaissance and led by a tough sergeant from Barberton,
24-year-old Johnny Bates, who immediately maps out the aim.
‘Remember, fellows, are (sic) mission is not to get into a
fight, but to remain undetected. Stealth is the keyword.’”
These quibbles aside, any local author who is prepared to
self-publish deserves the support of the reading public.
Ritchie’s War
costs R150 (price excludes postage) and can be ordered from Exclusive Books or Tekwini
website at www.tekweni.co.za or email: tekweni@iafrica.com
ISBN: 978-0-9946692-5-4 – Barry Meehan
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