08.02.07
Posted in Books and Audiobooks, Colonials
at 7:03 pm
King of the Khyber Rifles by Talbot Mundy is a real period piece! The hero, Athelstan King, is a British Intelligence Service officer in India during the early 1900s. The mission given to him by his superiors is to prevent an uprising on the Northwest Frontier. In the course of the adventure he disguises himself as a native, comes across his brother, gains access to a hidden mountain fortress, penetrates to the heart of the revolt and (almost) gets the girl. If you enjoy Edgar Rice Burroughs or Robert Howard, then this novel is for you! I can’t go into too much detail as it will spoil the plot but it is a fast-paced adventure yarn. You can make two or three scenarios for Northwest Frontier gaming from this: a fortress besieged, infighting between Pathan tribes, and full blown revolt on the frontier with random reinforcements attacking British columns or railway teams.
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