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Revision as of 10:02, 21 April 2018
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{{infoboxinfobox1
|title=The Young Chieftain
|sort=Young Chieftain, The
|buy=Yes
|borrow=Yes
|pages=298
|publisher=Tamarind
|date=September 2010
|isbn=1848530331
|amazonukcover=<amazonuk>1848530331</amazonuk>|amazonusaznuk=1848530331|aznus=<amazonus>1848530331</amazonus>
}}
''The Young Chieftain'' is at heart an adventure mystery story. And a successful one, too. There's some double-dealing going on in the clan and a villain to be unmasked by a reluctant hero, and Howard obliges with a page-turning book in which the action moves along at a rollicking pace. I was quite breathless by the end! Jamie is a very strong central character - he starts out as the usual reluctant hero, uninterested in his father's obscure clan obsession, but ends up stepping right up to the plate, and then some. And there's a super-bad villain to boo and hiss at to boot.
But the book has a little more about it than simple boy's own adventure. There's a fascinating conflict between tradition and modernity underlying the action and Howard also deals with racism, bereavement, personal identity, and puts forward some quite sophisticated socio-political thoughts about what makes a leader and how power corrupts.
Best of all, it's an unusual story, outside of the piles of genre fodder making its way into Bookbag's review pilesstack, and we commend it for this. The dialogue grates a little bit from time to time - but this is the only hole I can think of to pick. ''The Young Chieftain" '' comes recommended by Bookbag.
My thanks to the good people at Tamarind for sending the book.
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