When Empire Calls product reviews

When I picked up this book I thought it was my first introduction to the author Ken Catran. I had heard some stuff about him, in particular that he was a local. But I didn't realise he actually had a hand in many of the children's tv series I grew up with, like Children of the Dog Star.

It took me a while to read this, because it looked like a classic boy's adventure story with the glory of war trumpeting out from the cover. I wish I had just opened it and started it. This book is about war, and covers a few wars inside but it largely focussed on the Second Boer War.

I knew nothing of this period in our history. So this book was really interesting to me as a historic buff. I knew a little about the New Zealand Wars which they talk about and quite a bit about WWI and WWII. I loved the way Catran covered the feelings of the people in that generation. I appreciated that he eased us into the world, telling us that the way the characters think will be very different to how we think now.

I enjoyed the history and the way he really asked you to think about the subject. This is not a book about glory. Its anti-war, as most war stories end up. Its a good style of book for me though. It has letters and journal entries through-out and I love that sort of thing. It held my attention and I kept coming back to it until it was finished in less than a day.

I could easily re-read this book. I think the price is a little steep compared to the My Story series of books. This book would suit anyone who likes that style of book though, boys and girls alike.