A Chinese Command

A colorful and energetic action yarn set in the mid-1890s, during the first Sino-Japanese War, A Chinese Command mixes historical fact with a series of wild adventures that have the protagonist Frobisher smuggling arms in Korea, fighting bandits in China, discovering the treasure of Genghis Khan, commanding a cruiser for the Chinese in the crucial Battle of the Yalu River, and surviving a deadly typhoon, shipwreck and capture by cannibals.

Don't look for any love interest, conflicted souls or much at all in the way of character development, though it has to be said Frobisher has an almost Flashman-like knack for involving himself in ventures which don't turn out so well.

Collingwood has an undeniable gift for description, whether it's a raging storm at sea or one of the story's numerous action sequences. The author also seems refereshingly free of many of the racial prejudices of his time. He expresses a high opinion of the Chinese Navy, officers and men, though he has much harsher things to say about the Qing government, especially the corrupt, war-profiteering mandarins who supplied the navy with defective arms and ammunition.

Although the bit about Frobisher stumbling across the treasure of Genghis Khan while being pursued by bandits through a ruined city, and how he later disposed of that fabulous wealth, were a bit much, it doesn't keep me from recommending this as a fine, entertaining read.