I didn't find this difficult to read [but then I'm a glutton for military history] but I agree, a map of the Sudan and surroundings would be a help. While this, like most books of it's time and a lot later, shows an unacceptable level of bigotry,I find them interesting to see the unconscious feelings of the time. This is true of both fiction and non-fiction.

As an interesting sidelight, especially to anyone interested in firearms, Churchill was probably the first person to use an automatic pistol [semi-automatic] in combat. He had hurt his arm and couldn't handle a sabre, so carried a Mauser C-96 instead. Since it was only introduced 2 years earlier, it's probable that it had never been used in war before. Like Churchill, it lasted through WWII.

I really wanted to like this story, but like so many sequels it was so different from the preceding book [Big Time] that I couldn't get into it. Greta was so aware in the first book, and there's no explanation of why she is so broken in this, If you liked this, read Big Time. If it was so-so, don't bother.