Ratings7
Average rating3.9
"The stunningly vibrant final novel in the bestselling Ibis Trilogy It is 1839 and China has embargoed the trade of opium, yet too much is at stake in the lucrative business and the British Foreign Secretary has ordered the colonial government in India to assemble an expeditionary force for an attack to reinstate the trade. Among those consigned is Kesri Singh, a soldier in the army of the East India Company. He makes his way eastward on the Hind, a transport ship that will carry him from Bengal to Hong Kong. Along the way, many characters from the Ibis Trilogy come aboard, including Zachary Reid, a young American speculator in opium futures, and Shireen, the widow of an opium merchant whose mysterious death in China has compelled her to seek out his lost son. The Hind docks in Hong Kong just as war breaks out and opium "pours into the market like monsoon flood." From Bombay to Calcutta, from naval engagements to the decks of a hospital ship, among embezzlement, profiteering, and espionage, Amitav Ghosh charts a breathless course through the culminating moment of the British opium trade and vexed colonial history. With all the verve of the first two novels in the trilogy, Flood of Fire completes Ghosh's unprecedented reenvisioning of the nineteenth-century war on drugs. With remarkable historic vision and a vibrant cast of characters, Ghosh brings the Opium Wars to bear on the contemporary moment with the storytelling that has charmed readers around the world"--
Featured Series
3 primary booksIbis Trilogy is a 3-book series with 3 primary works first released in 2008 with contributions by Amitav Ghosh.
Reviews with the most likes.
Disappointing to see the second and third parts of this tale descend into a tale which unashamedly prioritised the male characters' stories & completely sidelined the women characters until their narrative roles dwindled to bit parts serving the development of male characters. Whole key aspects of plot & narratives essential to the story are just abandoned & never resolved.
The story too just became unnecessarily bogged down in the tedious & odious details of military manoeuvring & violent resolutions
This is the final book of the Ibis Trilogy, following Sea of Poppies and River of Smoke.
As usual with Amitav Ghosh, the writing is rich and descriptive imagery is there, and in this book we return to the woven stories of book one which were lacking in the middle book. It does seem however that there is a lot more coincidence relied upon than would have been ideal in linking the principle characters. Thankfully, for me at least, the unlikeable Robin Chinnery and his letters don't feature in this book, replaced instead by the journal entries of Neel, which are far more readable.
This book focuses again on only a few main characters. Again we get a fleeting glimpse of Deeti at the opening of the book. Zachary Reid, Neel, and Kalua recur, with minor parts from Paulette Lampbert, Nob Kissin Baboo, Freddie (Ah Fatt), Jodu and Zadig Bey, to whom we were introduced in book two. Mr Burnham, the British trader is back in a major role, although it is his wife who overshadows his involvement. We are also introduced to new characters - Kesri Singh, elder brother of Deeti, a Havildar in the Bengal Volunteers to join the British in China; the widow of the Indian trader Bahram Moddie, Shireen; and Neels young son Raju who appears late in the piece.
For me it was a little disappointing not to tie up some loose ends. Paulette and Jodu don't reconnect,
Allow also makes a reappearance (as Mr Chan), in a complicated but largely unresolved role, and Freddie's involvement remains minor, and without reconnection with Neel.
Zachary Reid probably develops the most as a character, and not necessarily in the way most would expect from the first two books. There is also the comedy we come to expect from Ghosh - with Mr Reid being suspected of being a serial masturbator by his employers wife, who does all she can to save him (and more).
As is usual, the author seems to have targeted something complex and mastered it description. In the initial book it was the language of the sailing ship and the pidgin English of the Lascars, in the second book it was the world of trade and opium. In this book we are treated the the theatre of war, albeit a fairly one-sided war for the most part, with the British warships laying waste to the opposing vessels and land fortifications.
And so in summary, I am glad to have read the trilogy, and there can be little doubt it is a fascinating period of time in China, India and the British Empire. I can't decide whether the trilogy was overly long or overly short - if it were longer would there have been opportunity to tidy it up at the edges? Or if shorter would it have encouraged a more succinct storyline?
For me this book was more enjoyable than the middle book, which felt like it was just manipulating the characters into place for a finale. Perhaps not as engaging as the first book, which set to introduce all of the characters, but which ultimately didn't take the story very far forward. For those reasons this sits at 4 stars.