The Nightrunners of Bengal - Book Report/Review Example

The author brilliantly describes the harrowing events of bloodshed and violence that run throughout the book. The various themes are vividly explained, subjects like love, honor, and loyalty are highlighted. The truthfulness of the Indian Sepoys is evident when they refuse to fight for their own people and remain committed to the British official of the East India Company. Moreover, Savage's attachment to his army and his love and affection for Caroline is noteworthy. It is Caroline's affection that gave him strength and courage to recover from his declining health and shows his bravery to fights for his right against the Indian upheaval.

In the author's viewpoint, the Bengal Lancers deserve most of the praise for showing their loyalty to their British officers, in his eyes, they are brave men and his heroes. John Masters is clearly not an anti-colonialist because he regards the Indian mutiny as only a rebellion made by religious extremists rather than the Indian war of independence. His bias is quite obvious in his description of the character of Rani of Jhansi, the author describes her as an immoral and corrupt woman, rather than showing her in a more positive light.

The book accounts for all the historical events radiantly and artfully without any flaws, the author takes credit for his sparkling writing style and for his exceptional sequence of events. There were many lines that were disheartening and gloomy, for example, the most depressing part of the book was the explanation of the death of Savage's wife and his fading strength, furthermore, the misery of Savage takes a toll when in a fit of fury he kills one of his closest Indian friends he once trusted.

But as the story unfolds Savage regains health and is on his foot once again.Rodney Savage's character is powerful but at the same time had many flaws; it is his blind trust and immeasurable love and devotion for his regiment that leads him to his downfall. He failed to recognize the forthcoming threat by the Indian troops and as a result, has to pay a heavy price for he lost his wife and dear ones in the combat.