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Flood of Fire

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Flood of Fire

Amitav Ghosh

Flood of Fire Amitav Ghosh It is 1839 and tension has been rapidly mounting between China and British India following the crackdown on opium smuggling by Beijing. With no resolution in sight, the colonial government declares war.

One of the vessels requisitioned for the attack, the Hind, travels eastwards from Bengal to China, sailing into the midst of the First Opium War. The turbulent voyage brings together a diverse group of travellers, each with their own agenda to pursue. Among them is Kesri Singh, a sepoy in the East India Company who leads a company of Indian sepoys; Zachary Reid, an impoverished young sailor searching for his lost love, and Shireen Modi, a determined widow en route to China to reclaim her opium-trader husband's wealth and reputation. Flood of Fire follows a varied cast of characters from India to China, through the outbreak of the First Opium War and China's devastating defeat, to Britain's seizure of Hong Kong.

Flood of Fire Details

Date : Published 2015 by Murray ISBN : 9780719569005 Author : Amitav Ghosh Format : Hardcover 616 pages Genre : Historical, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Cultural, India, China

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From Reader Review Flood of Fire for online ebook

Divya Sarma says

Amitava Ghosh's conclusion of the Ibis trilogy is epic. I stumbled on , almost as my first Ghosh book, and then read in breathless anticipation. But that book, good though it is, seemed a bit stalled, almost waiting for more action to happen. Most of the principal characters from Sea of Poppies were missing, and although Bahram Moddie was a compelling character in himself, I longed for Deeti and Zachary, Jodu and the rest.

Well, most of them return in Flood of Fire, in unexpected forms. Zachary is back, and while he was clearly the most likely hero of Sea of Poppies, here he gradually becomes a sort of anti-hero. And yet, you never lose your sympathy for this character. Like Babu Nob Kissin Pander says, he is the symbol of the Kali Yuga, the age when the world drowns in the pursuit of profit. Zachary's gradual seduction into the power plays, is initiated, surprisingly by an actual seduction by Mrs. Burnham. But even as he turns dark, even as he blackmails Mrs. Burnham and her lover Captain Mee and eventually drives them to suicide, even as he betrays Ah Fatt (freddie) and causes his death, when it is finally revealed that he has floated a firm in partnership with Mr. Burnham, you only sigh for him and hope he somehow survives the partnership. What we will remember about Zachary is the protectiveness he showed towards Paulette, the hug he gives to console Raju (Neel's son), who serves as his 'kidmuttgar' for a brief while in this book.

Mrs. Burnham's emergence as a major character is somewhat surprising, since she functioned almost as a comic aside in the first book. She emerges as a seductress supreme in the way she initiates Zachary into many pleasurable practices. But the backstory of the tragic romance with Captain Mee and her eventual suicide seems to be rather cliched. One would have thought she had the wherewithal to deal with Zachary's blackmail and emerge stronger from it.

The other surprising major character is Shireen Moddie. If you read River of Smoke, she would be a fairly unsympathetic character, someone who has bound Bahram to her natal family, someone who never gave Bahram any love or even respect, a credulous believer in 'godmen'. But the way she deals with Bahram's secret family, the mistress and son in Canton is surprisingly dignified. She acknowledges her own hurt and betrayal, but she is also strong and fair enough to recognize what is due to Ah Fatt (Freddie) as Bahram's son. She may not be able to give him any official status or even property, but her reaching out to him fulfills a deep longing in Freddie's life and her eventual insistence that Freddie be buried next to Bahram finally grants him his due. Shireen is the one who recognizes the rights of the half caste children spawned by the trade routes. She is a surprising mouthpiece considering her background as a upper class conservative woman, also considering she is in a sense a 'victim' of these practices. But as she tells her nephew Dinyar (another Parsee with a Chinese Family), "Children can never be brought into this world silently. They grow up, they learn to speak, and eventually they speak. You should remember this when you deal with your own children," you feel she has stuck a decisive blow for the likes of Freddie. It is therefore disappointing that in the very next paragraph she uses the threat of revealing about his Chinese children to his family, to get him to consent to her second marriage. You somehow dont expect her to instrumentalize these children to her own ends so easily. And the romance track between Shireen and Zadig lacks any verve and does nothing to the plot. Could not Shireen have remained an independent widow who was following her life. Was there a need to tie her down in matrimony again and that too to Bahram's best friend.

For me the best parts of the novel however were the conflicting loyalties of the people in the war. Neel, for instance is an Indian, fleeing prison and is accepted by the Chinese and even helps their cause. But he does resent the scorn with which the Chinese treat the Indian sepoys. The Chinese dont think these sepoys are any threat to them, so Neel has a perverse pleasure when the sepoys rout the Chinese (his side in the war) in the

PDF File: Flood of Fire... 3 Read and Download Ebook Flood of Fire... first skirmish. Again in an atmosphere when the CHinese population gets more and more xenophobic and start attacking 'aliens' including the 'black aliens' (as the Indians are called), there is delicious irony in the fact that a ship commanded by Jodu and some other Indians, with Neel on board, manages to damage a British ship of war.

Nowhere is this conflict so movingly described as in the dilemma of Kesri Singh, Deeti's brother. As a professional soldier, he hates these Chinese defenders who prefer death to surrender, because they make him realize an uncomfortable truth, that he is practically a hired killer. At a time when he thinks death is upon him, he regrets the nature of his death, not as a soldier fighting for something he values, but caught in a war, where he practically sympathizes with the enemy and even feels for his own killers, who are only defending their village, something he himself would have done back home. Kesri's dilemma epitomises the question a Chinese officer asks Neel earlier in the book - Why do these Sepoys fight for the British? Kesri himself is a forerunner of another of Ghosh's characters, Arjun in , an Indian officer who wonders why he is fighting for the British, as he makes a choice to join the Indian National Army during the second World War.

Deeti herself, one of the primary driving forces of the first novel is almost completely absent in this novel, as she is in the previous one. But here at least, one feels her presence constantly here, as different characters - Kesri, Zachary, Maddow and Paulette- recall her and in a way she remains a crucial guiding force of the narrative. One doesnt miss her, because she is in everyone's minds and we know she is safe and settled in the Mauritius.

To cut a long story short (and it is a really long story, not just this book but this trilogy itself), Flood of Fire is a fitting finale to a glorious, thrilling story of lives tied together by the Ibis, a scathing criticism of colonialism, and a glorious recreation of the multi-culturalism which emerged from an earlier era of trade. We, the internet and email generation, may find it surprising that even when communications took forever, people met, exchanged goods and ideas and constantly created vibrant new cultures.

Tuck says here is a clear-eyed good review of this 600 page opium war/ingrez colonial india sage https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... this is the third book by ghosh of the characters and story lines set in india and china 1830-1841 , in where britain, by their ideas of liberty being their god given right, and their desire to make as much money as possible, when and where they can, thus any infringement of that liberty was not only against their rights, but god didnt like that infringement either. so they grew lots and lots of opium in india, shipped it to china, canton, ghuangchou specifically, sell it to chinese, makes lots and lots of money, get chinese goods too, and ship to india and england, and makes lots and lots of money off that too, and god smiles, she's SO happy for the angrez. mayhem ensues, and it's never really ever stopped. ghosh has done much research on this time period and place, built a cast of diverse characters (if somewhat too soap operaish at times for me) and ran with this epic historical saga. at the end of this last of 3 books, the ibis trilogy, he also implies that this saga could easily continue, to chronicle the results of the first opium war (england won, more of less) and beyond. but since this novel took 600 pages, and the first two novels 500+ pages, the author was kinda done. readers shall see what ghosh takes on next.

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Smitha says

This last, much awaited installment of the IBIS trilogy was a disappointment. The book started off well, but at around 20%, the story assumed weird pornographic proportions involving Zachary Reid, one of my favorite character of book 1, who was completely absent in book 2 (except perhaps for a couple of passing mentions), and was supposed to play a major role in book 3. He played a major role, but not in. a way which I dethroned. He turned out to be a Lothario, who later metamorphosised into an opportunistic villain. Paulette had only a small role in this book. Stars of the show were Shireen, the grieving widow of Behram, Cathy (Mrs. Burnham - the lady of the manor turned vamp turned kindhearted lady), and Kesri, Deeti's elder brother who suddenly emerged as a major character. Tami alias Raj Rattan, Neel's son also joins the melee. The narrative was a shocker with plots suited to daily soaps, and I missed the usual elegance and magic , which is signature Ghosh. If there was a 4th installment I wouldn't have been too keen to proceed.

Angie Rhodes says

The last in the IBIS trilogy, and as I don't want to spoil this for those who have yet to read the first two books in the trilogy,, I will just say , you are missing a treat!! This last one, is one I read and reviewed for Lovereading and is published in March,, so go on, what you waiting for buy the first two,, you will love them...

Sookie says

Revising a bit of ignored history - Opium wars.

Kate Vane says

I loved the first two books in the Ibis trilogy and there is much to admire in this one, but I have to admit that I struggled at times to get through it.

The positives first. It’s a brilliantly researched account of events leading up to the First Opium War, showing the perspectives of characters from around the world, in particular Britain, India and China. It gives anyone unfamiliar with events a great insight into the period and the places. It shows, in particular, the paradoxical position which the Indian participants find themselves in, invaluable to both camps, but not quite at home in either.

Characters from the earlier books find themselves on opposite sides, for entirely intelligible reasons. The author raises important questions about ethnicity, identity and the rampant march of capital, which resonate today.

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Where I felt a little let down was in the storytelling. I missed the humour of the earlier books, and the inventiveness of the language as characters from different cultures and classes were thrown together. Some of the characters’ storylines felt a little soapy (particularly Zachary’s) and others, like Shireen, a bit prosaic. Other plot lines relied on coincidence.

The battle scenes were very long and the amount of detail seemed to deaden rather than enhance the drama. It also felt like the author himself might have been overwhelmed by the amount of exposition. Neel’s narration in the early stages of the book takes the form of a journal, which is very dry and limiting as he writes mainly about the political and military situation. This is abruptly abandoned part way through and the author returns to a conventional third-person narration.

It might be that the weight of expectation was too much. And I’m now familiar with the world of the trilogy that felt so vivid and fresh when I first encountered it. But for me this book didn’t have the magic of the first two.

Chaitra says

It has been a while since I read River of Smoke, and consequently it took me a while and 40 pages to get into the rhythm of the language. But once I did, it was hard to put the book down for any length of time.

One of the things that I loved was that I didn't, couldn't take sides even when it is abundantly clear that it was an unjust war. The British are nothing more than drug lords declaring war against the laws of another country, and yet, there were a few of them I cared a lot for. More than that, I liked the depiction of the British war machine. The British Empire was a very large part of my history syllabus, and what I learned there was the bare bones - and more often than not, it was upsetting to be on the losing side (until India started revolting and bugging the hell out of the Brits). I understood that a lot of our own side benefited a whole lot from the British, and that we fought with inferior weaponry etc., but it's now apparent that it didn't go very deep into my head. I don't think I've read another book that went into the details of a British battle on non- European soil against non-European opponents, and that's been remedied with this book.

Anyway, I digress. As with the previous two, this is an exquisitely researched book. At times it becomes quite heavy with the history, but Ghosh also has colorful language to offset the dreariness. Some of my favorite characters are back, even if in glorified cameos, and I had a couple of new characters to cheer for. Cathy Burnham was my favorite addition, her exchanges with Zachary were some of the most delightful in the whole series. I'm a little uneasy at the resolution of her storyline, as I'm not sure what Ghosh was trying to say, (view spoiler) but nonetheless, she was my favorite. I wish there was more of Paulette and a little less of Shireen, Kesri & Zachary, but it's not a major qualm.

What else? Obviously there's another war of the opium variety for Ghosh to cover if he so wishes. A few of the character arcs are open-ended enough to continue their stories. But, if this is to be marked completed, and Amitav Ghosh decides to focus on a different area, that's fine too. It maybe that I will change my mind on one or another book, when I eventually read the trilogy together, but for now it's one of my favorite book series, regardless of genre.

Paola says

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I have read this book withouth having read Sea of Poppies nor River of Smoke, as I received this book as a Goodreads giveaway, so did not want to delay unduly my "duty" of reviewing this novel. Flood of Fire however stands on its own as a novel, and though (by necessity) some of the facts referred to here are not detailed enough to grasp all the implications, they are anyway clear enough to provide sufficient background to the various characters.

While I did enjoy the first half, midway through the novel started unravelling for me - what were built as three separate stories (those of Kesri Singh, Zachary Reid and the recently widowed Shireen Moddy) start converging, with these three protagonists surely and not that slowly destined to meet aboard the same Hong Kong bound ship. And here I somewhat lost interest, as it seemed that the pace accelerated just to be sure that all the subplots could be ironed out in the remaining pages.

In terms of the plot, even without the benefit of the previous two books, most of the twist are very predictable. No big deal in itself if one wants to carry the larger picture, but here it felt as the historical background had already run out of steam (after the previous two instalments). I did not found the writing particularly beautiful, and at various points, rather repetitive: Shireen "kneads" the end of her saari countless times when she is under pressure, while most of the male characters cope with stress by trying to loosen their collars. The characters themselves lose credibility as they go along, with Reid rapidly turning from a naive and rather coarse carpenter/sailor to an articulate, shrewd, competent businessman in the space of a few months, and Shireen going from a sheltered stay at home dutiful wife who has hardly ventured outside her home to a decisive, confident woman who does not hesitate to use blackmail to get her way.

As I did not find the writing particularly beautiful, for the second half of the book it was the sheer pace of events that carried it for me.

One exception were the detailed descriptions of the battles, the strategies and the weapons: recounted in great detail, and very sympathetically, I never thought I could have found them so interesting. This however may not be true for all readers.

It is definitely an interesting book, and Ghosh manages to write accurate historical fiction with flair. Yet as a standalone novel it does very much feel as an epilogue, accessory to whatever came before.

Magdalena says

It took me 3 weeks to finish this book! And on reading the last page I said to myself: "Is this all?! What happens next?"... Throughout the book I felt the author spent too much time on describing details of battles and small incidents instead of concentrating on concluding the story. I didn't like the way Zachary 'sold his soul' to commerce and I was disappointed by the fact that the story ended without conclusion, without showing how the fates of the passengers from Ibis interlinked and how they all fared after the end of the story in "Flood of Fire". Although it was interesting from the historical point of view, I think it was the weakest part of the trilogy.

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Susan says

Some books just get better for the long wait, alas Flood of Fire is not one of those. It would be better named a mouldy puchka, full of stale jal jira. It seems that the author lost all interest in his characters, and hated the setting as well. The ship, Ibis, so potent a metaphor for the journey metaphor in the Odysseyian model, turned into a lame duck that barely quacks in tune. What went wrong? Amitav Ghosh forgot who he was, and who the characters were. For example, in this book, he casts Zachary Reid and Cathy Burnham into a tawdry 50 Shades affair, that has no love, no reason and a very meaningless relationship that destroys Cathy and Mee - who have for some unexplained reason, maintained a teenage passion through 20 years or more. By the end, quite frankly I didn't care what happened to either of them. neither did I care much about the corruption of Reid, or even Ah Fatt, both of whom I cared about once. Paulette is a pale distant figure and Deeti is a far off mirage. Shireen tries to come to the party, but again, I couldn't care much for her, and her metamorphosis into a shrewd manipulator is unbelievable. Much of the book is battle after battle, again, give me Bernard Cornwell or even, sacrilegiously, Rudyard Kipling for that. The writing of the action is very third party player, at no time did it drag you into the battle, again, because the characters are so weakly portrayed, the only time I nearly wept was when the little fifer Dicky is killed. The wait has been so long, and the links to the earlier action, so poorly done, that it took some concentration to reconnect, and then, the author hasn't bridged the gap despite my readiness to jump back in the rich worlds created in the previous books. What happened? I think the author fell out of love with the characters, and wanted to put as much distance as he could between himself and them. Even as a stand alone novel, it doesn't have the grip of The Glass Palace or . The book is well researched, but then, I wasn't looking for research, but for a good tale and closure for all the questions left unanswered.

Daren says

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

PDF File: Flood of Fire... 8 Read and Download Ebook Flood of Fire... 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.

Billpilgrim says

Seems like I've been waiting for this book for way too long.

Now that I have read it, I was not disappointed. The detail and language is mesmerizing. The portrayal of British colonialism and relationships between the British and Indian people is fascinating. And the lengths that the British government would go to protect the opium dealers' business is shameful.

I still enjoyed River of Smoke best of the three books, for its imagining of life in Canton China.

Doug Bradshaw says

I feel honored and privileged to have read the Ibis trilogy. The first two books were harder for me, they took more focus and re-reading of certain sentences and sequences. But perhaps reading Amitav Ghosh is a bit of a learned skill, something you get better at and enjoy more the more you experience it. I give the series my highest rating and walk away with that ultra fond and somewhat sad feeling in my gut that it is over.

Flood of Fire turns an interesting bit of the history of the opium trade in China and China's relationship to the British merchants and government in the 1830s to 40s, into a profound and scary revelation of the power of both greed and addiction caused by opiates. We learn through several of the characters that the addiction to opium takes two forms, the actual users of opium, perhaps less addicted than those who push the sale of it and then live on its huge profits. The attack of the British Navy and Marines on the Chinese is very similar to other holocausts. But it didn't seem to me that the author was preaching or crying. He just wanted to make sure that we knew what happened and why.

But it's the individual characters and their stories that make the book immensely readable and enjoyable. There are several nice romances, there always has to be a little adultery, doesn't there? How about murder, injustice, the strong beating the weak, the arrogance of the wealthy and the captain who can't be bribed? There is a little section about the problems of onanism and certain addictions and cures and pamphlets of the

PDF File: Flood of Fire... 9 Read and Download Ebook Flood of Fire... time telling of this particular problem that I found absolutely hilarious. Some of you may need to read that part quickly.

Two of the primary characters have never tried opium and the descriptions of their experiences with it were top notch.

In the end, there is heartbreak, death, a few hopeful situations and several more stories to be told. But a realistic story, well told and a better feeling to the whole region including the story of how Hong Kong became part of Great Britain.

Ghosh, don't feel obligated to stop because you called it a trilogy. Let's keep this going. In about a year, I'm going to re-read the whole trilogy and enjoy it again. I can't wait to hear what you think.

Virat hooda says

True Wonderer

A few big bangs,’ observed the officer sagely, ‘can save a great many lives.’ ~Amitav Ghosh, Flood of Fire

Ahhh…..So, this ‘fabulous’ Idea had occurred to the British long before the Americans. Can’t say I am surprised really. The British at that time(most of the 17th, 18th and 19th century…and possibly before that too) were the flag bearers of despotism and well…I am an Indian, if anyone knows how being at the receiving end of that feels like, it would be us.

With Flood of fire, Amitav Ghosh concludes the Ibis Trilogy, and this series is without a doubt one of the finest historical fiction I have read till date. Mr. Ghosh’s impeccable attention to detail, his extensive research and his no nonsense yet creative way to portray history has made this series a must read for any respectable history buff. As with anything linked with history, this series too has a lot of pages, a LOT. With each book in the trilogy he adds 650+ pages to the tale. And yet, even with the slow pace the story doesn’t let you go, yes, you do take rest in btw (I did, had to absorb before moving on) but the characters were so interesting, the whole era itself was so very captivating that you puff away at the tale as you do a Cuban cigar, taste it, enjoy it up-to a point, slowly, then extinguish it, at some other time relight it and carry on where you left it from, and of course its just as good every time.

With The Sea of Poppies we began the tale from the heartland of Bihar, with the farmers toiling away under the British raj, then we progressed on to the traders of the final product (“opium”) in River of Smoke where we follow the sticky balls of opium from the well powdered hands of elite company men and ‘Free Market’ traders(smugglers, traffickers), to its ultimate destination .i.e the shivering hands of a Chinese addict in some dark den in Canton. And with the Flood of fire, we come to the point where every story line in the trilogy converges to give you the first opium wars, where a country which fought to save its citizen from the dark embrace of destruction was thoroughly humiliated and beaten by the ‘Respectable’ and ‘Honorable’ men of an empire which claimed to bring civilization and freedom to its shores, How? by giving them uncooked opium at ridiculously high prices, imposing a *cough*.. loot.. *cough* of more than 6 million Spanish dollars(at that time .i.e.1840’s) and wrested away two islands for the sole purpose of forcing the drug down the throat of an already choking country.

The four main characters this book follows are ‘Kesri’, our village woman ‘Deeti’s brother and a proud soldier in the East India Company’s formidable army; ‘Shireen’ ,’Behram’s (our trader from book two) wife,

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Zachary (Our mulatto upstart), and ‘Neil’ (a convicted king / ‘Munshi’ / Translator / the guy who experiences things from the Chinese side). Their story is woven with the fate of the Chinese and Indian lands so skillfully that you get to know the conflict from every angle. Specially Kesri’s experience, fighting for a foreign power against another foreign power for………….nothing, nothing of consequence of his own is interesting in the extreme. Some of his thoughts for his superiors are, so very relatable, like…

“..to skewer this maadarchod seemed far more urgent than fighting some unknown Chinese soldier.” ~Kesri

Ahh.. the beauty of foul language in one’s own mother tongue, but I digress. So, as I have mentioned in the first two reviews too, Character development and strength of its story lines are two of the best aspects of this series. Zachary’s zig zag travels through moral considerations and temptations, good and bad, were again a testament to Mr.Ghosh’s skill at creating an interesting character which showcases that how THAT world molded the unsuspecting and gullible in its own twisted image.

All in all, Bravo!, A standing Ovation!, tilted hats and ‘Bangra’ dance all the way, so, why the 4 stars you ask. Why not 5? Fair question, so here’s the deal, when I had to check to see how much a book is left, to actually count down the pages till I finish it, means I wavered, means I could come out of the book without meaning to, that I noticed the door bell being rung, noticed that I was hungry, noticed that maybe I should sleep because I had to go to the office. Now, you might say that that’s no excuse, but it is, to me it is, so deducted one for just that, for making me read those extra pages that were not so interesting, that made me take a break. Unfair? well no I don’t thin so.

But I wholeheartedly recommend this to every history lover, or the ones who enjoy a long read, buckle up guys, this is your door to the 19th century Asia, where all the ‘Fun’ stuff was happening which led to the current shit we are in. Take a gander from the deck of the IBIS.

Arah-Lynda says

Chasing the dragon is an art, you know- it must be done properly.

I have been thinking about this trilogy almost exclusively since I turned the last page in this epic journey and truth be told I confess I feel somewhat less than equal to the task of writing a review that will in any way do justice to this amazing work. Just thinking about the scope of this piece of history is highly intimidating. Ghosh himself says that he feels as though he has only scratched the surface, perhaps written a few chapters about what happened and why, in a time and place in history that still very much affects international relations in our world to this very day. And no doubt will continue to shape our future. That is heady stuff!

So let’s just talk about this, the last offering in The Ibis Trilogy. Readers of the first two books in this series will be pleased to know that although Flood of Fire only covers in brief the first opium war, how the Chinese lost Hong Kong and the British raid on Canton, closure can be found here for all the characters we have come to know and care about since Sea of Poppies.

We are also introduced in more depth to, some lesser known players from the first two parts of this trilogy.

As opposed to listing all the characters and their contribution to this story I feel the need at this point to talk about just one of them and the profound change these historic events that he finds himself muddled in, have on his character. I am talking of course about Zachary Reid. I met him first as the mulatto son of a Maryland freedwoman who joins the crew of the Ibis as it sets sail from Baltimore bound for Calcutta. Based on his own personal, ancestral history and the impact that knowledge has on how others view and treat him,

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Zachary understands all too well the value in keeping some things secret. Over the course of this trilogy Zachary’s character and moral code are frequently and mightily put to the test, but none more so than in Flood of Fire. If ever there was a character that I loved to love and loved to hate in almost equal measure Zachary Reid fills that bill. I applaud Amitav Ghosh’s undeniable skill in this complex character creation.

Without revealing too much there are some sections here that deal with Victorian society’s views at that time on the sin of masturbation. How to cure such a nasty habit and the consequences of not nipping this disgusting practice in the bud, as it were. I found it all quite amusing and more than a little disturbing, not to mention hypocritical. Kind of like the pot calling the kettle black or the British defending their right to bring copious amounts of raw opium into China even though that very same drug is illegal to trade within their own country.

And there it is. At the very heart of this story……..opium and the staggering amount of wealth and destruction this little flower; the poppy, commands.

How was it possible that a small number of men, in the span of a few hours or minutes, could decide the fate of millions of people yet unborn? How was it possible that the outcome of those brief moments could determine who would rule whom, who would be rich or poor, master or servant, for generations to come? Nothing could be a greater injustice, yet such had been the reality since human beings first walked the earth.

Bravo Mr. Ghosh! Since knowledge is power, I can only hope you write more about this and that many people, who one day may have an impact on how this all plays out in the future, take the time to read your words.

Sambasivan says

Amitav Ghosh's writing has a bare minimum quality which very few authors can match. Having said that, this third and final book in the trilogy was slightly less panoramic and breathtaking when compared with the first two possibly because Ghosh had set a very high standard for himself. The story comes to a neat finish with all the characters coming together and there is a finale which you can see it coming from afar.

As a historic novel, Amitav Ghosh has explored the Opium war like never before and laid bare the avarice and greed of the B Company which reeks of imperial aspirations. The hypocrisy of free trade protection has been exposed quite well. As well as the futility of war. This novel also provides the historical context as to why the Chinese do not trust the Indians (since they had fought for money like mercenaries in the early 19 th century).

Overall a worthy read.

Jaya says

Ah in hindsight, I might have been a bit too harsh and and hasty in my rating.... Re-rated to 3 stars

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2.15 stars Well...I wished for a grand conclusion for the Ibis Trilogy . The age old adage of be careful of what you wish for came true. The story was grand indeed so much so that with elements of cliches, coincidences, events that were fantastical to epic proportions, this book reads like a daily soap opera (or a bollywood film?) Without going into details, the Flood of Fire is perhaps the most disappointing book that I have read in this year till now. After waiting for a couple of years, since the last book was released, this was definitely NOT what I was hoping and looking forward to. Disheartened is what I am, it does not feel that this is the same author who wrote Sea of Poppies or The Hungry Tide.

My ratings are only for the historical facts (which were way less as compared to the previous books) that formed the background of the story.

Veronica ?? says

Flood of Fire is a captivating and well researched historical fiction. The story pulled me in and kept my interest. It was a real eye opener as I learned so much about the opium wars. Even though I have not read the first two books in the series I had no problems connecting with the characters and following the storyline. I am now compelled to read “Sea of Poppies” and “River of Smoke” as most reviews have stated that they are even better than this one!

With my thanks to Hachette Aus for my copy to read and review.

Marianne says

Flood of Fire is the third and final book in the Ibis Trilogy by Amitav Ghosh. Where readers of River of Smoke may have wondered what happened to the major players in Sea of Poppies, those questions are answered by Flood of Fire. Characters from both previous books reappear, along with new characters. Neel continues his account of events, much of it in the form of a journal. Zachary Reid has a narrative role, as do Kesri Singh, older brother of Deeti, and Shireen Moddie, widow of Bahram. Well into the tale, the voice of a young boy, Raju, is added.

While a newly exonerated but penniless Zachary tries to put his life back together, Neel uses his linguistic talents to help the Chinese war effort. Kesri heads a team of sepoys who form part of the fighting force on the English side, and Shireen heads to Canton in an attempt to gain compensation for Bahram’s lost opium cargo. Once again, the Ibis seems to draw the characters to her. As the Ibis, Anahita and Hind converge on the Pearl River Delta, many of the characters from Sea of Poppies and River of Smoke find themselves in close quarters.

Against a background of the battles of the First Opium War, Ghosh demonstrates the depth of research done (which he attributes to his ancestor) in the detail he provides on a multitude of topics: the composition of fighting forces involved in the wars, what comprised their uniforms, the important role of the army followers, the restrictions on travel into Canton, the power of translators, Victorian sex therapy, futures trading in the nineteenth century, and, of course, the Opium Wars. He includes a wealth of information in

PDF File: Flood of Fire... 13 Read and Download Ebook Flood of Fire... easily digestible form by weaving the facts into an absorbing tale full of interesting characters.

Ghosh also gives the reader plenty of humour: he subjects poor Zachary to all kinds of indignities and gives the reader plenty of laughs at his expense. Who knew there were so many euphemisms for sexual terms in Victorian times? Double entendre and innuendo abound. Reunions, too, are plentiful, some less friendly than others. There are dramatic battles, more than a few deaths, a marriage proposal, quite a bit of impersonation, some secret assignations, and an act of piracy. Characters develop, but not all for the better.

In his Epilogue, Ghosh explains that the story could continue, but having spent ten years on the trilogy thus far, and unwilling to abbreviate the tale as would not do it justice, he leaves it with, what no doubt many readers will feel, much unsaid. The final moments of the main story hold a delightful twist that will have many readers laughing out loud. At over six hundred pages, this may be a brick, but it is a brilliant read. With thanks to The Reading Room and Hachette for this copy to read and review.

Nancy Oakes says

The long version is here at my online reading journal.

****

I think I can honestly say that I have never read a better series of historical fiction novels than Ghosh's Ibis Trilogy. The series starts with opium farmers in India and ends with the gunboat diplomacy that forced China to open its ports to British trade and to accept a series of unequal treaties. The trilogy as a whole is an amazing critique of colonialism/imperialism, all the while exploring how the financial windfall of the opium trade helped to change individuals, families, communities, nations, diplomacy and international relations and left effects that linger on into our modern world. To say this trilogy is epic in proportion is no understatement, but it is so compelling that waiting for the publication of the third installment was sheer torture. I read somewhere that Flood of Fire can be read as a standalone novel, but I have to disagree here -- there is an incredible richness of depth that exists when you read all three novels, plus there are recurring characters whose lives intertwine over the space of all three books.

When we left River of Smoke, tensions between the Chinese and the opium traders had reached a fever pitch, ending with the confiscation and destruction of all opium from traders and merchants. This act sets the scene for Flood of Fire, where with so much money at stake and a demand for "free" trade, the efforts of one empire to repel another turns into full-blown conflict which ultimately changes the world map. The smaller stories that take place within the bigger picture reveal exactly how the lives, loyalties, and fortunes of both men and women changed during this period of time, all told from various perspectives of the characters who lives play out within this very broad sweep of history.

Flood of Fire is the perfect ending to a perfect series; although I'm incredibly sad it's over, the trilogy is one set of books I will NEVER forget. I doubt there has been anything like it before and I know that there will not be anything like it again. I definitely recommend this book and its predecessors to anyone who enjoys quality historical fiction, excellent writing, and a great story. It is absolutely magnificent, highly intelligent, superb, and all manner of superlatives.

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