Zulu Rising

Name: Zulu Rising
Rating: 4.2 (1523 reviews)

by Michael G. Thomas Book 1 in the Blackwood of the Empire series.

First published 2025

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4.2(1,523)

In 1879 newly commissioned Lieutenant William Blackwood arrives in southern Africa as British forces invade the Zulu Kingdom. Expecting the order and confidence of a professional imperial army, he instead finds confused columns, uncertain intelligence and soldiers trying to operate across difficult country against a disciplined opponent. His first responsibilities force him to earn authority among veterans before he fully understands the campaign into which they have been committed.

Zulu Rising introduces the Anglo-Zulu War through a fictional junior officer rather than a commanding general. The novel is concerned with marching, reconnaissance, colonial auxiliaries and the consequences of underestimating Zulu military organisation. Blackwood’s education in command begins with the recognition that courage cannot compensate for poor planning and that imperial certainty offers little protection on an unfamiliar frontier.