Books: From Battlefield to Law Court

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LIGHT CAVALRY ACTION by John Harris. 315 pages. Morrow. $4.95.

As publishing goes, readers must be grateful for small favors. This novel is a medium-sized favor. It is a literate adventure story with a historical background—the Russian Revolution.

Sir Henry Prideaux had bad luck in World War I. In his first cavalry charge, he was taken prisoner. Then, happily for him, Britain decided to send an expeditionary force to Russia in hopes of defeating the Bolsheviks. Prideaux promptly volunteered, led a brilliant cavalry attack on the Reds at Dan-koi, and emerged with the D.S.O., and speedy advance up the military list.

Now, on the eve of World War II, Prideaux has within his grasp the command of the British Expeditionary Force in Europe should Hitler invade Poland. At this moment, a letter appears in a British magazine, suggesting that Prideaux had actually blundered at Dan-koi and, in fact, was not present when needed. Prideaux, naturally, sues for libel, whereupon the whole story is re-enacted for judge and reader.

A prolific writer of adventure stories, Author Harris knows his way around a war and, in particular, the chaotic landscape of a routed army. His military men are simple enough to recall George Henty, the turn-of-the-century bard of boyhood. But Harris is so skillful that he keeps the suspense mounting in the best of two action worlds: the battlefield and the law courts.