Absurdly humorous, quirkily funny, vulgar and gore, I am out of words to describe this crazy heck of a book! From the initial chapters till the end, the book makes you laugh, makes you cry (with laughter) and there are some scenes that you just wish you had un-read because you just can't seem to stop thinking about it!

The first chapter is just crazy! Cornwall and Trevelyan participate in the Paris to Dakar Rally. Cornwall gets gored in the rear by a fellow participant's rhino and his bum is beyond repair! They are halfway through the desert and Trevelyan's forgotten to take sunscreen or lip balm and is suffering from a severe case of sunburn. His lips are beyond repair! What happens next? *Alert* Brace yourselves for what I am going to say next because you might just want to close your eyes and not read it!

So, the duo are famished and thirsty and what not, and they think their end is here. Then Cornwall opens his eyes and sees that he's in a hospital. His rear has been replaced with that of a weasel. And Trevelyan's lips have been replaced with Cornwall's anus! The story then proceeds to describe how each one of them 'suffered' due to this once-in-a-lifetime transplant!

And how can I not mention Fuffy and Cornwall's love story! Fuffy was Major Cornwall's first love. After having a ding-ding in the bathroom with her mother, Cornwall takes Fuffy on a picnic - he's about to propose to her too. Before he could do that, clouds come out of nowhere and there's a storm. Fuffy gets struck by lightning and the poor thing survives... As an engagement gift, Cornwall gives her a kite and insists that she flies it right away. Remember the storm? Lightning might not strike always twice but in fuffy's case, it did. The poor thing was reduced to ashes, quite literally!

There are many more such hilarious and absurd stories. The story of Klung Hammer had a very unexpected ending...and a very dirty beginning - they walk into the sewer pipes and ... I choose not to complete this sentence! Then there are Cornwall's 'famous' poems which are on par or even better (according to Cornwall) than Byron, Shelly, and Wordsworth.

The book is full of such absurdities and crazy humor. Having said that, the book might not be liked by all. The kind of humor this book portrays is not for everyone's taste. I love to experiment with reading a variety of genres and stories and I must say that I liked this book. It was very different from the usual cozy or thriller stories. And since I have given a gist of what to expect from the book, I leave it to the readers to decide if they would like to read it or skip it. But if you ask me, I would say that you should read it. The story is unique and hilarious, albeit a bit vulgar.

Scoundrels is a bawdy romp through history with many chuckles to be found. Two retired majors correspond with each other writing chapters for a biography of their time together. We start back before the war, as they enter public school, and follow them through their admittance into the Scoundrels club, their war efforts, until the early fifties.

The two Majors essentially engage in excessive bravado and one-upmanship as they recount their tales, invariably putting the other down to make their heroics even more so. It's amusing, if at times a little blunt, and even crude. That's the thing, it's hard not to compare these gents to the sublime Harry Flashman, and they do lack the finesse of that wonderful series of books, but that doesn't stop them from being enjoyable. They deviate far more from history too, but that's because it skews more towards fictional entertainment than historical immersion.

I did find myself wishing the book had ended alongside the Second World War. The school days segue so nicely into the war and it all feels very cohesive, but the final couple of chapters have a slight indulgent whimsy to them; like they were bolted on for fear of not getting the second book. They're not bad chapters as such, just disconnected and forced. It's a shame because it does take some shine off of the whole thing, but not enough to do any real damage.

If you enjoy a good caddish historical romp you'll know it can be a tough genre to find good reads in, but this is worth picking up.

I knew when I accepted this arc that this book would not be "James Bond". However, I thought it would at least be along the lines of "Kingsman". Unfortunately, it is more like "Johnny English", and that is nicely put.

If this book has one thing going for it, it is the frame narrative. The two ex-agents bickering back and forth in their letters and taking turns writing the chapters of the "biographical" novel, at times contradicting the other - that was fun to read and well done. It stopped there. The type of humor this book employs is made clear from the very beginning: it relays heavily on blood and gore, toilet humor, "eww", humiliation, abuse, sex, and impossible to survive injuries. I hoped it would be wacky and bizarre, but it was really rather tasteless and disgusting. On top of that, the characters were barely distinguishable from one another, and there was no development in them. It was a struggle to finish. I am only giving this two stars instead of dnf-ing it because I do realize that this kind of humor is actually fun for some people. So if this sounds right up your alley, you could have a lot of laughs with this novel. I, unfortunately, did not.

I'm sorry, I couldn't stand this book. I read part of it and got so disgusted I quit. A 13 year old boy might find this funny. I found it crude and gross. I suppose I was hoping for something more along the line of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels.

Original, irreverent, scatological, silly, outrageous and very funny -- laugh-out-loud funny.
For fans of Monty Python, Mr. Bean and, for those old enough to remember, the Goon Show, this will delight.

It goes on a bit too long and eventually the farce wears a bit thin, but but I'm still wiping tears of laughter from my eyes.

In Scoundrels, two elderly British men attempt to one-up each other at every opportunity while writing their over the top memoir, each reminiscing about his time as a member of an elite gentlemen's club. Via letters and chapters written by one of the main characters, we are treated to increasingly outrageous and often conflicting recollections, beginning with their boyhood spent at a boarding school in the 1930s that would make even Dickens cringe. From there, the two take turns describing their key involvement in panda shooting with the emperor of China to secret missions in World War II, all the while making Statler and Waldorf style cheap digs at both one another and others in the stories. The vulgar humor is blended with Monty Python style interpretations of historical events while also feeling like the most ridiculous James Bond satire possible. I laughed out loud numerous times and read many passages to my book averse husband, who is now delightedly quoting both Scoundrels at length. This book is not for the politically correct or easily shocked.
Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with the free copy.

Nope, not for me. DNF @ 5%, couldn't make it any farther. I would say it's in poor taste, but maybe let's just say it's not for me.
Not going to review elsewhere, cause I technically didn't even get into it before I was sure it's not for me.

This was very different to my usual choice of book but the front cover appealed so I thought I would give it a go.
I found this book really humorous, particularly at the beginning. I even laughed out loud a few times. Towards the end I found it a bit tiresome, I just thought the story had gone on long enough really.
I will read the sequel but need a break for a week or so before I take it on. Thanks to a netgalley for allowing me a free ecopy of this book in exchange for an honest review

Outrageous. Hilarious. Shocking. Definitely not for "polite company". Two friends antics from "boys to men" in humorous detail. From racing in the Sahara on an elephant and the subsequent surgery to Panda Bear hunting and even spying on Adolph Hitler these two do it all. Think Benny Hill, Monty Python, and Rocky Horror Picture Show on steroids.

Okay this was SO not what I expected... Perhaps if my expectations had been different, I might have not been turned off by it right away, but it was just too everything for my taste - I like British farce as much as the next guy, in fact more than many of the next guys, but just could not get into this one. I really enjoyed the back-and-forth banter of the letters in the beginning, but once the narrative took hold it just lost me. It was too over-the-top, in-your-face for me and felt like it was written that way for shock value as opposed to because it was the naturally best way to tell the story. There's nothing wrong with that as a style, or with the writing in the book, it just wasn't to my taste and not what I expected based on the blurb and the beginning text... I couldn't finish it.

Hits you like a battering ram, 'Scoundrels' is NOT for the feint hearted or the PC brigade. It is like classic Tom Sharpe meets Monty Python, with a dash of Fifty Shades.

Based on the memoirs of two retired majors they recall their initiation into the Scoundrels club. A club which carries out missions others would baulk at and these missions lead the two majors to gate crash Hitler's birthday celebrations, go undercover to catch a spy and like any good boy's own adventure, they have an arch-nemesis.

You will either love this book with some genuinely laugh out loud moments, coupled with parts that leave you a tad off colour, or you will be repulsed and email a complaint to the publishers forthwith. Quite unlike anything I have read in many a year and I think that's a good thing?!

Fans of Benny Hill and Mike Myers — you'll love this book and its sequels. The memoirs of Major Victor Cornwall (and, as it turns out, Major St. John Trevelyan) are exquisite in their black humor and historical tour of great world events, much of which is based in truth but embellished in the finest tradition of pomposity.

This is the novel that starts the series and introduces us to both of these gentlemen and the infamous gentlemen's club of London. Murder on Mount Everest, panda hunting with a Chinese emperor, Nazi lore and more ... the tales run deep.

Also deep is the running interaction between Cornwall and Trevelyan.. So much is said by what is left unsaid, and this is the real gem of the novel — and puts you in the front row of a fine British comedy.

Unless ... recall my lede. Friends of Austin Powers will get and love it. Those who more prefer Roy Clarke's "The Last of the Summer Wine" or perhaps "Are You Being Served" ... maybe not so much.

But, like the travels of Cornwall and Trevelyan, that's what makes the world go round.

dark-comedy, British-humor, farce

Hilarious non PC madness ostensibly written by two elderly British spies. Definitely not Fleming or Dahl, and Bletchley Park would have flushed them down the loo while laughing maniacally. I suppose that viagra candidates would be the best audience because they would remember Benny Hill. I expect that all future SCOTUS candidates should be barred from purchasing this book.
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Black Door Press via NetGalley.

I didn’t like it. This doesn’t mean everyone won’t like it, but it just wasn’t anything I enjoyed reading. It was ridiculous and not what the description of it lead me to believe it would be. The letters and the bantering back and forth we amusing but otherwise I just couldn’t make sense of all the gibberish. I wish there was something I could grasp onto in the storyline but it just was too over the top for me. Another reviewer mentioned that this style would work well on the radio or as short stories and I would agree with that.

I know espionage and war are serious subjects but someone forgot to tell the authors! I did laugh frequently while reading this book about their escapades. Great book to escape into. I received a copy from NetGalley and the publisher and this is my honest opinion.

Rude and crude. Not my type of book or humor. Although British humor Is always entertaining, the crudeness stopped me dead. I'm sure others will enjoy, just not me

The description states 'it will leave you with a nasty taste in your mouth'. That's certainly true.

This is the fastest I have ever abandoned a book. Couldn't make it past the first 'Paris-Dakar' memoir before skipping ahead to other random points in the book to confirm that it really is the same puerile playground humour throughout, without even an engaging literary style to redeem it.

I'm now reaching for the mouthwash.

This reminded me a lot of “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.” But whereas I thoroughly enjoyed reading Walter Mitty’s fantasy life, The Scoundrels left me high and dry. It didn’t really have merit as a fantasy nor as an historical memoir which was its advertised genre. Also it was supposed to be humorous, but the humor completely escaped this American. Perhaps it was all British humor.

I’m sure this will be enjoyable to some, but sadly not to me.

This ARC was provided to me by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

An interesting blend of historical fiction and humour, this memoir is not for the faint-hearted or very easily offended. If you’re not easily offended and have a particular sense of humour, however, you are in for a treat!
While Scoundrels is marketed as being historically accurate and true memoirs of spies Major Cornwall and Major Trevelyan, I'm not sure how much is actually true. I'm more inclined to think that the general gist is correct, but details have been edited and/or exaggerated for the humour-value.
The banter and sniping between the two majors in their letters after each chapter is delightful and brings in a different, often less crass, type of humour. If the reader is willing to let go of some political-correctness while reading this volume, however, the chapters are riotously hilarious.
The end of the first chapter keeps coming to mind even hours later, causing much snickering and random grins from me in the work office! So, all in all, Scoundrels is an ideal read for a casual Sunday afternoon or when waiting in the doctors’ surgery, but you may want to watch out where you read it, as you may find yourself laughing aloud quite vigorously.
Review will also be published in the November edition of Style magazine, Toowoomba.

Turns out this is not really a book for me. Whilst I found it occasionally funny, more often it grated too much as was far too OTT for me. Obviously, it appeals to numerous other readers, but I gave up at 25%, enough was enough. I would recommend reading the more positive reviews before making a decision on whether to read this, as I appear to be a minority opinion here. Thanks to the publisher for a copy of the book.