Book Review: Toughest in the Legion: The Complete Adventures of Thibault Corday and the Foreign Legion Volume 2 by Theodore Roscoe
Thibault Corday is in his eighties now, and enjoying his retirement in Northern Africa, but his beard is still cinnamon-colored, and his memory is sharp. If you come to the cafe and he likes you, Monsieur Corday will spin you a tale of his days in the French Foreign Legion. This volume contains six more stories from his long past.
“Toughest in the Legion” is sparked by the question “who was the toughest fellow ever in the Legion?” Corday allows as how all the Legionnaires had to be tough, but there was one fellow…. He goes on to spin a story about the feud between Gaspar Gaudette and Houdaille the Doctor, and stolen rubies called the Eyes of Allah. There are a couple of scenes that are not for the squeamish.
“Monsieur Murder” has Corday praised for his shooting. He admits that he was not the greatest sniper in the Legion, that honor going to a Yankee named Sandhurst. And even then, there was one better, the Austrian nicknamed “Monsieur Murder.” The two snipers dueled in the Alps in the closing days of World War One.
But it was after the war that the twist in the story came, as a retired Corday (he got an inheritance from a forgotten aunt) is roped into Sandhurst’s quest for a rematch with the enemy sniper. It ended unexpectedly indeed!
“The Spy with the Bald Head” is set in the first days of World War One, with Corday stationed near Morocco. A German spy has made off with Legion defense plans, and the only clue to his true appearance is that he’s bald. Which would be fine, except that there’s not a single bald Legionnaire or civilian man to be found in the area, and the spy could not have left.
At first, it looks like the story will have the same twist as “Monsieur Murder”, but there’s an extra twist that turns it sideways.
“The Ears of Donkey Daudette” is, as you might guess, about a new Legion recruit who is nicknamed “Donkey” because of his large, prominent ears. He comes in for a lot of ribbing, but Donkey’s hearing is perhaps too good to be believed, and he might yet have the last laugh.
“The Devil Who Played God” concerns a young woman whose beloved joined the Legion some time back, and is now determined to find him. She knows he’s approximately in this area, but not his exact location. So the woman is determined to march with the Legion until she gets definite proof that he’s alive or dead. “Faith will not die.”
“Jacques the Giantess Killer” has a diminutive Legionnaire romancing a very tall, and very fierce woman. It doesn’t go at all well until an act of sham heroism turns into an actual battle.
Although the three last stories all feature a man who is mocked by his fellow Legionnaires until he rallies and proves himself worthy, they’re different enough to not feel like rewrites of the same story.
As with the first volume, there’s a certain amount of period racism and sexism. “Jacques” in particular plays into the theme of “taming” a woman that wants nothing to do with you.
“Elephant Bill” the American, and “Christianity” Jensen the Dane, Corday’s long time compadres, make guest appearances, the latter being important in “Donkey.”
This is rip-roaring pulp action with a touch of humor, recommended to those who love tales of the French Foreign Legion.
