It's 1899, and the hero of Badge of Glory, the first book in Douglas Reeman's series about a career marine family, has been dead of a fever for many years. The book opens with Philip Blackwood's surviving half-brother, Harry, who has carried on the family's military tradition.

In The First to Land, that tradition is carried forward by Captain David Blackwood, a proud and decorated Royal Marine and Harry's oldest son, while Philip's son Ralf is a rakish and cowardly officer who owes his position to his family name. Circumstances put them together in China in 1899, just in time for the Boxer Rebellion, and Captain Blackwood is tasked with escorting a German countess to safety. But the river voyage is marked with danger, as Chinese bandits and pirates try to steal their prize.

From there, the situation grows ever more dire. The Chinese rebels, thought by some to be invulnerable to bullets and blades because of their ritualistic beliefs, prove all too mortal -- but their vast numbers and devotion to the cause of forcing all foreigners from the land make them a fearsome opponent. A mission to relieve Peking fails, and the Marines must endure dangerous journeys by boat, train and forced march to reach questionable sanctuary. Soon the Royal Marines -- their numbers dwindling -- find themselves standing with the survivors in the city of Tientsin as a vast force of rebels and their imperial allies storm the walls.

Reeman is a brilliant writer, and he brings readers directly into the action as Blackwood leads his men into danger. It's hard not to feel the tension -- and, sometimes, the terror -- as the Marines hold firm against their fates. Even Ralf might find some shreds of courage by the end. Me, I was gasping for air as the screaming hordes surged through Tientsin's broken walls and the remaining men gave their utmost to hold the line against them....

The Boxer Rebellion is not a period of history with which I am very familiar, but reading The First to Land inspired a bit of research. That's a sign of good writing.

The book has but one weakness, and that's the unnecessary injection of a torrid romance into an already dramatic situation. Blackwood falls for the German countess, Friedrike von Heiser, simply because she's beautiful; she returns his ardor primarily because he saved her life. Her husband, her position and the seething hordes of bloodthirsty foes that surround them might all seem a deterrent to a secret affair, but no, there must be forbidden love, I suppose.

Otherwise ... wow. This is a really good book full of thrilling, pulse-pounding action that's hard to put down.