15 OCTOBER 1898, Page 25

The Zone of Fire. By Headon Hill. (C. Arthur Pearson.)—

The black paint is really laid on a little too thick in the picture of Captain Lucas Charters. He is a coward, a swindler, a murderer, and a traitor, playing all these parts with the greatest gusto, and without so much as the faintest suspicion of regret. We do not believe in such monsters, and Mr. Hill, who has a very good idea of telling a story, must be careful not to bring such monsters on to the stage of his dramas. If our faith is to be tried, the Dervish chief who has taken an engagement in an English music-hall will serve the purpose sufficiently well. But we have little complaint to make of The Zone of Fire. It is a very brisk and taking story.