This one started out life as an updating of an old Victorian novel by G.A. Henty, then it got rewritten, then mashed upside down and rejigged completely, and finally completely reimagined from top to bottom until there's little left of the original apart from the basic plot. The term "YA" can be very misleading and suffers from different interpretations. While anyone aged 12 could enjoy it, the sentiments and attitudes in the novel will appeal to almost any age above who loves a good "old fashioned" action-adventure yarn with entirely modern narrative and dialogue.

Set in 1884–85, the story features 16-year-old brothers Edgar and Rupert Clinton. When Edgar discovers from a woman who claims to be his real mother that, through a mix up at birth, they are not twin brothers, he refuses to help her in her scheme to get at the Clinton money and runs away to join the British army. He's soon embroiled in the fierce battles against the Mahdi's Sudanese dervishes. Rupert has gone through the Military Academy and joins the force sent to relieve Khartoum and save General Gordon, unaware that Edgar is in the same campaign as a trumpeter with the Camel Corps. Rupert only discovers this after Edgar has gone missing. Captured by Arab slavers, Edgar's adventures are only beginning as Rupert struggles to find him.        Over 80,000 words

The sequel went through far more revision from its original basis than Storm, so in truth it's an entirely original story. Edgar and Rupert Clinton make a come back as captains in their late-twenties, their appearances in the novel a little bit like Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. Young Gregory Hilliard, born in Alexandria to impoverished English parents, loses his father in the Battle of El Obeid in 1883. His mother struggles to bring him up in Cairo's teeming streets. As a four-year-old, he's rescued from a near-death experience by the young Edgar Clinton. When gregory's mother dies, the 16-year-old and his best friend, a Ja'alin Arab named Zaki, join the army of General Kitchener.

Gregory is taken on as a translator, since he speaks fluent Arabic and all the dialects of the Sudan. His real purpose is to discover the fate of his missing father, but in the meantime he acts as a spy and a forward agent before getting capture by Dervishes while trying to rescue the wife of the Emir Mahmud, son of the Khalifa. He witnesses the wrong side of the battle of Atbara and is saved from certain death by faithful Zaki. From there, the army moves to the climactic Battle of Omdurman. Freed from his duties, Gregory goes in search of his father and discovers more about him. Is he still really alive?       Over 80,000 words

In 1857, believing that the paper cartridges they had to tear open with their teeth were coated in either pig or cow fat, the sepoys of the Anglo-Indian army mutinied and the terror of the Indian Uprising against British rule began…
As all hell breaks loose, two teenage brothers, Ned and Dick Warrener, and their family are plunged into the maelstrom—hunted fugitives from appalling violence. 
On their desperate trek through a mutinous country they must brave extreme perils if they are to survive. Only courage, cunning and sheer tenacity will see them through… In this action-packed epic about a crucial moment in British colonial history, Ned and Dick are thrown into dangerous adventures that will turn them from boys to men.

Interacting with many real-life characters, Ned and Dick find themselves in many of the terrifying battles of the Mutiny—the Siege and capture of Delhi, the massacre at Kanpur, besieged in Lucknow, and the climactic relief of the city. In between they spend time on the run undercover and finally find the women of their dreams…

81,500 words

Available as multi-format eBook download from Smashwords

It is named kumasi in the Ashanti language, which means “Place of Death,” and it is an abode of obliteration for thousands of slaves every year. In the gloomy light, the squat buildings around the square form a black backdrop of solid shapes, gapped in front to frame the ghostly fingers of the great ju-ju fetish cottonwood. In the twilight, the great mountain of human skulls glows dimly with a sickly paleness, silhouetting the massive trunk of the ritual tree. A line of kneeling men, hands brutally bound behind their backs, their mouths squeezed grotesquely into figures of 8 as a result of the thin-bladed knives like skewers driven through their cheeks to secure their tongues, await execution…
So begins the adventures of Frank Hargate in 1873, in the steamy jungles of West Africa. Orphaned at fifteen and with no money, Frank determines to make his own way in the world. His skills learned from a childhood hobby propel him into the adventure of a lifetime that will change him forever. Among new friends and allies, he struggles against staggering odds to survive hostile nature, blood-thirsty tribes, and savage war.       85,000 words

Available as multi-format eBook download from Smashwords

A stirring action-adventure set during the Third Crusade. 1191—In a harsh clash of two faiths, a boy knight destined to be a true hero emerges. Young Cuthbert, hungry for adventure and glory, joins King Richard the Lionheart’s army on its way to the Holy Land with French and German allies to free Jerusalem from the grasp of the Saracens.

Even before reaching their goal the Crusaders are torn by jealousy and intrigue, and Cuthbert soon finds that chivalry and honour are little valued.

From the battlefields in Palestine, across Europe and back to England, Cuthbert faces desperate obstacles to his quest for knighthood and a castle of his own, and learns that you only truly win what you fight for fairly.      81,500 words

Available as multi-format eBook download from Smashwords

There is a ton-load more information, including real-life character portraits, maps, and explanations to all these titles at Reckless Books.