Miles Milton is a prodigal. He struggles with authority and, like the prodigal son in Scripture, must learn the lessons of life the hard way. Through a series of events, he joins the British army for the war in the Sudan, thinking he will experience the good life of adventure and proudly make his way in the world. However, the providential hand of God has prepared a course for young Miles whereby, through the adventures and experiences of life in the blazing heat of the Sudan and among the tribal clans, and while attempting to survive among his enemies, he realizes the folly of his youthful ways. But is it too late? I was very impressed by the many moral lessons learned in this book and the amount of Christianity - especially the theme that when in time of trouble, the characters get their strength from God. It is also historically sound, with many, many of the remarkable incidents having been related to Ballantyne by eye-witnesses. There is a lot of violence because it is about a war, but it is delicately handled and most of the men have a good view on war in general (killing to save lives, not just to take them). Miles is an excellent main character because he is nowhere near perfect but he is convicted about his sinful nature and grows throughout the story. Blue Lights is well-written, frequently amusing and often touching