Command a King's Ship [Paperback]

I like how Kent fills his stories not only with naval actions but little mysteries, or here "peacetime" intrigues and ambitions in the Far East. Kent has the ability to rapidly shift the reader's perspective from one character's thoughts to another's in a smooth and always clear manner. Most other naval authors focus on their hero alone, and everyone else is seen from outside.

I had two problems with this novel. I had trouble visualizing the ship maneuvres relative to land. Action proceeds and suddenly there's land or a channel where I didn't expect it, or on the opposite side from where I imagined it. Most disconcerting. It's possible I need to keep much more exact track of passing mentions of wind direction, tack, and course because Kent offers few other clues and does not describe them in laymen's (landsmen's) terms. It is vital to know, for instance, that starboard tack means sailing to the LEFT (with the WIND from the right), or "helm a lee" means turning into the wind. And of course there are no maps, there never are in Kent's stories. The one in Dean King's "A Sea of Words" (an O'Brian companion) is not quite right. Masts and lamps are frequently described as "spiralling" when surely "circling" to the motion of the ship is meant? Most seriously, for a subject that produces so much of the motivation in this story (and the next two), Kent never made me like Bolitho's great love, Viola. She starts out as just another arrogant aristo who makes eyes at our Richard, and it seems stupid he falls for her. Maybe that's part of the loneliness of command.

In this entry with key survivors from To Glory We Steer, Captain Richard Bolitho is off to the East Indies where piracy is alive and pirates can set up private empires. Europe is now at peace and Bolitho must cooperate with his former Spanish adversaries. However, things go awry well before they leave the Atlantic Ocean. At their destination, Bolitho faces two formidable adversaries. He also has to face his nemesis within the British administration. There are nefarious schemes to be unraveled and fierce battles to be fought. All the elements are in place for a superb action story.

Bolitho also falls for the wife of an administrator adding romance to the story. Perhaps this element is a little too formulaic. Needless to say the husband is a cad. Perhaps it would be more interesting if her husband had been a decent man and the tension created by them both not wanting to hurt him would have been greater. As it stands, the fact that a woman is married to a nasty man is long-standing literary justification to conduct an adulterous affair.

The novel progresses with Bolitho torn over his professional duties and his personal desires. The romance is fluff and the battle scenes are fairly good. One problem that I have with Kent's novels and this one in particular, is that Kent doesn't set the reference for the battles. If Bolitho is approaching an island, it's not clear from which direction. Does the port face north, south, east or west? Is the land on the starboard or larboard side? Which way is the wind blowing? The reader rarely gets enough information to clearly understand what's going on?

It's a good story but not one of his best.

I began to read about the remarkable life of Richard Bolitho, whose life spanned from 1756 to 1815. In the course of 22 books we see Bolitho from his days as a lowly Midshipman (at the age of twelve) to his death as a knighted Rear Admiral during battle. Kent has even continued past Bolitho's death with a novel focused his nephew Adam, captain of a frigate, who appears throughout the saga.

I've since read C.S. Forester's books on Hornblower and have tried O'Brien's, but the lesser-known Kent outshines all in his fiction. He brings the hardships of the period to life, drawing the reader into the harsh world of the seaman, telling compelling, epic tales of courage.

Throughout Kent's books one finds impressive lessons regarding leadership and commitment to country and one's shipmates. Along with the sea battles, we learn of the press gangs, the in-fighting politics of the Admiralty, ethical dilemmas, the uneasy alliances among nations, and especially the human reaction to an irresistible yet severe life. Bolitho earns the respect and devotion of his sailors and officers through his bravery, fairness, tactical brilliance, and because he chooses to become personally involved in their lives and takes care of his men. Bolitho is not a remote, aloof or harsh leader. He is stern, yet compassionate. He is charming and complicated. On every ship he immediately learns the names and backgrounds of his men, and they find out quickly that he is committed to them. He is also flawed; Kent does not make him out to be a cardboard hero.

The many battle scenes are magnificent and horrible in their depiction of the tactics and awful bloodshed in close engagements. Heated shot, fire ships, risky maneuvering and grappling the sides of enemy ships for hand-to-hand combat mark this kind of war and determine the victor. Sometimes mutinous seaman, brutal weather, or cruel leaders become the enemy as well. Kent has exhaustively, in epic fashion, crafted the minute details of life at sea. In the process he tells compelling stories of the courage and cowardice. The brotherhood of seaman, "we happy few", as they quote the Bard, fight with and for each other. Kent even manages to get on land occasionally, and brings in some romance. But the bulk of the action involves the unique struggles of those in the warships.

In the course of his writing, Kent allows us to also see the American Revolution from a British perspective. Bolitho's brother deserts to the colonists' cause, which brings grief and disgrace to Sir Richard. Kent treats the Revolution as unfortunate and inevitable.

I want to pass on the favor Dan gave me by encouraging you to explore the unique world Alexander Kent has so meticulously and masterfully detailed. You will care about the people in these books, and in each you will find parables of leadership.