Most helpful customer reviews
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Great naval fiction!, Dec 7 2003
My family physician brought my attention, in the first place, to Patrick O'Brian's series of books about the adventures of Captain Jack Aubrey of the British Navy in the days of wooden ships and iron men.I was not new to naval fiction. I cut my teeth on Howard Pease's stories of the merchant marine, which inspired me, directly, to ship out at the age of 16 on an 8,000 ton freighter, in the "black gang," as a fireman. Subsequently, I joined the U.S. Navy on my 17th birthday and eventually I built my own ketch-rigged sailboat, the "Wild Goose," and sailed her on the Pacific with my family.
I am somewhat of a connoisseur of naval fiction, especially as it relates to sailing vessels. The late Patrick O'Brian was a master of the genre, and his details of square riggers sailing rig and of life aboard vessels of the late 18th century were unsurpassed. Many of his actions were taken directly from admiralty records. Alexander Kent is more of a storyteller, and he does not depend so much on detail of the sailing rig. He is more interested in the story, and his stories are superb! He keeps you reading far into the night to see how it comes out. I would read the books through in one setting, if my schedule allowed. My doctor recommewnded this series, also. Like O'Brian, Kent (a pseudonym) follows the career of a single extraordinary seaman, Richard Bolitho, from Midshipman on to command. Bolitho began his career at the age of twelve, although the series pick him up at 16, a seasoned midshipman, in the first book of the series (which I have reviewed) "Midshipman Bolitho," in which he is assigned to a 74 gun ship of the line, the Gorgon. "Stand into Danger" picks him up as a third lieutenant on the Destiny, a frigate. There is plenty of action in both stories. I have the third book in the series, now, and have the fourth on order. That should tell how much I like the series. Joseph (Joe) Pierre, USN (Ret)
author of Handguns and Freedom...their care and maintenance
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4.0 out of 5 stars
One of the better Royal Navy sea yarn series, Oct 3 2002
My father introduced me to Horatio Hornblower when I was in junior high and I've been a fan of Napoleonic-era sea yarns ever since. C. S. Forester is still the standard against which I measure later creations, and Alexander Kent stands up very well in that regard. I always try to work out a birthdate for the main character in such a series, so I'll have some idea of the future course of his history and what real events he's likely to bump into. Hornblower was born in 1776, Jack Aubrey around 1770 (I think), and Richard Bolitho in 1756 -- which pretty much takes him out of the later Napoleonic period except as a very senior officer (the last book in the series is set in 1806). Things were quite different at that relatively early period as regards press gangs, construction of ships, international politics, and lots of other factors, which adds to the interest. Specifically, Bolitho is eighteen years old and a newly-appointed Third Lieutenant aboard the Destiny, a frigate armed for war during a time of peace, whose captain is frothing to lay hold of a would-be revolutionary hiding out in the Caribbean. Which provides plenty of room for Bolitho to develop his naval and leadership skills, to become infatuated with another man's wife, and acquire friendships that will last a lifetime -- especially with Stockdale, who will later become his cox'n. The prose is workmanlike and the author spends almost as much time delineating the characters of Captain Dumaresq, First Lieutenant Palliser, and Second Lieutenant Rhodes, all of whom are interesting, and which greatly increases the reader's enjoyment.
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3.0 out of 5 stars
Good action yarn, Dec 26 2001
Now a 3rd Lt. on a small frigate (without our seeing how he stepped up), the attractive Bolitho sails far from the coast of England into the hot and pirate-infested Caribbean of yore, on a secret mission about which his captain is long mum. There's lots of sailing involved, but little hard seamanship evoked in detail. That is one reason I see Kent's novels as pitched to young adult readers. They focus on rip-roaring risks and adventure, and less on development and the texture of naval life under sail. They have an episodic jerky quality to them rather than smooth story-telling. Every now and then Kent will insert into the flow the thoughts of someone besides Bolitho, although the thoughts are about him. In the course of chasing a variety of pirates, and traitors who have joined them, the story turns into a treasure hunt. Whether or not they find the gold, Bolitho certainly pursues a love on shore and afloat, with all the wonderful hesitations and false starts of a first true love. Bolitho also makes life-long devoted friends and allies among his crew division, although I wish Kent had shown more often how Bolitho accomplishes that rather than often merely announce it as fact. Only his winning of boxer Stockdale--whom Bolitho rescues while serving as the leader of a hated press gang, of all things--is shown in satisfying detail. On the other hand, Bolitho's staunchness, pluck, and luck are clearly shown to win over other officers, and it is enjoyable to see him grow in skill and authority under the fortunate tutelage of his unusually sympathetic superiors. I place Kent's series as wonderful naval adventure books on the third level, after Forester and O'Brian, then others like Pope, Woodman, and Stockwin. These books published by McBooks have a nice look and feel to them.
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by Alexander Kent
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