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3.0 out of 5 stars
Not a bad little book, but not the greatest, Jun 13 2002
This is the hardest kind of review to write, I find. The first of the Dudley Pope "Ramage" series is not bad as an adventure-at-sea novel, but it is not great either. It is fun, but not amazingly exciting. Pope is knowledgable, but heavy-handed. So the book rates 3 stars.First some background. I have read the Horatio Hornblower & Aubrey/Maturin series, as well as a couple books by Kent, "Two Years Before the Mast", and scattered other bits of nautical lore and adventure. I enjoy the genre as a whole. Thus at a friend's suggestion I picked up "Ramage". The action in this book can get pretty heavy, but often to the point of strained credulity. As this is a historical novel, I don't really expect to see sections that strike me as "What an AMAZING bit of luck!" every 20-30 pages, but that does happen here. Ramage begins his career (at least as far as the book is concerned) by coming back to consciousness after being knocked about by an explosion. Luckily he has not noticable concussion... He is the only officer left on board his ship. Luckily he can find the captain's secret orders... Luckily they directly involve skills he has... And somehow he is able to convince his heavily battered crew that he is NOT abandoning them by leaving the ship in the ship's boats. This is only the opening sequence, so I am not giving much away here. His adventures take a much more believable turn on land and the pace really picks up; unfortunately things drag later during a courtmartial scene. I want to get involved with the adventures and the excitement, but I keep thinking, "How much blind luck can one fellow have?" Another disappointing aspect of the book revolves around the nautical lore. It is always tricky as to how much to include in a given book and how to present it. Patrick O'Brian was the great master of being able to spoon bits of knowledge of sailing vessels to his audience without making it seem like a long lecture. Unfortunately Pope is much more heavy-handed in his approach. When he wants to explain something about the management of ships, he very obviously places a non-naval person in the scene and then proceeds to have Ramage give a mini-lecture. This is not only clunky in execution, it becomes woefully predictable. The only time this didn't happen, Ramage thought all the steps out in his head, sort of like a Shakespearean soliloquy on naval maneuvers. Ramage himself is a rather nice character, with some little quirks, an interesting background, and rather too much luck. Gianna, his lady love, is a standard head strong young woman who comes to love the hero. Jackson, Ramage's American sidekick, is also rather nice, but a little too Johnny-on-the-spot, as if all he is at times is an extension of Ramage's luck. Pope knows the period very well. He knows the sea, the commanders, the action, and the politics. As this was his freshman effort I have every hope that the later books become less heavy-handed. In the end "Ramage" is not a bad book, but it is not a great book of the genre either.
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