EC2
08-27-2008, 07:23 PM
This is the fifth outing for Thomas Kydd. Pressed into the navy in the first novel of the series, titled Kydd, the hero has now toiled and sweated his way through bloody adversity to the lofty position of a Lieutenant on the quarterdeck. His posting is to HMS Tenacious, on service off the coast of Novia Scotia and his friend and fellow officer Nicholas Renzi is aboard the same vessel.
Of common birth, Kydd struggles with the manners, education and nuances expected of the officer class he has joined. While he strives to bring himself up to scratch, and get to grips with the art of signalling, he finds that his new rank and responsibilities have separated him from the ordinary sailors with whom he had previously shared companionship. However, he finds kindred spirits in the fledgling American navy and plenty of opportunity to exercise his quick wits and natural sea-faring talent in tussles with the French enemy. A stint ashore in America also sees him in search of a long lost uncle.
This is a fast paced, thoroughly enjoyable novel with never a dull moment. As a complete though willing novice to the genre, and one who doesn’t know a bow from a stern, a diagram of a sailing ship on the inside cover of the book would have been useful. There were a couple of occasions where I was adrift of the terminology for several pages. What on earth is a buntline cringle? The author’s love of the sea and all things nautical is joyously evident throughout Quarterdeck and he succeeds admirably in bringing the reader with him. While not in the league of Patrick O'Brien, this is still an entertaining splash of high-seas adventure.
Of common birth, Kydd struggles with the manners, education and nuances expected of the officer class he has joined. While he strives to bring himself up to scratch, and get to grips with the art of signalling, he finds that his new rank and responsibilities have separated him from the ordinary sailors with whom he had previously shared companionship. However, he finds kindred spirits in the fledgling American navy and plenty of opportunity to exercise his quick wits and natural sea-faring talent in tussles with the French enemy. A stint ashore in America also sees him in search of a long lost uncle.
This is a fast paced, thoroughly enjoyable novel with never a dull moment. As a complete though willing novice to the genre, and one who doesn’t know a bow from a stern, a diagram of a sailing ship on the inside cover of the book would have been useful. There were a couple of occasions where I was adrift of the terminology for several pages. What on earth is a buntline cringle? The author’s love of the sea and all things nautical is joyously evident throughout Quarterdeck and he succeeds admirably in bringing the reader with him. While not in the league of Patrick O'Brien, this is still an entertaining splash of high-seas adventure.