The Bomb Vessel, by Richard Woodman

April 25, 2010 by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: book review, historical fiction, Nathaniel Drinkwater, naval fiction, Richard Woodman 

This is a book in the excellent and very realistic historical fiction series from the Age of Sail by Richard Woodman, featuring Nathaniel Drinkwater. This books, The Bomb Vessel takes place early in the Napoleonic Wars, and covers the time period from September 1800 to July 1801. Nathaniel Drinkwater has returned from the Red Sea and is on The Bomb Vessel, by Richard Woodman shore without a ship. However, by a stroke of fortune he is given command HMS Virago, a bomb tender which is a 40-year-old former mortar ship. In outfitting the ship, Drinkwater smartly transforms her into a bomb vessel by loading heavy mortars into her hold.

At the same time, he is also forced to deal with a problematic situation that his brother has gotten himself into by murdering his girlfriend and her lover.

Virago, with other known characters such as Mr. Rogers, Tregembo and Mr. Q, joins Nelson’s fleet bound for Copenhagen and Drinkwater has ample opportunity to distinguish himself at the first Battle of Copenhagen in April 1801. And being a man that wants to make something of himself, he throws himself into whatever action he can find. In the end, he is personally congratulated by Horatio Nelson and promoted to Commander.

Drinkwater has developed into a tough and skillful man. As Tregembo states, “Men don’t cross the lieutenant too successfully, zur, leastaways not sensible men”‘. He is a tough and quite formidable fighting man even though his wounds from 20 years of service start to bother him. Drinkwater is quicker tempered and less introspective than Horatio Hornblower, but still in many ways reminds me of him. He is very willing to take risks, has a good understanding of tactics, and no fear in battle. In many ways Drinkwater is a more believable hero than Hornblower!

The Bomb Vessel has great descriptions of the Battle of Copenhagen. As well, Woodman’s descriptions of the historical characters involved seem to be very good. The book is a quick but very entertaining read. One of the better in a very good series!

Links to Richard Woodman’s books at amazon US, amazon UK, and amazon CAN.

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A Fine Boy for Killing, by Jan Needle

August 16, 2009 by · 2 Comments
Filed under: book review, historical fiction, Jan Needle, Main character, recommendation, William Bentley 

This is the first volume of Jan Needle’s series of nautical fiction adventures called The Sea Officer William Bentley Novels. The novel is a very promising start to this series, A Fine Boy for Killing, by Jan Needle where Needle introduces readers to 14-year-old officer William Bentley and life aboard the frigate HMS Welfare during the Napoleonic Wars. The novel, and presumably the series, differs a lot from the more romantic presentations of life in the Royal Navy during the same era in series such as the Richard Bolitho series or the Thomas Kydd series.

In A Fine Boy for Killing, the focus is much more on daily life in the ship itself, and less on naval action, battles and heroism. Needles presents a much more realist view of the Navy than any other writer of this particular era that I have read so far. HMS Welfare is helmed by Daniel Swift, a notoriously ruthless captain. Bentley is actually his nephew and favorite, and looks up to his uncle. However, what he learns from his uncle, and tries to make sense of to the best of his abilities, is a view of the common sailor as a little more than a beast – scum, cowards, treacherous and deceitful.

The novel is focused on the inner life of the ship, both among the officers and midshipmen, and among the common sailors. We witness how excessive use of force by the sadistic Captain Swift, as well as hostile attitudes towards the crew from all officers, gradually builds tremendous tension in the ship. Floggings take place more or less daily on this ship – they are given for the slightest offenses. The abusive atmosphere aboard the Welfare is thick and immediate, as is the struggle for power over the ship.

I liked this book a lot, and could hardly put it down. It is an intense story, quite dark, yet rich in its characterizations, with a good plot, lots of attention to detail and good pace. It is a book devoid of naval action, and without heroes and heroism – there are no Hornblower’s or Lord Ramage’s here – but the perspective of A Fine Boy for Killing is very interesting and quite intriguing. A great start for this new series!

See more nautical fiction book reviews!

Praise:

“. . . A superbly written and engaging nautical adventure tale.”

– Midwest Book Review

“…A powerful story of lost humanity, its violent emotions and unremitting bleakness are shattering.”

– Guardian

“…His portrayal of the Age of Fighting Sail is gritty, realistic and thoroughly entertaining…”

– James L. Nelson Author of The Brethren of the Coast Trilogy

Links to Jan Needle’s books at amazon US, amazon UK, and amazon CAN.

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Horatio Hornblower on DVD

July 22, 2009 by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: bestseller, C. S. Forester, DVD, historical fiction, Horatio Hornblower, Main character 

Captain Horatio Hornblower (DVD, 1951)

Starring: Gregory Peck, Virginia Mayo Director: Raoul Walsh

Captain Horatio Hornblower is a solid, Captain Horatio Hornblower DVD engrossing seafaring tale. Forester himself worked on the script for the 1951 film, which mines its plot from three Hornblower books (Beat to Quarters, Ship of the Line and Flying Colours).

Set during the Napoleonic era, the movie kicks off by steering British captain Hornblower (Gregory Peck) into the middle of a nimble cat-and-mouse game with anti-Spanish rebels in the New World–only to find that in the months since he set sail from Old Blighty, national alliances have changed, causing a reversal in his original mission. The action later shifts to Europe, and throughout there is a love story involving a noblewoman, Lady Barbara Wellesley (Virginia Mayo), who takes unexpected lodging aboard Hornblower’s ship (she later becomes Hornblower’s wife).

These are great novels, and this is a great film. Gregory Peck does a stellar job as Captain Hornblower, and Barbara Mayo puts in a fine performance as Lady Barbara. At the time there were some complaints that both leads were Americans, but the film justified the casting choices both in the eyes of the critics and at the box office. A must for Hornblower fans!

Horatio Hornblower: Collector’s Edition

Starring: Ioan Gruffudd Director: Andrew Grieve

Based on the novels by C.S. Forester, A&E’s Horatio Horatio Hornblower: Collector's Edition Hornblower was a made-for-TV series that ran from 1998-2003. The eight individual films that make up this Collector’s Edition chronicle the unlikely rise of young Horatio from lowly midshipman to powerful commander, during the early years of the Napoleonic Wars. The stories are engaging and entertaining, the production grand and lavish, and the overall result brilliant. This is a treasure chest of sweeping naval adventure and lavish historical drama.

Joining the British Royal Navy at the outset of the Napoleonic Wars, the enterprising Horatio Hornblower rises quickly from raw recruit to seasoned sailor, charting a course from the West Indies to the coast of Africa in the name of the Crown. Along the way he encounters roiling sea battles, cannon thunder, mutiny, plague and love, but always proves himself equal to the task. Gorgeously filmed and richly produced, A&E’s Emmy®-winning adaptations of C.S. Forester’s classic novels star Ioan Gruffudd (Fantastic Four, Black Hawk Down) and a stellar supporting cast.

The HORATIO HORNBLOWER COLLECTOR’S EDITION contains all eight feature-length Hornblower films (with many a bonus material below deck): The Duel, The Fire Ships, The Duchess and the Devil, The Wrong War, The Mutiny, Retribution, Loyalty, Duty.

Nothing was spared in making these films and they’re worth watching for the visuals alone. As well, the story lines are enthralling, the characters fully developed, and the performances powerful and good all around. This is a series that will keep anyone engaged; from small children to grandparents.

Each film (or “episode”) runs about an hour and a half, and each can stand independent of the others.

Three Bonus Programs (England’s Royal Warships, Sail 2000: Aboard the Eagle, and The Making of Horatio Hornblower) give an exclusive look at English ships from the past to the present, with fascinating descriptions and documentary footage on how these amazing machines are manned and run, as well as the incredible feats they’re capable of.

For anybody interested in nautical and/or historical fiction, this is simply an extremely entertaining and wonderfully produced series and a good buy. Run and get it! What more an I say? This set of DVD’s is the finest presentation of naval adventure I have ever seen.

Links to Hornblower movies at amazon US, amazon UK and at amazon CAN.

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To Glory We Steer, by Alexander Kent

July 12, 2009 by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Alexander Kent, book review, historical fiction, Main character, naval fiction, Richard Bolitho 

This is a truly magnificent novel of the sea, set in the West Indies during the last years of the AmericanTo Glory We Steer, by Alexander Kent Revolution. To Glory We Steer was the first novel published in the series. Alexander Kent’s forceful narration, his excellent penmanship and command of dramatic incident made it clear immediately that at last a genuine contender had emerged for the throne left empty by C. S. Forester.

The time is January 1782, and British Captain Richard Bolitho is ordered to take the frigate Phalarope to the Caribbean. His is a difficult command. A tyrannical previous captain has driven the crew to the edge of mutiny, and as Bolitho sails for the West Indies his own crew is as much a threat to him as is the enemy. As well, a very skilfully handled American Privateer almost brings Bolitho’s career to a premature end. And the identity of its captain is such as to rub salt in the wound. It is a rough start for the hero, showing promise for the series.

Bolitho does what he is best at – he battles back with intelligence, courage, indomitability and his own brand of humane leadership, and thus forges his crew and ship into a hardened weapon that comes victoriously through the decisive Battle of the Saintes, the last of the war, where the hard-pressed royal squadrons are fighting for their lives against the combined fleets of France and Spain and the upstart American privateers.

Bolitho is no ordinary man. His efforts to give the ship back her pride sets him apart from his contemporaries. As the little frigate sails under the blazing sun and fights her inner battles as well as faces the bloody broadsides of the enemy, Bolitho spares neither himself nor his men. An excellent start for the series, well plotted and brilliantly executed by Alexander Kent.

Read more about Alexander Kent and the Richard Bolitho series!

Links to Alexander Kent’s books at amazon US, amazon UK, and amazon CAN.

Praise:

“…follow the wake of Hornblower into 18th-century seas, where a crew of shanghaied valiants kicks the stuffing out of all comers… a salty testament to the mystique and the brutality of the square-rigger.” — The New York Times

“…guarantees interest and suspense that sweeps the reader from one page to the next…. To the final intense moment of the English Victory over the French in a naval engagement unparalleled in vividness and description.” — Saturday Evening Post

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