Dead Reckoning, by C. Northcote Parkinson
Filed under: book review, C. Northcote Parkinson, historical fiction, Richard Delancey
Dead Reckoning is the fourth book in the Richard Delancey series by C. Northcote Parkinson, and a very good one at that. We have now reached the year 1805, during The Napoleonic wars. Richard Delancey has 
There is a lot of naval action in this novel. There is convoy escort, a special assignment to chase down a French privateer that disturbs trade, an attack on Mauritius, as well as a bloody fight against two French frigates. In several instances Richard Delancey shows both courage and intelligence. His ingenious strategies while escorting a convoy of East Indiamen is very entertaining. So is the demonstration of pure willpower in the attack against a French privateer.
Delancey is a creative, solid, smart and very likeable officer in Her Majesty’s Navy. Dead Reckoning is thick with excellent plots and smart thinking. It is perhaps the best in the series so far, and certainly one that increased my interest in C. Northcote Parkinson’s series! Being a fan of nautical fiction, I rank this series highly!
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.Post Captain, by Patrick O’Brian
Filed under: bestseller, book review, historical fiction, International bestseller, Jack Aubrey, Main character, Patrick O'Brian, recommendation
It is 1802. Post Captain is the second in Patrick O’Brian’s epic 20-volume 19th-century maritime series about the unlikely companions Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin. Finally 
He meets the Williams family and their cousin Diana Villiers. Jack courts Sophia Williams, but is also very attracted to Diana, and commences an affair with her. His approach to courtship leaves a lot to be desired, and creates problems for him left and right – both with his superiors and with his friend Stephen, to the point where the two friends even challenge each other to a duel.
However, he plans to marry Sophia Williams, but quickly finds his fortune in prize money gone – he has been ordered to repay a wrongly captured merchant ship and at the same time he has been embezzled by his prize-agent. So instead of being a rich man, as he thought he would be, he is now severely in debt and at risk of being imprisoned for it! He has to flee the country and plans to live with Maturin in Spain.
But the peace of Amiens did not last long, and even before Jack gets to Stephen’s estate in Spain, France declares war and begins rounding up English subjects. Jack and Stephen escape, and are able to make their way back to England from Gibraltar.
In England, Jack – constantly seeking to avoid his creditors – is restored to active service. He is given command of HMS Polychrest, a very strange experimental ship designed to launch a secret weapon. As it turns out, she is a very bad sailing ship, and on top of it, Jack’s patience is tried by a sadistic lieutenant. But in the end, Captain Aubrey is able to take her to battle and win a decisive victory – he loses the Polychrest but leads three boats to board the Fanciulla. And returning to England in the Fanciulla, he is finally posted captain. Afraid of being captured by his creditors, he asks for a temporary command and is assigned to HMS Lively.
As luck will have it, Lively is assigned to a squadron sent to intercept Spanish ships bring bullion back to Spain from her American colonies. The Spanish convoy refuses to surrender, but after a short battle where Jack Aubrey plays an important role, one Spanish galleon explodes and the other three surrender. The victorious captains’ share of the prize money will be enough to pay off Jack’s debts and make him a rich man!
Post Captain is a wonderful book. It is rare to find a book that has such a rich blend of various ingredients. O’Brian’s writing is crisp and spare. The characters are fully-developed human beings, the writing is full of O’Brian’s quirky humor, and the action is exciting. The book is very hard to put down.
Praise:
Master and Commander raised almost dangerously high expectations; Post Captain triumphantly surpasses them…a brilliant book.
– Mary Renault
Aubrey and Maturin compose one of those complex and fascinating pairs of characters which have inspired thrilling stories of all kinds since the Iliad.
– Iris Murdoch and John Bayley
More reviews of nautical fiction book series?
A Fine Boy for Killing, by Jan Needle
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, 
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
Horatio Hornblower on DVD
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, 
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 
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.
Mr. Midshipman Hornblower, by C.S. Forester
Filed under: bestseller, book review, C. S. Forester, historical fiction, Horatio Hornblower, Main character
Lots of new historical fiction book reviews!
Naval fiction:
The Horatio Hornblower Saga, by C. S. Forester
Alan Lewrie series, by Dewey Lambdin
Richard Bolitho series, by Alexander Kent
Lord Ramage series, by Dudley Pope
Kydd series, by Julian Stockwin
Frederick Marryat
Charles Edgemont series, by Jay Worrall
Nathaniel Drinkwater series, by Richard Woodman
Richard Delancey series, by C. Northcote Parkinson
The Fury series, by G.S. Beard
Other historical fiction:
Genghis Khan, by Conn Iggulden
Emperor, by Conn Iggulden
Gladiators of Empire, by James Duffy
Mr. Midshipman Hornblower is actually the sixth book in the Hornblower saga, even though it is the first in terms of chronology. The first book C. S. Forester wrote about this 
In Mr. Midshipman Hornblower, young Horatio Hornblower is introduced to nautical life in a rather undistinguished fashion, as he arrives wet and a little seasick to the warship HMS Justinian while it is still in harbor! He is a painfully shy lad, and he soon falls under the power of one of those sadistic bullies the Royal Navy seemed to have so many of.
Midshipman Simpson, age thirty-three, has failed his examination for lieutenant too many times to ever expect promotion. He is said to be “diabolically clever at making other people’s lives a burden to them”. And as Hornblower outshines him in the required mathematical studies on board, he soon receives Simpson’s special attention.
Hornblower is desperate, and even briefly considers desertion and suicide. Then the bully accuses Horatio of cheating in cards – one of Hornblower’s great passions, and something which he excels in. This gives him an opportunity for an honorable escape from the bullying: Hornblower challenges him to a duel. However, as Hornblower is neither a great fencing master nor good with a pistol, he devices a smart scheme for the duel which will equalize the chances for him: The duelists are to have one loaded and one unloaded gun, and chose guns randomly. They are to fire at one another at a distance of on step. This, he considers, will give him an “even chance.”
Horatio Hornblower is very intelligent, but he is also an awkward neophyte, both socially and nautically speaking. However, he learns fast, does not do the same mistake twice, has a strong will, and a willingness to learn. His superiors quickly recognize him as a man who will accomplish great things. And, through a series of challenges and adventures both in and out of combat, Hornblower discovers he is actually talented in both seamanship and leadership.
This first novel in the series is packed with action, and C. S. Forester is the grand master of naval action scenes. The storytelling is wonderful. As well, the book has lots of fascinating incident and detail. While certainly not the best in the magnificent Hornblower saga, it is a book you must read. The question is whether to do it sooner or later, but not whether or not.
Snarleyyow or The Dog Fiend, by Frederick Marryat
Filed under: book review, Frederick Marryat, historical fiction, naval fiction
This book tells the strange tale of Captain Cornelius Vanslyperken, his dog Snarleyyow and the sailor Smallbones. The hero is the half-starved sailor Smallbones. 
It is to a large extent a book about power and evil, betrayal and revenge. Captain Vanslyperken tries vainly to kill Smallbones while Smallbones tries to get even by attempting to kill the captain’s hated dog, Snarleyyow. And the attempts in either direction are plural: drowning, bashing on the head and hanging. But they all fail. As well, the story has both seafaring intrigue and high political double cross.
Snarleyyow is a very macabre farce with lots of dry wit, where one crazy situation follows another. The action is constant and entertaining. The characters are, to say the least, unusual. There is not a redeeming character anywhere.
Marryat is known for his sea stories and there are the realistic views of seafaring life plus a creditable adventure story, but the humor makes the novel special. In addition to plenty of cannon fire, battle strategy, peril, and passion—liberally sprinkled with wit and fine turns of phrase—Marryat’s real-life naval experiences lend his novels a truly remarkable authenticity. Snarleyyow or The Dog Fiend is a special and somewhat strange story well worth reading.
Devil to Pay, by C. Northcote Parkinson
Filed under: book review, C. Northcote Parkinson, historical fiction, Main character, naval fiction, Richard Delancey
Devil to Pay is the first book published, but the second in chronological order, in the series about Richard Delancey. It was first published in 1973. The action in this book takes
Richard Delancey has had an undistinguished naval career, but he possesses a fluency in French that lands him a secret mission for the Admiralty. Through no fault of his own, the secret mission further tarnishes his reputation and prospects. It leads to a duel. Thus Delancey is once again casting about for fresh opportunity.
Seeking opportunity, he becomes involved in customs collection on the Isle of Wight, with a temporary command of a Revenue Service cutter. Doing this, he is very successful. As a result, he is given command of the 22-gun privateer Nemesis. This provides Delancey with opportunities for profit, and we follow him in several daring naval operations. He is a successful privateer commander. However, misfortune leaves him shipwrecked on the French coast. He attempts to escape through Spain, just as the Spanish are entering the war. The last part of the novel covers his flight through Spain, and action in Leon as he rejoins the Royal Navy.
Devil to Pay has lots of action, both on land and at sea. It is well written, and Richard Delancey is an interesting character that gets ahead by hard work and sound analytical thinking. I like this book and the series a lot, and do not hesitate to recommend it.
Read more about Richard Delancey!
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