Cindy Vallar's Blog - Posts Tagged "apprentice"

Weymouth Bound: Jack Stone, seaman, and the French naval plot to strike a mortal blow against England during the Napoleonic Wars by Paul Weston

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Jack Stone has a dream. He wants to be a sailor, to travel the seas in search of adventure. His father, a fisherman and smuggler, wants Jack away from the dangers of illegally trafficking goods. To that end, he arranges for Jack to apprentice for seven years with the captain and part owner of the Cicely, a merchant ship that carries cargo from one port to another.

May 1800 finds Jack learning the ins and outs of Cicely and seafaring. With the keen eyes of a youth, he often finds himself aloft as lookout. He gets on with most of the crew, but the one man to steer clear of is the mate, Dennis Vasey. Rumor has it that he frequents opium dens and he’s got a temper. His father is part owner of the ship, so the captain cannot fire him. Nor does Vasey do much even when he is aboard.

One evening, while the rest of the crew is ashore, Jack remains aboard. He’s aloft watching the stars and the area around the ship when he spies Vasey nearing the ship. His movements are furtive, as if he doesn’t wish anyone to know he’s around. Terrified of the mate after almost dying because of one of his orders, Jack remains hidden. Soon after Vasey comes onto the Cicely, he’s joined by a stranger. He’s even more scary, especially since he wears a coat of the Royal Navy and has a scarred scalp. Jack knows he should tell the captain, but he holds his tongue. Doing so turns out to be extremely dangerous, not only for the crew, but also for England. Jack is the only one who can remedy his silence to warn his homeland and the king before it’s too late.

Weymouth Bound is an alluring tale that slowly weaves its spell on the reader. Although written for adults, even young people will enjoy Jack’s ingenuity and courage as he gets far more adventure than he craves, some of which is nerve-wracking and tense. Readers who enjoy nautical tales of accidents at sea, revenue agents, privateers, and shipwrecks will enjoy this first volume in a new trilogy written by a merchant seaman.


(This review was originally published at Pirates and Privateers: http://www.cindyvallar.com/adult-hist...)




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