Cindy Vallar's Blog - Posts Tagged "battle-of-trafalgar"

1805 by Richard Woodman

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Captain Nathaniel Drinkwater and his crew sail in search of the Channel Fleet. They are to help with blockading the French, preventing the enemy from leaving their home ports. It is a tedious duty, but essential. It prevents Napoleon from invading England. There are interludes where Drinkwater’s participation in the blockade is interrupted, episodes that make his life more interesting and dangerous. One involves conveying a high-ranking French duke into enemy territory. Another requires him to rescue a British agent who may be behind a plot to assassinate Napoleon.

A third instance involves a meeting with the prime minister and Lord Dungarth, who heads the Admiralty’s intelligence network. They seek Drinkwater’s thoughts on a French invasion, something that has been occupying his thoughts of late. Evidence shows that the French are embarking troops, and should the French fleet join with Spain’s, he is certain they will attack. But the invasion won’t be a direct one. He believes they will come through a backdoor, which will provide them with a slim chance of success.

Gales provide the French with the perfect opportunity to elude the British blockade. Although Drinkwater cannot stop their emergence into open waters, he is determined to keep sight of them. But that is easier said than done, especially when he must battle enemy ships at sea during a snow storm. When word arrives that France and Spain have combined forces as he feared, Drinkwater must warn his superiors.

This sixth book in the Nathaniel Drinkwater series is divided into three parts: Blockade, Break-out, and Battle. It opens in 1804, when a midshipman rouses Captain Drinkwater from the depths of sleep just as HMS Antigone is about to wreck on a dangerous shoal near St. Michael’s Mount, and ends with the Battle of Trafalgar. Maps are provided to orient readers. Sea battles are riveting, while scenes aboard Drinkwater’s vessel provide vivid snapshots of life at sea. What makes this tale different from others that depict this victorious, but tragic affair, is that Drinkwater is not aboard a British ship at the time of the battle. Instead, he is a prisoner aboard a French ship of the line and the battle is poignantly experienced through senses other than sight.




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Victory by Julian Stockwin

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


After delivering dispatches and mail to blockading ships off Brest, HMS Teazer nears England. A lookout spots a French privateer and Commander Thomas Kydd pursues. Except the enemy is not alone. The privateer lures Teazer into a trap and a French frigate swoops in to capture the English prize. It’s a nail-biting chase that drives Kydd and his crew closer and closer to France, but they refuse to surrender and when it’s over, good men and a good vessel are gone.

With many men of higher rank clamoring for ships to command and with Napoleon’s invasion fleet ready to sail any day, Kydd’s prospects of securing a new vessel are slim to none. Yet each morning he visits the Admiralty in hopes of gaining his desire. Until one day, he receives a note telling him not to return. He faces a future on half pay with no idea of where to turn or what to do, but Nicholas Renzi studies the missive’s wording and a kernel of an idea blossoms. After he and Cecilia Kydd investigate, they launch a surprise befitting a post-captain.

The relationship between Nicholas and Cecilia grows strained in the aftermath of her brother’s promotion. Nicholas doesn’t want to declare his true feelings until he publishes his book and can comfortably support a wife and family. Cecilia is miffed that he refuses to take the plunge after all his hard work. When he does, he experiences a rude awakening regarding publishing and what will and will not sell. Like dominos falling, one crushed dream results in an awareness that another must also die. At the same time, Cecilia begins to wonder if maybe she must let go of her vision for the future as well before it’s too late to have the family and home she desires.

In this eleventh book in the series, Stockwin snares the reader’s attention from the start and the realm of emotions experienced mirrors the crests and troughs of waves during a storm. Other books depict the Battle of Trafalgar, but his use of a midshipman to witness Admiral Lord Nelson’s death resurrects the sorrow and devastation felt then in a way that makes these feelings just as palpable two centuries later.

Equally acute is the opening battle with the two French ships. There’s an immediacy that transports the reader to Teazer’s deck to experience the confusion, the wreckage, the smells, and the sounds that mark the hell that the Teazers undergo, as well as the grief Kydd senses as his beloved ship sinks. Just as profound is Renzi’s shock and dismay that his magnum opus may never be published and the realization he must grapple with as to what that means for his future with Cecilia.

“Victory” is defined as overcoming an enemy, of succeeding in an endeavor against great odds. This novel depicts victory on many levels, in different ways, and with profound passion. It also demonstrates the price that victory, or Victory, must pay in order to triumph over evil. This is a voyage not to be missed, one that will haunt the reader long after the last page is turned.


(This review was originally published at Pirates and Privateers: http://www.cindyvallar.com/Stockwin.h...)




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A Merciful Sea by Katie Daysh

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Royal Navy Commander Arthur Courtney is betwixt wind and water. He’s lost his command but is offered a position as a volunteer on a ship of the line – one that may come with a string attached. Once at sea, he has nothing to do. Although disturbed by the implied condition and the lack of activity, he senses an undercurrent of disquiet permeating the ship, but is unable to discern its cause. The crew aren’t practiced in firing their guns; sickness plagues some men; laudanum goes missing; and a midshipman dies. Then there’s the captain’s indecision. Yet, Courtney would rather be at sea than remain at home, for trouble brews on the island as well.

Hiram Nightingale is adrift. He never wanted to be a naval officer, but now that he has been dismissed from the service, he’s not sure what to do with himself. Although he is master of a vessel that belongs to his brother-in-law, it’s not the same as commanding a warship. Seeing Courtney off aboard HMS Lion only raises more doubts and emphasizes his lack of purpose. Then he learns of mysterious notes that his beloved Courtney never mentioned. Discovering who sends these and thwarting the implied peril provide one lifeline, but this isn’t enough. A suggestion from an old acquaintance leads to another idea, and Nightingale takes to the sea again as a privateer, fighting the enemy and protecting the Isle of Wight where Courtney lives. Ascertaining who that enemy is proves more challenging than he first thinks.

This final book in the Courtney-Nightengale trilogy takes place in 1804 and 1805. Although the first half of the book is slow-paced, Daysh lays the groundwork for what unfolds in the second half. Nightingale, who wants to be accepted by the islanders, unearths the true enemy and risks his life to help them in a portrayal that is both as riveting and galvanizing as the storm that unleashes its fury in the midst of the chase. While Nelson’s pursuit of the French fleet to the Caribbean and back again provides the initial background for Courtney’s time at sea, the crowning event of this book is the Battle of Trafalgar. Daysh places us above and below decks of HMS Lion in ways that allow us to experience the fighting firsthand. It is filled with gritty realism where we hear the roar of the guns and the screams of those who give the ultimate sacrifice. The resolution of this atypical romance is in keeping with the time period and the characters who understand the risks they take in loving each other.


(This review originally appeared at Pirates and Privateers: http://www.cindyvallar.com/Daysh.html...)



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