Cindy Vallar's Blog - Posts Tagged "malta"

Command by Julian Stockwin

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


It is early in the first decade of the 19th century. England still fights the French. William Pitt is no longer prime minister. King George once again suffers madness. And no matter what Thomas Kydd does, Captain Rowley finds fault with it. They share a past, one as treacherous as a rogue wave on a storm-swept sea. This latest incident sees Kydd relieved of duty and awaiting the admiral’s decision on charges of dereliction. He expects to be tossed out of the Royal Navy; instead, he receives orders to hie to Malta and take command of a new brig-sloop. Although this is the backwater of the Mediterranean, with little chance of engaging the enemy and advancing his career, nothing dampens his spirit. He has achieved a dream: being the indisputable commander of his own ship, and what a fine vessel is HM Sloop Teazer.

His orders are many-fold, especially for a single vessel, but he is determined to carry them out to the best of his ability. He conveys dispatches and important passengers, escorts small convoys, protects trade, renders service to the civil government of Malta, and harries the enemy. Three familiar faces join him in these endeavors: his servant Tysoe, Midshipman Bowden, and Toby Stirk (a former mate and gun captain of Seaflower). Gone, however, is Nicholas Renzi, and it’s possible the two friends may not encounter one another again.

As always, nothing is as simple as it appears. Time and again, Kydd must rely on his astuteness and lessons learned from past mistakes to deal with sticky situations, such as one vessel to protect a convoy of twenty-seven, Barbary corsairs, and a cunning but brutal French privateer. All while taking individual seamen and melding them into a cohesive unit that works and fights together as one.

Stockwin excels at showing readers the isolation and loneliness of command, as well as the profound responsibility that rests on Commander Kydd’s shoulders. This is also a tale of what it takes to fit out a new ship and what happens when peace comes, ships are decommissioned, and officers find themselves out of work. This leaves Kydd in a quandary because the navy is his life, but it also offers opportunity that sees him in command of a ship transporting convicts and settlers halfway round the world. Instead of glossing over less-than-glamourous aspects of life, Stockwin seamlessly incorporates them into Kydd’s life in ways that serve to mentor Kydd as a leader of men who must make life and death decisions that affect those who serve under him. Neither does Stockwin neglect Renzi, but his path in life profoundly shifts after a near-death experience. Command, the seventh offering in the Kydd Sea Adventures, provides a startling contrast between life in the Royal Navy and merchant marine, as well as providing glimpses of what awaits those who find themselves forging new lives in Australia.


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




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Tyranny's Bloody Standard: An epic Napoleonic naval adventure by J. D. Davies

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


In February 1794, Philippe Kermorvant and some of his men escape from the English prison hulk where they are imprisoned with the help of an American. Once back on French soil, Philippe is given command of Le Torrington, whose slowness earns the thirty-eight-gun ship the nickname of English Tortoise. It takes luck and ingenuity to elude a British warship hunting them, and while they succeed, they and the rest of the French fleet end up blockaded within the port of Île Sainte-Marguerite.

Orders arrive summoning Philippe away from his ship to a rendezvous at an inland tavern. There, he meets with a general who advises him that he is to accompany an emissary to Corsica. The purpose is to gain permission for the French navy to use the island as their base of operation in the Mediterranean, and the man Philippe is to meet, General Leandre, has personally requested him. Equally surprising is the emissary, a young woman who seems an odd choice to carry out this mission. What perplexes Philippe is why he has been tasked with this assignment and why would anyone want the bones of Christopher Columbus?

Meanwhile, back in England, spymaster Lord Wilden is perturbed that his French-American cousin, Philippe Kermorvant refused his overture to spy for the British. A mob rioting for fair wages attacks Wilden’s coach and kills his driver. He blames the French for the attack because their Jacobin ideas are infecting Englishmen. He vows to make the enemy pay, and to that end, he sets in motion a collision between his cousin and the man who slew Philippe’s wife and son.

Thibauld de la Porte is a young aspirant aboard Philippe’s ship. He comes from a family whose men have long fought in the army, but he chooses to follow a different path and enlisted in the navy. He pens letters to convince his father that he has made the right decision. Initially, he is pleased to be aboard Le Torrington, but little incidents make him think that perhaps his enigmatic captain may be the British mole within the Marine Nationale. When an incident involving the Knights of Saint John on Malta embarrasses the young midshipman, he also blames the captain for his disgrace and wants vengeance.

Tyranny’s Bloody Standard focuses on a little-known period of history when King George III of Britain also ruled Corsica. Some readers may find there’s a bit too much rehashing of past events in this second book in the Philippe Kermorvant Thrillers, but Davies spins a tale of intrigue, superstition, murder, and vendettas that introduces readers to a young Horatio Nelson and Napoleon Bonaparte. (Neither man is mentioned by name, but their descriptions leave little doubt as to each man’s identity.) A fair portion of this tale takes place on land rather than at sea, which is inevitable since it unfolds principally from a French perspective and the French fleet spends much of the war with England penned up in port because of the Royal Navy’s blockade. A riveting duel at sea does take place between Le Torrington and an Italian warship during a gale that keeps readers guessing and on the edge of their seats. Equally compelling are witnessing the psychological effect cowardly behavior has on someone and the inability to come to the aid of a merchant vessel attacked by Algerine corsairs because France and Algiers are at peace.


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




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