Cindy Vallar's Blog, page 27

Review of The Distant Ocean

The Distant Ocean by Philip K. Allan

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Three French ships plague British merchantmen in the Indian Ocean, and the mounting losses necessitate the departure of Captain Alexander Clay from his wife. Their parting is bittersweet; his orders come just as he learns of his impending fatherhood, and he may be gone a long time. Duty, however, takes precedence, and he joins Commodore Sir George Montague’s squadron. In addition to their two warships, which are tasked with ending the French depredations, are two sloops. One is commanded by his closest friend, John Sutton, and the other, by their nemesis, Nicholas Windham.

Windham has never accepted the story of how his uncle died, and he craves justice. “Dismal George” – better known for his penchant for his ship’s appearance than his fighting capabilities – overlooks some of Windham’s disgruntlement, but cannot abide dissension among his officers. He fears that Windham’s idée fixe will cause injury to his own career and orders his friend’s nephew to set aside the need to make Sutton pay and reconcile.

On their way to their destination, Clay escorts several Guineamen to the Gold Coast, while Dismal George and the sloops accompany another convoy to Gibraltar. Floating corpses off Africa introduce Clay and his men to one of the horrific realities of slavery, and when the truth of what occurred is discovered, Clay sets in motion a scheme to thwart the French privateer responsible for the deaths. Coxswain Able Sedgwick plays a key role in the plan, for he grew up on these shores, but the outcome has unforeseen and deadly consequences.

The initial blockade of Reunion Island, a French stronghold in the Indian Ocean, fails to lure the enemy warships from their safe haven. Clay and Sutton have words over the latter’s intentions toward Clay’s sister, causing a rift between the friends. Then Wyndham puts forth a new plan to deal with the French that Sutton supports. Their two sloops will ferret out the weakest of the three enemy vessels and launch a two-pronged attack. During the hunt, Dismal George will escort a convoy to Bombay while Clay accompanies another ship – one already attacked by the French – to Cape Town. Wyndham’s gambit has definite merit, but his motivation differs from Sutton’s, much to his chagrin.

Distant Ocean, the fifth book in the Alexander Clay series, is an incisive and accurate depiction of life in the Georgian navy. Allan incorporates a humorous portrayal of a Crossing the Line ceremony, a poignant farewell to men lost, and a harrowing escape at sea into this beguiling tale of friendship, guilt, obsession, retribution, and determination.




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Review of Emily Windsnap and the Pirate Prince

Emily Windsnap and the Pirate Prince by Liz Kessler

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Calamity is a hallmark of the Windsnap family. They are forever preventing disasters. After a brief respite from halting a major disaster, it’s time to return home. Being merfolk, Emily’s dad and her best friend travel underwater, but her mom, who is human, will sail aboard a five-star cruise ship. Thirteen-year-old Emily can go either way since she’s half mermaid, half human, but knowing her mom sometimes feels left out, Emily decides spending some quality time with her mom is best. So with her mom, her mom’s best friend, and Aaron, her own boyfriend, Emily boards the ship. After all, what can possibly go wrong there?

PIRATES!

To be more precise, the pirate king, his wife, and his two sons, along with all the members of their crews, board the cruise ship, steal all the treasure, and lock the passengers in their staterooms. Well, almost all. Emily realizes that Aaron has vanished and fearing he’s in trouble, she sneaks out of her cabin to search for him. That’s how she happens to overhear the pirate king discussing a contest with his sons, Noah and Sam. Noah, who is arrogant and seems to do no wrong, has won the first round. Sam had been in the lead, until his mother realized the present he gave her – Emily’s mother’s necklace – has a mermaid on it! His dad goes ballistic, and Emily realizes that the pirates hate mermaids. Which doesn’t bode well for her if they learn her secret. She also discovers why Noah has snatched Aaron. He’s familiar with Halflight Castle, which gives Noah an advantage in the next round of the contest. The ultimate prize is Trident’s Treasure, and once they find it for their father, he will retire and the winner will become the new pirate king.

Determined to find Aaron, Emily offers Sam a way to better his chances of winning. If she helps him find the treasure and he becomes the new pirate king, he promises to release Aaron. It seems to be a win-win situation until she discovers that Sam doesn’t really want to be a pirate and that his crew would rather be aboard Noah’s ship. Plus pretending to be a hostage isn’t as easy as she thought, and what if Sam or the others discover who she really is? That possibility becomes even more real when she learns that Noah doesn’t have just one prisoner. He has two: Aaron and Shona, her best friend and mermaid. Even worse, Aaron has turned pirate.

This eighth book in the series is a galvanizing treasure-hunting adventure, whether this is your first visit to Emily’s world or you’re a longtime fan. It’s also a tale of discovery, not only in deciphering the puzzles but also in being true to yourself, rather than what everyone expects you to be – a lesson Emily learns the longer she works side-by-side with the pirates. Kessler deftly demonstrates the differences between a loving family and a dysfunctional one. Emily Windsnap and the Pirate Prince is humorous, poignant, and magical.




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Review of How to Survive in the Georgian Navy

How to Survive in the Georgian Navy: A Sailor's Guide by Bruno Pappalardo

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Divided into ten chapters, How to Survive in the Georgian Navy introduces readers to a wide range of topics concerning life in the Royal Navy during the reigns of George I, II, III, and IV. When the War of the Spanish Succession ended in 1715, Britain possessed more naval ships than any other European nation. Her merchant trade was expanding to encompass the entire world and the ships carrying imports and exports required protection, which necessitated a naval presence in the far reaches of the British Empire. This, in turn, required both financial backing and a good infrastructure to support the ships and crews stationed in these distant ports and waters.

Chapter one focuses on the navy’s personnel, officers and ratings alike, and what they did aboard the ships. The next chapter is concerned with how these men joined the Royal Navy. War necessitated a large number of men, but in times of peace, far fewer were needed. For example, at the time that the wars with France ended in the early nineteenth century, 145,000 men served in the Royal Navy. The majority (126,000 to be precise) soon found themselves unemployed.

It was important that a ship’s crew work together; rules and regulations provided for the smooth running of the ships and, as a result, sometimes required men to be disciplined. This is the topic of chapter three: Crimes and Punishment: Discipline in the Georgian Navy. The flip side of this was the need to not only feed the crew and allow them periods of downtime, but also to maintain their health. The latter was particularly important since the majority of deaths stemmed from disease or accident. For example, one in thirty-one men died each year as a result of these two culprits between 1792 and 1815, whereas one in 403 succumbed in battle. These are the topics discussed in chapters four and five: Victuals and Time Out: Food, Drink and Recreation in the Georgian Navy, and Keeping a Healthy Crew: Medicine in the Georgian Navy.

During an eighty-one year period, beginning in 1714, the navy lost 1,027 ships. More than half of these foundered; the rest were the result of wrecking, fire, colliding, or mutiny. While chapter nine specifically examines “Mutiny in the Georgian Navy,” chapter six explores “A Matter of Survival: Storms, Shipwreck and Fire on Board Ship.” Chapter seven discusses naval expeditions of a scientific nature, whereas chapter eight concerns warships and sea battles. The latter includes firsthand accounts of the battles of Cape Passaro (1718), at Finisterre (1747), and of Quiberon Bay (1759). Most such accounts come from a ship’s officers, but the author also includes one written by an ordinary seaman who was aboard HMS Orion during the Battle of the Nile in 1798.

The last chapter talks about “Women at Sea in the Age of Sail.” Often seen as bad luck, the historical record mentions that in 1379, the French attacked during a bad storm. The sailors blamed the sixty women who were aboard and tossed them into the roiling sea. Some were of questionable character, but others were members of the upper crust. Between the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries, they could be found on navy ships, sometimes to entertain the men who weren’t allowed shore leave. Other times women actually worked in some semi- or unofficial capacity, or found themselves aboard because they were fleeing from enemy troops. A minority chose to disguise themselves in male attire and join the navy.

The epilogue discusses the Georgian navy’s legacy during a critical period in history. As Pappalardo writes, “aided by both the technological advances of the equipment and techniques and the attitude, training and skill of the men of the Royal Navy . . . gained Britain undisputed supremacy of the seas for the next century and firmly established Britain as a leading global power.” (136)

Interspersed throughout the 144 pages are black-and-white illustrations. The endpapers are in full color. The front depicts the two halves of the world; the back is a painting of Admiral Earl Howe’s victory over the French fleet on the Glorious First of June 1794. The use of a very small font size is the only drawback, but to use a larger one would have necessitated making a book of either greater dimensions or additional length. This volume also contains a Timeline of Major Naval Battles and Events, a bibliography, and an index.

Pappalardo, Principal Records Specialist (Naval) at The National Archives in London, packs a wealth of knowledge into this pocket-sized, hardback book that is entertaining and informative. The narrative is both a historical introduction to the Royal Navy between 1714 and 1820, and a collection of contemporary, illustrative quotations from the officers and men who served aboard British warships or in administrative capacities. How to Survive in the Georgian Navy is an excellent overview for those unfamiliar with this period of British naval history, or an exceptional summary for those seeking to reacquaint themselves with it.




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Review of The Afrikaner

The Afrikaner by Arianna Dagnino

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Devastated at the senseless death of her lover, South African paleontologist Zoe Du Plessis flees Johannesburg for her childhood home on the Cape. She risked her heart, only to discover that the warnings of her female ancestors weren’t absurd chimeras of previous firstborn daughters. To come to terms with both reality and her grief, she embarks on a journey of inner reflection that is intertwined with acceptance of the past, standing up for what she believes, and taking chances in spite of her own biasness in an ever-changing world in the aftermath of racial segregation.

This rite of passage is hers alone to make, but each step intersects with others in unforeseen ways. Andrè, her younger brother, wants to replace the white director of the family winery with a black man. Koma, an old Bushman and shaman, emerges from the vast nothingness of the desert to renew their acquaintance. Whether the deep sadness in his eyes is his own or a mirror of hers, a “thief of stories” warns that their destinies are intertwined. From the grave, her aunt and great aunt share a dark secret of the distant past that impacted their lives, while Dario Oldani, her co-worker and lover, compels her to go beyond the comforts of her research lab to continue his hunt for the birthplace of humans in the Kalahari. But navigating the unknown doesn’t come without risk.

The Afrikaner is a story of self-reflection, of coming to terms with the past, present, and the future. Dagnino’s poignant, compelling, you-are-there tale draws us so deep into Zoe’s world that we experience each and every emotion. Her vivid depictions of time and place transport us to the turbulence of South Africa, before, during, and after apartheid until we share both Zoe’s discomfort and love for the land of her birth. It is a haunting portrayal of devastating grief and rational resurgence; once read, neither Zoe nor her experiences are easily forgotten.





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Review of Pirates & Privateers of the 18th Century

Pirates and Privateers in the 18th Century: The Final Flourish by Mike Rendell

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Mention pirates and a romantic image pops into most readers’ minds. Mike Rendell’s goal is to remove those “rose-tinted spectacles” to show the true pirates of a period that is often referred to as the golden age of piracy. In reality, it was anything but and pirates were more than just thieves at sea. They also committed acts of “rape, murder, arson and torture.” (vi) Instead of looking at these men and women from our modern-day perspective, he strives to place them within the context of their own time periods. He separates this age into three segments: 1650-1680, 1680-1710, and 1710-1730. This allows him to highlight their differences and similarities, as well as to examine the history, rather than the myths, to show what effects pirates and privateers had on the British economy. He also attempts to explain why such criminals are now seen as honorable and romantic.

The first part of the book, “Background,” provides readers with an orientation into what piracy was and compares and contrasts it with privateering. He also provides three short case studies of early buccaneers – Henry Morgan, William Kidd, and Henry Avery – whose escapades sometimes crossed the murky line separating privateers from pirates. They chose careers that involved plundering, but the outcomes of their deeds differed greatly.

Part two examines “The Beginning of the End of the Golden Age.” While initially tolerating pirates and their ill-gotten booty, colonial governments and citizens shifted from such acceptance to seeing them as “enemies of all mankind.” This change did not occur overnight and many factors influenced it. To demonstrate how this occurs, Rendell discusses royal proclamations and pardons, as well as corruption in colonial government. He also spotlights two governors who played instrumental roles in fighting piracy: Alexander Spotswood of Virginia and Woodes Rogers of the Bahamas. The final chapter in this section explores pirate ships.

“The Final Phase of the Golden Age” surveys some of the pirates during the second and third decades of the eighteenth century. Here readers meet Henry Jennings, Benjamin Hornigold, Samuel Bellamy, Edward England, Charles Vane, Stede Bonnet, William Fly, Olivier Levasseur, John Rackham, Edward Teach, Howell Davis, and Bartholomew Roberts. The first four are linked together because of the storm that wrecked the Spanish treasure fleet off the coast of Florida in 1715. The next three are grouped together because they all danced the hempen jig. Rackham gets his own chapter because of his two female mates, Anne Bonny and Mary Read. The last three were killed in action.

The last two sections of this book investigate piracy’s portrayal in literature and pop culture and the lure of treasure hunting. In addition to an epilogue entitled “The Big ‘What If’?”, the author includes two appendices. The first is Governor Thomas Modyford’s Letter of Appointment to Henry Morgan. The second is an excerpt from Captain Charles Johnson’s A General History of the Pyrates detailing Blackbeard’s last days. Readers will also find a bibliography, an index, maps, and an assortment of woodcuts and other artwork pertaining to pirates.

The title of this book is somewhat misleading since Rendell includes men who lived in the seventeenth century and the first fifty years of this historical recap take place during that period. This was the time of the buccaneers, when pirates and privateers roved the seas. While privateers can be found in the first decade or so of the eighteenth century, the men and women who preyed on ships between 1713 and 1730 were only pirates.

The author identifies Johnson’s book as a work of fiction, because “many of the facts set out in it are uncorroborated and quite possibly heavily embellished.” (4) This is, in fact, true, and today might be classified as biographical fiction. What Rendell doesn’t explain is that many facts detailed in A General History can be corroborated. Since one of his goals is to go beyond the myth to extract the true history, why quote passages from a work of fiction instead of quoting from contemporary documents?

Particularly noteworthy is that this volume incorporates both well-known and lesser-known pirates. Rendell makes some valid points and includes information that can’t be found in other volumes on this topic. To some extent the author achieves his goal of separating myth from reality and examining piracy from an eighteenth-century perspective, but perhaps not as well as several other titles that have been published in recent years. Several that come to mind are Margarette Lincoln’s British Pirates and Society, 1680-1730; The Golden Age of Piracy edited by David Head; and Douglas R. Burgess, Jr.’s The Politics of Piracy.

What makes Rendell’s Pirates and Privateers in the 18th Century worth reading are the mini-case studies in which he presents each pirate. He’s also one of the few authors who gives John Rackham higher billing than Bonny and Read.




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Review of The Pirate World

The Pirate World: A History of the Most Notorious Sea Robbers by Angus Konstam

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


If not for Captain Charles Johnson and his 1724 bestseller, The General History of Pyrates, would we find pirates as fascinating as we do? Konstam certainly believes this is true, yet he also points out that “pirate” and the many synonyms we attribute to the scoundrels Johnson wrote about had different meanings in that time period. And many of the piratical elements we associate with these pirates may not apply to pirates of earlier or later centuries. Konstam’s main objective in his latest offering is “to strip away the myths and inventions from these historical figures to reveal the brutal but utterly fascinating world of piracy as it really was.” (7)

Piracy throughout history encompasses a lot of information, but the author succeeds in paring it down and presenting it in an entertaining and informative manner. He provides readers with a good grasp of sea marauding from its earliest days through the present, and also explores their portrayal in fiction. The eleven chapters are presented in chronological format, beginning with the ancient world. From there we meet medieval pirates, Renaissance sea dogs, Barbary corsairs, buccaneers, golden age pirates and those of the Pirate Round, pirates of the 19th century, Chinese pirates, and modern-day pirates. To enhance our understanding and reading pleasure, Konstam includes a plethora of color artwork, quotes from contemporary documents, notes, a select bibliography, and an index. Color maps indicate where pirates sailed and are accompanied by keys that explain what they did when, though not for all pirates mentioned in the text. Information deserving special focus appears in highlighted boxes and features topics such as Spanish coinage, pirate ships and guns, corsair galleys, Jolly Rogers, and pirate codes.

Among the many marauders readers meet within this volume are Cilicians, Vikings, Sir Francis Drake and Sir John Hawkins, Aruj “Barbarossa” and his brother Khair-Ed-Din, Murat Rais and Murat the Younger, Sir Henry Morgan, Laurens de Graaf, Benjamin Hornigold, Blackbeard, Anne Bonny and Mary Read, Edward Low, Bartholomew Roberts, Thomas Tew, Henry Every, Christopher Condent, Jean Lafitte, Koxinga, Cheng I Sao, Shap-’ng-Tsai, and pirates of Somalia and Nigeria. A few men who fought against piracy – for example Woodes Rogers and James Brook – are also mentioned. Long John Silver, Captain Blood, and those of the Disney franchise, Pirates of the Caribbean are among the fictional pirates that are included.

Konstam provides a good overview of real pirates, and his conclusion about those of the Caribbean is quite interesting. He presents the material in a way that makes it easy for readers to picture these marauders more clearly, and to understand how they operated and what drove them to piracy. The Pirate World, indeed, separates myth from reality and commendably demonstrates that while fascinating, the men and women who chose this path in life could also be quite brutal.




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Review of Life of a Smuggler

The Life of a Smuggler by Helen Hollick

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Smugglers. The word conjures up romantic images, but who were they and is what we know real or fictional? This query is the one Hollick attempts to answer in Life of a Smuggler. She opens by defining the word and explaining the conditions that give rise to these elusive men and women. Chapter one also examines the origins of the word, as well as the terms smugglers used when referring to themselves. She primarily focuses on historical smuggling to the mid 1700s, but also includes tidbits on later periods and present-day operations.

Subsequent chapters answer the main questions of when, why, and who. The main goal of the smuggler is to bring goods of interest to the populace into the country without paying taxes to the government. The first such tariffs (on wine) appeared in tenth-century England. Hollick also looks at other reasons for avoiding these taxes, the risks, the participants, the language of smuggling, and the switch from individuals to organized gangs. Equally important is the chapter on the law and incentives, or the lack thereof, that helped and hindered the revenue men.

After a discussion of the Battle of Sidley Green, readers learn about how smuggling worked, what items were smuggled, and various tricks of the trade. Among the names of individuals whom Hollick mentions is Thomas Jefferson, who participated in smuggling when serving as Minister to France. She also talks about punishments, including amputation, and which came first, the teacup or the teapot.

Four chapters are devoted to where English smugglers plied their trade, dividing the country into the West Country, the South-East, the East Coast, and the countries that comprise the United Kingdom. A fifth chapter looks at smuggling in the New World.

The final chapters address the factuality of inns often referred to as “Smuggler’s Rest”; the punishments smugglers faced if caught; where fictional authors hit the mark and where they don’t in adhering to the facts; how smuggling today differs from that of the past; and why we admire smugglers.

Hollick intersperses “Little Known Facts” throughout the book, although rather than placing these in sidebars, the publisher opted to place these within the main text. This tends to interrupt the flow of the narrative and, at times, these highlights contain the same information as the main text, making for repetitive reading. Black and white photographs are scattered throughout the book, and the book includes a bibliography and further reading list.

Readers seeking more in-depth histories on smuggling would do better to read Richard Platt’s Smuggling in the British Isles, Gavin D. Smith’s The Scottish Smuggler, or Alan L. Karras’s Smuggling: Contraband and Corruption in World History. But those who desire just an enlightening and entertaining introduction to the world and history of the illegal importation of goods will enjoy Hollick’s Life of a Smuggler.




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Review of Fata Morgana

Fata Morgana by Thomas J. Radford

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


In Book Three of the Free Lanes, skipper Nel Vaughn drinks herself nearly to oblivion on Vice. It’s the only way she can forget, to keep from dealing with the past. With each passing day, her former crewmate and navigator, Loveland Quill, loses respect for Nel, yet no matter how disgusted he becomes, he keeps intruding into her self-imposed oblivion. One day Tantamount’s deed and title appears on the notice board and all she has tried to forget comes crashing back over her: the loss of the ship, her friends, the captain, and living on the edge, skirting the law. Compounding these memories is the appearance of Castor Sharpe, the infuriating bane of her existence. He’s supposed to be dead, just like the others; then again, he never has been good at doing what he’s supposed to do.

When she awakens aboard the Fata Morgana, Violet recognizes Niko Kaspar and Brandon Gravel, whom she met once in a bar, but her fuzzy memory provides few clues as to how she came to be aboard an Alliance ship. All she knows is that her friends are dead and Tantamount was destroyed. Unlike her own vessel (a true sailing ship), Fata Morgana is a vessel of two halves that sails through the universe via steam. It is the creation of Captain Arlin Raines, who happens to be a Kitsune like herself. The elder fox – who has seven tails – is something of a legend for refusing to return to their world as custom demands. Having taken a liking to Violet, he provides her with a pair of special glasses that allows her to see color; seeing the world in black and white is a side effect from exposure following Tantamount’s destruction.

Sharpe is being hunted. He also knows that Violet is still alive, contrary to what Nel thinks. Having vowed never to forsake Violet, Nel is determined to find her. To do that she needs a ship and a crew. With help from Loveland and Sharpe, as well as some Draugrs and a man who actually prefers his prison cell to freedom, they steal a ship and set sail to retrieve Violet.

In the meantime, Violet is determined to escape from the Fata Morgana. No easy feat when she’s never sure whether she’s going up or down on the ship and she’s constantly watched. As she gets to know Gravel, she finds someone willing to help her. He, in turn, shows her three items he’s found in the bowels of the ship. One is a prisoner, locked in a cell without a door. The second is a friend from Tantamount. And the third is, unfortunately, the obsidian golem – a creature she helped throw overboard into the abyss of space. Like a magnet, the golem latches on to Violet and she’s unsure whether or if she can escape its clutches.

At times, especially during the first half of the story, readers may find themselves as confused as Violet is at times. This is understandable, given that Nel avoids thinking as much as possible and Violet has more questions than answers following their ship’s destruction at the end of the previous book in the series. What isn’t obvious to readers, at least initially, is that the events and perspectives unfold in two different timelines. Radford does provide hints of this, but they are not blatant and may be missed by readers. Even so, as the story progresses and the difference in time narrows, Radford spins a complex, serpentine adventure of domination, invasion, ingenuity, jealousy, and true friendship. A mesmerizing tale where secrets are revealed, surprises elucidate, and not everyone lives happily ever after.




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Review of The Second Gate

The Second Gate by Brian Wyvill

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Crossing a secluded area at the University of Victoria in British Columbia, Sarah Malette notices a man following her. He is the spitting image from a childhood nightmare. The experience rattles her, but she chalks it up to his being homeless and hurries on her way. Instead of finding Professor Duncan in his office, she encounters his teaching assistant. (Annette is like a sister, since she and Sarah grew up together after Annette’s mother disappeared.) Together they marvel at the nautical artifacts decorating Duncan’s office. They all date from the late eighteenth century, which makes sense because of his fascination with the Napoleonic wars; what is odd is that they look brand new, even though it’s 2015. They also discover a door, hidden behind a coat rack, leading to an empty room.

Annette, who is French Canadian, also has a keen interest in the same time period. Her focus and thesis are on the year 1798, particularly on a single event: the Battle of the Nile. She believes that had Admiral Brueys won the engagement, rather than Admiral Nelson, all of Canada might be French, rather than just Quebec. When Sarah mentions the homeless man, Annette is also troubled. Could this be the same man who terrorized her and her mother when she was younger? Is he looking for her?

Ken DiPalo, a friend and fellow classmate of Sarah’s, is infatuated with Annette, who thinks he’s more of a class clown, who’s always shirking his schoolwork. To demonstrate otherwise, he shares charts and maps stored his smart phone with Annette and Sarah, who are also working on the same 1798 project. He also mentions that one 1720 resource discusses a man named Masthead Duncan – the same name as their professor. Sarah reveals that she has also come across a Royal Navy lieutenant with the same name in 1757. Another source places Duncan in 1798 on Malta. The unusual first name puzzles them because they can’t possibly be the same man given the activities mentioned and the ages of each man. It’s a coincidence they might query their professor about, but no one has seen or heard from him since he turned up at a local hospital with a knife wound.

Further discussion reveals several other oddities, one of which involves the hidden room in Duncan’s office. Ken comes up with a theory based on the evidence, which seems almost impossible to believe – time travel. The answer may be in the professor’s office and Ken just happens to have a key. Sarah is reluctant to break into the office, but Annette believes this may be her only chance to find her mother and perhaps provide Admiral Brueys with the necessary information to change the outcome of the battle. After acquiring the key and Ken’s smart phone containing the maps, she eludes the others to locate the gateway that will take her to Malta in 1798. Having a duplicate key, Ken and Sarah attempt to stop her, but she’s vanished by the time they get to the office. The only thing they can do now is follow her through the gateway to find Masthead Duncan and stop Annette from changing history.

Going back in time may sound like fun, but it’s fraught with danger. Aside from stability issues with the gateway, their adventures include encounters with Barbary pirates, mutineers, kidnappers, galley slaves, and a sheik seeking a new bride. Rock climbing, safeguarding treasure, trekking across the desert, and participating in sea battles add further excitement to entice and engage readers. The love scene between two of the characters lacks the smooth flow that is present throughout the rest of the story. There are a few places that may puzzle readers – the delay between the time the French officers find the phone and confront Annette, for example – but Wyvill crafts a believable and compelling time travel that provides startling answers to the questions of what if France had won the battle at Aboukir Bay and how does a single misstep in the past affect the future. The Second Gate is the first book in a new series and promises some intriguing future adventures for the characters we meet within this volume.




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Review of The Royal Navy 1793-1800

The Royal Navy 1793-1800: Birth of a Superpower by Mark Jessop

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


The years chosen for this study of the Royal Navy comprise a period in which major changes affected almost all of Europe and Britain grew to become the most powerful navy in the world. This is an account of both world events and the impact they had on the navy and those at home and at sea. It opens in 1793, when news arrives in England of the beheading of the French monarch, Louis XVI. The first chapter sets the stage, introducing readers to the lay of the land and the readiness of the navy in the months prior to France’s declaration of war. Over the next eight years of fighting, the public bears a high price to defeat Napoleon. Not only are income taxes introduced for the first time, but freedoms are lost, and families are torn apart.

What sets this book apart from other histories of the Royal Navy is twofold. First, it contains tidbits of information not found in other such works. Second, and perhaps more importantly, it connects ordinary people in their everyday lives to a world at war and shows how this conflict alters both them and the navy. Nor is this your typical history; rather, it is a combination of fact and fiction. Each chapter begins with a fictional account steeped in historical facts from the perspective of unnamed participants. For example, chapter two recounts the tale of a Cornish miner who took the king’s shilling rather than face unemployment. The miner is imagined, but he represents one of eighty real miners who served aboard Sir Edward Pellew’s Nymphe when she encountered the French Cléopâtre. The next chapter, on the other hand, tells the story of a press gang and the what ifs and regrets a victim might ponder.

A host of topics are covered within the chapters: the cost of maintaining a navy and the number of vessels in the beginning and at the end; who was aboard the ships and what did they do; the Admiralty; medical care; seamen’s pay, prize money, and the 1797 mutinies; and hazards at sea. Chapters six and seven examine specific naval strategies and battles, such as blockades, the Glorious First of June (the first fleet action of the war), the Siege of St. Jean d’Acre, amphibious operations, Barbary pirates, and the Battles of Cape St. Vincent and Aboukir Bay. The last chapter discusses the importance of gunnery practice, naval stations in the Caribbean, and the decline of British trade in the West Indies.

This book begins with a list of major events between 1793 and 1800. It ends with two bibliographies and an extensive index. At the center of the book is a section containing black-and-white artwork and a series of maps. Footnotes, rather than endnotes, make it easy for readers to check source citations, read definitions, or discover other pertinent information not contained in the main text.

The inclusion of the fictional scenes allows readers to make a personal and more immediate connection with the war and world at the end of the eighteenth century. This is a highly readable history of the Royal Navy that packs an abundance of information into a scant 159 pages. Readers need not be familiar with either the navy or nautical language to grasp the content, and the book serves as a good introduction to the Royal Navy at a critical time in history.




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