Review of Julian Stockwin's Inferno

Inferno by Julian Stockwin

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


After his most recent trials and tribulations, Captain Thomas Kydd is in sore need of rest and renewal. The one man who may provide such a place is an old friend and mentor, Tobias Stirk. He, too, is injured, although his are more physical in nature than Kydd’s. To be on a more equal footing – friends instead of commander and commanded – Kydd travels incognito to Dunlochry, Scotland, on the island of Mull. There, the two become involved in a search for treasure aboard the remains of an Armada shipwreck. Just one problem: the hoard is far enough underwater that to retrieve requires diving equipment. The device closest to their location has only been used once before and that was a long time ago.

While away from the navy on their own adventure, Napoleon’s new policy threatens the very existence of Britain. No other European country is permitted to trade with the English, and with only Denmark, Sweden, and Russia not under the emperor’s control, he may well achieve what his failed invasions could not. When word reaches London of secret talks between France and Russia, those in command feel there is little recourse left to them. They must demand that Denmark surrender its navy to the British for the duration of the war. That is the sole way to keep the French from achieving total domination of Europe and to maintain open avenues to trade in the Baltic, where vital naval resources are purchased.

There’s just one problem, and it’s a doozy. Denmark is a neutral country. To violate that neutrality will be injurious to British honor, yet no one has an alternative to stopping their archnemesis. Still, before taking such a step, King George wishes to appeal to his Danish counterpart for a peaceful accord without going through regular diplomatic channels. Only one person may achieve this goal, Nicholas Renzi, the Earl of Farndon, and this time, his wife Cecilia, Kydd’s sister, must participate in the subterfuge.

In the meantime, Kydd resumes command of Tyger and joins the fleet that is amassing to carry out the Admiralty’s directive. This will be a joint operation between the navy and the army. Major General Sir Arthur Wesley will command the land forces, and their action is seen through the eyes of a young ensign whose brother serves aboard Tyger. With each passing day, the clock ticks closer to all-out hostilities and no way out for those within the walls of Copenhagen, including the Farndons. Danger also stalks Kydd, who is approached by a stranger seeking assistance and leaves his ship in hopes of securing additional help from rebel Swedes. Instead, he finds himself kidnapped and awaiting transport to France to stand trial before his most public execution.

Inferno is the seventeenth entry in the Kydd Sea Adventures series, but it is one in which Thomas Kydd plays only a minor role. In some regards, the same is true for Nicholas. Instead, much of the story takes place in government offices in London and on the ground outside Copenhagen. This is a fictional recounting of the Second Battle of Copenhagen, a complicated affair that Stockwin does a superb job of simplifying just enough for most readers to follow without getting bogged down in details and to comprehend the nuances that made this episode in Anglo-French-Danish relations so important to Great Britain.

There are two minor technical shortcomings with this book. First, there are a few formatting issues, such as the “Dramatis Personae” (list of characters) being placed in backwards and split in half by the placement of the maps. Also, it helps to think of the title not as a conflagration, as suggested by the cover art, but as “a place or state that resembles or suggests hell.”

Die-hard Kydd fans will find this a rendering of good historical fiction, but some readers may be disappointed that Kydd does not play as central a figure as he has in earlier novels. (There are forty-three chapters between one of his appearances and the next.) Perhaps Stockwin’s intent is to provide readers with the same respite Kydd needs while providing an engaging and different interlude before his next adventure.


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



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