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Civil War at Sea #2
A Country of Our Own
We first met Lt. Ker Custis Claiborne, formerly of the United States Navy, in Fire on the Waters. Claiborne is no admirer of slavery. But he's a Virginian, joining the fledgling Confederate States Navy in 1861. After fighting along the Potomac with the Army of Virginia, Ker and his mentor, Captain Parker Trezevant, burn, sink, and destroy across the Caribbean to undermine the Union and force a truce favorable to the Confederacy.
But when their first cruiser proves too slow and small, Ker joins Commander James Bullock in London to buy or build a ship of war that can sweep Yankee commerce from the seas. A daring coup puts Ker in command of the most dangerous raider ever to range from Brazil to Boston, but the bloodiest battle is yet to come -- a confrontation between the ex-opium clipper C.S.S. Maryland and the Union cruiser that has trailed her across a quarter of the world.
A Country of Our Own is historical sea fiction at its best -- authentic, engrossing, and masterfully paced -- from the master sea-yarner The New York Times Book Review says "knows what he is writing about when it comes to anything on, above, or below the water."
448 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2003
4 people are currently reading
71 people want to read
About the author
David Poyer
82 books241 followersAka D.C. Poyer.
DAVID C. POYER was born in DuBois, PA in 1949. He grew up in Brockway, Emlenton, and Bradford, in western Pennsylvania, and graduated from Bradford Area High School in 1967. He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis in 1971, and later received a master's degree from George Washington University.
Poyer's active and reserve naval service included sea duty in the Atlantic, Mediterranean, Arctic, Caribbean, and Pacific, and shore duty at the Pentagon, Surface Warfare Development Group, Joint Forces Command, and in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. He retired in July 2001.
Poyer began writing in 1976, and is the author of nearly fifty books, including THE MED, THE GULF, THE CIRCLE, THE PASSAGE, TOMAHAWK, CHINA SEA, BLACK STORM, THE COMMAND, THE THREAT, KOREA STRAIT, THE WEAPON, THE CRISIS, THE CRUISER, TIPPING POINT, HUNTER KILLER, DEEP WAR, OVERTHROW, VIOLENT PEACE, ARCTIC SEA, and THE ACADEMY, best-selling Navy novels; THE DEAD OF WINTER, WINTER IN THE HEART, AS THE WOLF LOVES WINTER, THUNDER ON THE MOUNTAIN, and THE HILL, set in Western Pennsylvania; and HATTERAS BLUE, BAHAMAS BLUE, LOUISIANA BLUE, and DOWN TO A SUNLESS SEA, underwater diving adventure.
Other noteworthy books are THE ONLY THING TO FEAR, a historical thriller, THE RETURN OF PHILO T. McGIFFIN, a comic novel of Annapolis, and the three volumes of The Civil War at Sea, FIRE ON THE WATERS, A COUNTRY OF OUR OWN, and THAT ANVIL OF OUR SOULS. He's also written two sailing thrillers, GHOSTING and THE WHITENESS OF THE WHALE. His work has been published in Britain, translated into Japanese, Dutch, Italian, Hugarian, and Serbo-Croatian; recorded for audiobooks, iPod downloads, and Kindle, and selected by the Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Club and other book clubs. Rights to several properties have been sold or optioned for films, and two novellas appeared in the Night Bazaar series of fantasy anthologies.
Poyer has taught or lectured at Annapolis, Flagler College, University of Pittsburgh, Old Dominion University, the Armed Forces Staff College, the University of North Florida, Christopher Newport University, and other institutions. He has been a guest on PBS's "Writer to Writer" series and on Voice of America, and has appeared at the Southern Festival of Books and many other literary events. He taught in the MA/MFA in Creative Writing program at Wilkes University for sixteen years. He is currently core faculty at the Ossabaw Writers Retreat, a fellow of the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, and a board member of the Northern Appalachia Review.
He lives on Virginia's Eastern Shore with novelist Lenore Hart.
DAVID C. POYER was born in DuBois, PA in 1949. He grew up in Brockway, Emlenton, and Bradford, in western Pennsylvania, and graduated from Bradford Area High School in 1967. He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis in 1971, and later received a master's degree from George Washington University.
Poyer's active and reserve naval service included sea duty in the Atlantic, Mediterranean, Arctic, Caribbean, and Pacific, and shore duty at the Pentagon, Surface Warfare Development Group, Joint Forces Command, and in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. He retired in July 2001.
Poyer began writing in 1976, and is the author of nearly fifty books, including THE MED, THE GULF, THE CIRCLE, THE PASSAGE, TOMAHAWK, CHINA SEA, BLACK STORM, THE COMMAND, THE THREAT, KOREA STRAIT, THE WEAPON, THE CRISIS, THE CRUISER, TIPPING POINT, HUNTER KILLER, DEEP WAR, OVERTHROW, VIOLENT PEACE, ARCTIC SEA, and THE ACADEMY, best-selling Navy novels; THE DEAD OF WINTER, WINTER IN THE HEART, AS THE WOLF LOVES WINTER, THUNDER ON THE MOUNTAIN, and THE HILL, set in Western Pennsylvania; and HATTERAS BLUE, BAHAMAS BLUE, LOUISIANA BLUE, and DOWN TO A SUNLESS SEA, underwater diving adventure.
Other noteworthy books are THE ONLY THING TO FEAR, a historical thriller, THE RETURN OF PHILO T. McGIFFIN, a comic novel of Annapolis, and the three volumes of The Civil War at Sea, FIRE ON THE WATERS, A COUNTRY OF OUR OWN, and THAT ANVIL OF OUR SOULS. He's also written two sailing thrillers, GHOSTING and THE WHITENESS OF THE WHALE. His work has been published in Britain, translated into Japanese, Dutch, Italian, Hugarian, and Serbo-Croatian; recorded for audiobooks, iPod downloads, and Kindle, and selected by the Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Club and other book clubs. Rights to several properties have been sold or optioned for films, and two novellas appeared in the Night Bazaar series of fantasy anthologies.
Poyer has taught or lectured at Annapolis, Flagler College, University of Pittsburgh, Old Dominion University, the Armed Forces Staff College, the University of North Florida, Christopher Newport University, and other institutions. He has been a guest on PBS's "Writer to Writer" series and on Voice of America, and has appeared at the Southern Festival of Books and many other literary events. He taught in the MA/MFA in Creative Writing program at Wilkes University for sixteen years. He is currently core faculty at the Ossabaw Writers Retreat, a fellow of the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, and a board member of the Northern Appalachia Review.
He lives on Virginia's Eastern Shore with novelist Lenore Hart.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
February 24, 2022
This novel is the second of the "The Civil War At Sea" series. Lt. Ker Claiborne is the main protagonist. Claiborne is a former Navy Officer with the Union before switching his allegiance to the Confederate Navy. He is a native Virginian. Although he opposes slavery, he feels his first loyalty is with his native Virginia and its cause against the Union under President Lincoln. As with Mr. Poyer's previous series of this nature, he writes in accurate, historical detail of the characters of that time and its battles at sea. Mr. Poyer has a talent that takes his readers aboard these ships in battle, and brings the characters to life.
July 29, 2012
I literally flipped this book off upon finshing it and discovering that 1) it is the second of a trilogy and 2) not based at all on a real ship, or a real person, or real battles tells me that A) I don't read book jackets well and B) this was one rocking book. You try reading during those battle scenes, I dare you.
November 9, 2022
First off - this book would have benefited from a glossary - Yes, its an exciting naval historical fiction with lots of references to how we lived at the time. Good insights into ship board life and organization at that time. The main characters are of the confederacy and there are numerous passages justifying that cause which while may be a historically accurate are a bit disconcerting, particularly given our current political climate. It seems hard for me, now, to consider that one would put loyalty to your home state above that of the nation - My how times change! Slavery is only referred to in passing and not unfavorably, which may reflect the mind set of the characters but shows there lack of awareness of the "peculiar institution" .
November 30, 2021
In this sequel to Fire on the Waters, Ker Claiborne becomes captain of a commerce-raider.
Country of Our Own is a bit disconcerting as a sequel because only Claiborne's point of view appears. He's an engaging, well-drawn character, but what happened to the other protagonists from the first book? I would have liked to follow them as well.
The book is completely from Claiborne's perspective, including his feelings about secession and the Confederate flag (which some modern readers may find disconcerting, but which seem historically probable) and slavery. Some of the secondary characters -- Olivia, Minter, Henshaw -- show promise, but vanish disappointingly; Minter, a main antagonist, is hustled out of the story in an expository section, and it's not clear whether Henshaw survives to the end of the book or not. An African-American point of view would have made a good counterpoint, but unlike in the first book Poyer does not give us one, and Ker's servant Romulus seems more a stereotype than a person.
Battle and action scenes are very strong throughout. The plot moves fast and grips the reader, and most of the sentence-level writing is vivid, with some striking images. Despite my reservations about the handling of secondary characters, I enjoyed the book very much and recommend it.
Country of Our Own is a bit disconcerting as a sequel because only Claiborne's point of view appears. He's an engaging, well-drawn character, but what happened to the other protagonists from the first book? I would have liked to follow them as well.
The book is completely from Claiborne's perspective, including his feelings about secession and the Confederate flag (which some modern readers may find disconcerting, but which seem historically probable) and slavery. Some of the secondary characters -- Olivia, Minter, Henshaw -- show promise, but vanish disappointingly; Minter, a main antagonist, is hustled out of the story in an expository section, and it's not clear whether Henshaw survives to the end of the book or not. An African-American point of view would have made a good counterpoint, but unlike in the first book Poyer does not give us one, and Ker's servant Romulus seems more a stereotype than a person.
Battle and action scenes are very strong throughout. The plot moves fast and grips the reader, and most of the sentence-level writing is vivid, with some striking images. Despite my reservations about the handling of secondary characters, I enjoyed the book very much and recommend it.
February 12, 2008
This novel continues the story begun in Fire On the Waters, telling of the experiences of a young officer aboard a Confederate Navy raider during the Civil War. All in all, an excellent tale which puts the reader right there on deck during our country's great struggle against itself.
June 5, 2016
Unto, unto sir! This is an excellent novel (the best of the three in my opinion). The battle scenes are so well written you can smell the powder smoke and taste the blood. So take up your cutlass and pistol and read this book with all possible speed.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews