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Alan Lewrie #6
H.M.S. Cockerel
"You could get addicted to this series. Easily."
*The New York Times Book Review
1793 *In the seas of revolution . . .
A farmer, a bloody farmer! Knee-deep in dung and fathoms from the nearest port, Alan Lewrie, swashbuckling naval warrior turned family man, longs for battle. And when it comes, a battle royal it is! Called to the H.M.S. Cockerel, a sleek frigate captained by a malaria-stricken tyrant, First Officer Lewrie soon vaults to command, taking Cockerel from the lush pleasures of the Kingdom of Naples to a smoking cauldron called Toulon. There, an outnumbered coalition of former enemies is being drawn into a terrible land-sea battle against the revolutionary French *in a siege of blood and terror that will send shock waves around the world. . . .
He's fought and loved on land and bounding sea from America to the East Indies. Alan Lewrie is the unforgettable hero-rogue of the age of wooden-walled, spray-lashed fighting ships.
"THIS IS LAMBDIN'S USUAL SATISFYING BREW. . . . A fast-moving yarn loaded with action, colorful characters, and marvelous period detail." *Publishers Weekly
"GREAT FUN . . . Lambdin continues to plunk Alan Lewrie down in the midst of interesting times with humor and plenty of authentic detail." *Kirkus Reviews
*The New York Times Book Review
1793 *In the seas of revolution . . .
A farmer, a bloody farmer! Knee-deep in dung and fathoms from the nearest port, Alan Lewrie, swashbuckling naval warrior turned family man, longs for battle. And when it comes, a battle royal it is! Called to the H.M.S. Cockerel, a sleek frigate captained by a malaria-stricken tyrant, First Officer Lewrie soon vaults to command, taking Cockerel from the lush pleasures of the Kingdom of Naples to a smoking cauldron called Toulon. There, an outnumbered coalition of former enemies is being drawn into a terrible land-sea battle against the revolutionary French *in a siege of blood and terror that will send shock waves around the world. . . .
He's fought and loved on land and bounding sea from America to the East Indies. Alan Lewrie is the unforgettable hero-rogue of the age of wooden-walled, spray-lashed fighting ships.
"THIS IS LAMBDIN'S USUAL SATISFYING BREW. . . . A fast-moving yarn loaded with action, colorful characters, and marvelous period detail." *Publishers Weekly
"GREAT FUN . . . Lambdin continues to plunk Alan Lewrie down in the midst of interesting times with humor and plenty of authentic detail." *Kirkus Reviews
368 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1995
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258 people want to read
About the author
Dewey Lambdin
70 books278 followersDewey Lambdin (1945-2021 ) was an American nautical historical novelist. He was best known for his Alan Lewrie naval adventure series, set during the Napoleonic Wars. Besides the Alan Lewrie series, he was also the author of What Lies Buried: a novel of Old Cape Fear.
A self-proclaimed "Navy Brat," Lambdin spent a good deal of his early days on both coasts of the U.S.A., and overseas duty stations, with his father. His father enlisted as a Seaman Recruit in 1930, was "mustanged" from the lower deck (from Yeoman chief Petty Officer) at Notre Dame in '42, and was career Navy until May of 1954, when he was killed at sea aboard the USS Bennington CVA-20 (see below), on which he served as Administrative Officer, 5th in line-of-command (posthumous Lieutenant Commander).
Lambdin himself attended Castle Heights Military Academy, graduated in 1962, and was destined to be the family's first "ring-knocker" from the U.S. Naval Academy, "... until he realised that physics, calculus, and counting higher than ten were bigger than he was."[1] He studied at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, majoring in Liberal arts and Theatre, where he was published in The Theme Vault in 1963, also reprinted in a national textbook, which whetted his appetite for writing. However, he failed his degree. He finally graduated with a degree in Film & TV Production from Montana State University, Bozeman, in 1969. This was considered at the time to be the McHale's Navy of the academic set, so the nautical influence was still at work. He has worked for a network affiliate TV station as a producer/director for twelve years, an independent station as production manager and senior director/writer/ producer for three years, all in Memphis, and as a writer/producer with a Nashville advertising/production facility, or in free-lance camera, lighting and writing.
He has been a sailor since 1976 and spends his free time working and sailing on his beloved sloop Wind Dancer, with a special taste for cruising the Gulf of Mexico. Mr. Lambdin has thus far resisted the temptation to trade his beloved typewriter for a computer. He lived in Nashville, Tennessee.
He was a member of the U.S. Naval Institute, a Friend of the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, England; Cousteau Society; the former American Film Institute; and the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.
-Wikipedia
Mr Lambdin passed away on July 26, 2021 at the age of 76.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/deweyl...
A self-proclaimed "Navy Brat," Lambdin spent a good deal of his early days on both coasts of the U.S.A., and overseas duty stations, with his father. His father enlisted as a Seaman Recruit in 1930, was "mustanged" from the lower deck (from Yeoman chief Petty Officer) at Notre Dame in '42, and was career Navy until May of 1954, when he was killed at sea aboard the USS Bennington CVA-20 (see below), on which he served as Administrative Officer, 5th in line-of-command (posthumous Lieutenant Commander).
Lambdin himself attended Castle Heights Military Academy, graduated in 1962, and was destined to be the family's first "ring-knocker" from the U.S. Naval Academy, "... until he realised that physics, calculus, and counting higher than ten were bigger than he was."[1] He studied at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, majoring in Liberal arts and Theatre, where he was published in The Theme Vault in 1963, also reprinted in a national textbook, which whetted his appetite for writing. However, he failed his degree. He finally graduated with a degree in Film & TV Production from Montana State University, Bozeman, in 1969. This was considered at the time to be the McHale's Navy of the academic set, so the nautical influence was still at work. He has worked for a network affiliate TV station as a producer/director for twelve years, an independent station as production manager and senior director/writer/ producer for three years, all in Memphis, and as a writer/producer with a Nashville advertising/production facility, or in free-lance camera, lighting and writing.
He has been a sailor since 1976 and spends his free time working and sailing on his beloved sloop Wind Dancer, with a special taste for cruising the Gulf of Mexico. Mr. Lambdin has thus far resisted the temptation to trade his beloved typewriter for a computer. He lived in Nashville, Tennessee.
He was a member of the U.S. Naval Institute, a Friend of the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, England; Cousteau Society; the former American Film Institute; and the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.
-Wikipedia
Mr Lambdin passed away on July 26, 2021 at the age of 76.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/deweyl...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 54 reviews
January 22, 2013
A few years ago I "stumbled on" the Alan Lewrie books by Dewey Lambdin. Being a huge fan of the Hornblower books these caught my interest. I'd never been able to get into the Patrick O'Brian novels (though at some point I may try again) but these I found quite good...with one caveat. Some of you (by the way) will probably find the part(s) of the books that annoy me your favorite part I suppose. Alan's love life (or possibly "lust life") to me takes away from the novels. I like the "free play" with historical fiction as "most" of the events recounted in the books took place. I love the sea action and the strategy. But Lewrie's "amour" simply takes up space and slows the story (in my view. I know a lot probably don't agree, LOL.). Whenever Alan goes ashore I get ready to read the slow account of Alan and his erotic adventures.
Now however Alan is married. I had liked the books (overall) and dared to hope that now that our hero was married he might be less of a hound.
Alas, it was not to be.
Still this story of the opening shots of the coming Napoleonic war(s) and the story of Alan going back to sea after being ashore at half pay...pays off. Yes Alan is till a rake and he still finds companionship . There are lots of enthralling sea battles, great action and several real persons are drawn into the story (one who could not possibly have been where Mr. Lambdin places him, but according to the author himself, "it was a slow morning and he couldn't resist"). So, enjoy. While I can really only go 3 stars as there are a lot of places I was quite ready for the story to move on...what I like I like very much.
Now however Alan is married. I had liked the books (overall) and dared to hope that now that our hero was married he might be less of a hound.
Alas, it was not to be.
Still this story of the opening shots of the coming Napoleonic war(s) and the story of Alan going back to sea after being ashore at half pay...pays off. Yes Alan is till a rake and he still finds companionship . There are lots of enthralling sea battles, great action and several real persons are drawn into the story (one who could not possibly have been where Mr. Lambdin places him, but according to the author himself, "it was a slow morning and he couldn't resist"). So, enjoy. While I can really only go 3 stars as there are a lot of places I was quite ready for the story to move on...what I like I like very much.
July 4, 2013
While I enjoy this series immensely, I found it very difficult to finish this one. Almost put it down a couple of times. While the story is good, the dialog is incredibly tedious. French and Spanish intermingled with accented English. Like walking in sand.
February 18, 2020
It's good, but there's a lot of padding in this one - descriptions that go on forever and quite a few unnecessarily long conversations, some written in almost incomprehensible "accents" which just makes them harder to read. It all adds up to slow the book down a lot and put me off a bit.
July 30, 2014
I have found great enjoyment in reading the "Alan Lewrie" series from Dewey Lamblin . . .and usually give his books the maximum number of stars. This one will have to be the exception . . .more because of my linguistic challenges than Mr. Lamblin's skill as an author.
I have never had a knack for languages other than the one I learned as a child. Although I studied a "foreign" language in high school (required), my grades were of the "just squeaking by" variety . . just like all the rest of my classes. I suspect that Mr. Lamblin either has spent large chunks of time around French speakers . . .and/or studied French in school with top grades. He uses his multi-lingual skills extensively in his writing, both for non-English dialog and to give voice to the various accents and dialects on English speaking characters. Usually it works well and adds depth to his characters. This time . . .for me at least, it got in the way of the story.
I found his crafting of heavily accented French to be too obtuse and muddling . . .made all the worse by the proliferation of French characters in this book. For me there were pages and pages of undecipherable dialog that obstructed my understanding of the story and gave my reading a frustrating "fits and starts" feeling.
On a more positive note the book held a 5 star rating for plot, characterization and visualization. I am thinking I should have taken French like many of my friends in high school. I seem to recall, however, that my German teacher (Fraulein West) was much easier on the eyes than the French teachers . . . probably sealing my fate with this book.
I have never had a knack for languages other than the one I learned as a child. Although I studied a "foreign" language in high school (required), my grades were of the "just squeaking by" variety . . just like all the rest of my classes. I suspect that Mr. Lamblin either has spent large chunks of time around French speakers . . .and/or studied French in school with top grades. He uses his multi-lingual skills extensively in his writing, both for non-English dialog and to give voice to the various accents and dialects on English speaking characters. Usually it works well and adds depth to his characters. This time . . .for me at least, it got in the way of the story.
I found his crafting of heavily accented French to be too obtuse and muddling . . .made all the worse by the proliferation of French characters in this book. For me there were pages and pages of undecipherable dialog that obstructed my understanding of the story and gave my reading a frustrating "fits and starts" feeling.
On a more positive note the book held a 5 star rating for plot, characterization and visualization. I am thinking I should have taken French like many of my friends in high school. I seem to recall, however, that my German teacher (Fraulein West) was much easier on the eyes than the French teachers . . . probably sealing my fate with this book.
July 27, 2015
Loving Alan Lewrie more than ever! I just discovered there are now 22 books in the series, so, fantastic!
August 1, 2019
Available from the local library via Hoopla, these books fill the slow spots in my summer reading, and help me bear down on a more demanding book. Our hero continues to impress me with his bravery and human foibles. I have to control myself at the end of each because there are *SO* many more of these books ahead. Mustn't binge!
October 12, 2021
Too much Franglish. It was a struggle to read all of the French characters speaking broken English.
June 20, 2021
I don't know why I'm hooked on this series. The author is a poor writer. He spends long passages writing about events which are boring. Anything written about military strategy is a mess. The characters' dialogs are inane and unrealistic.
Spoilers ahead:
It's obvious that he's taken a big page from Flashman and Hornblower. The series has a few names from HH's books. In this one there is Spendlove who was HH's secretary from H in the West Indies. And in the previous book there was Eccles, who was an officer or warrant officer in Midshipman Hornblower.
In this book and the last one, Lewrie cheats on his wife. HH also cheated on his wife but Lewrie's affair seem dirty and gratuitous. HH cheated on Maria because he wasn't really in love with her and his true love was Barbara. The one with the Russian Countess was bad and he has no excuse for that. But the one with Marie was at least somewhat excusable because she was an old flame. Lewrie's affairs don't seem to be the same.
Name dropping: Like Flashman, Lewrie is thrown into real life scenarios. This time it's the siege of Toulon. The affair with Emma Hamilton seems forced. Same with the meeting with Nelson and the very forced meeting with Napoleon. Worse is that the one with Napoleon was very amateurishly written, with the depiction of Napoleon like a high schooler would write.
I still like the series because of the action and I want to follow Lewrie through his successes vicariously. He does seem to go through his career in easy mode, which is very satisfactory to me as a reader.
I'll be honest. I'm an old man and I've read thousands of books since I was a kid. I've never been astute a reader as now and right now I'm reading a series of which I do not like the author's writing skills yet I'm a fan of. Never have I done this and it shows anything in life can happen. Anyway... on to the next book!
Summary of book: Lewrie is posted to a frigate as the 1st lieutenant. Once on the ship, he finds it's an unhappy ship because the captain is a authoritarian tyrant and martinet where every little thing is punished by the cat. Worse, the ship is full of the captain's kin and the nepotism is clear. The captain and Lewrie don't get along because of this.
At the first opportunity Captain Braxton fobs off Lewrie to the Kingdom of Two Sicilies as a kind of Navy representative where he meets and has an affair with Emma Hamilton. The book Hornblower and the Atropos also ends here where the king desires HH's ship as a plaything and he's forced to give it up.
Lewrie is then sent off to Toulon which is being besieged by the French Republicans. He captains a mortar ship which is eventually blown up and is almost captured by Napoleon who became famous directing the artillery. Toulon falls and Lewrie is ordered to pick out one of the abandoned French ships in the harbor and save as many refugees as possible. He picks a French frigate and sails out.
During the trip he is set upon by 3 French ships (the Cockerel appears but sails away in cowardice). He damages one of them and has a knock down fight with another and captures it by boarding. Lewrie is rewarded by being promoted as commander into the sloop he captured.
Meanwhile he has promised de Crillart take care of his family. De Crillart is a French naval officer he met in an earlier book. In this book he fights side by side with de Crillart during the Toulon siege but is killed in the last ship action. The problem is that de Crillart's family and fiance(?) has seen him being unfaithful with a prostitute (who he has also promised to take care of but is now in Gibraltar) and the family is now with Caroline and he is afraid they will tell her. Edit: Another annoying thing the author does is having foreigners and even the lower deck talk in pidgin English. I have to fast read through Frenchmen's dialog because it's so stupid. How difficult can it be for the author to write it so it's readable and yet a Frenchman's dialog?
Spoilers ahead:
It's obvious that he's taken a big page from Flashman and Hornblower. The series has a few names from HH's books. In this one there is Spendlove who was HH's secretary from H in the West Indies. And in the previous book there was Eccles, who was an officer or warrant officer in Midshipman Hornblower.
In this book and the last one, Lewrie cheats on his wife. HH also cheated on his wife but Lewrie's affair seem dirty and gratuitous. HH cheated on Maria because he wasn't really in love with her and his true love was Barbara. The one with the Russian Countess was bad and he has no excuse for that. But the one with Marie was at least somewhat excusable because she was an old flame. Lewrie's affairs don't seem to be the same.
Name dropping: Like Flashman, Lewrie is thrown into real life scenarios. This time it's the siege of Toulon. The affair with Emma Hamilton seems forced. Same with the meeting with Nelson and the very forced meeting with Napoleon. Worse is that the one with Napoleon was very amateurishly written, with the depiction of Napoleon like a high schooler would write.
I still like the series because of the action and I want to follow Lewrie through his successes vicariously. He does seem to go through his career in easy mode, which is very satisfactory to me as a reader.
I'll be honest. I'm an old man and I've read thousands of books since I was a kid. I've never been astute a reader as now and right now I'm reading a series of which I do not like the author's writing skills yet I'm a fan of. Never have I done this and it shows anything in life can happen. Anyway... on to the next book!
Summary of book: Lewrie is posted to a frigate as the 1st lieutenant. Once on the ship, he finds it's an unhappy ship because the captain is a authoritarian tyrant and martinet where every little thing is punished by the cat. Worse, the ship is full of the captain's kin and the nepotism is clear. The captain and Lewrie don't get along because of this.
At the first opportunity Captain Braxton fobs off Lewrie to the Kingdom of Two Sicilies as a kind of Navy representative where he meets and has an affair with Emma Hamilton. The book Hornblower and the Atropos also ends here where the king desires HH's ship as a plaything and he's forced to give it up.
Lewrie is then sent off to Toulon which is being besieged by the French Republicans. He captains a mortar ship which is eventually blown up and is almost captured by Napoleon who became famous directing the artillery. Toulon falls and Lewrie is ordered to pick out one of the abandoned French ships in the harbor and save as many refugees as possible. He picks a French frigate and sails out.
During the trip he is set upon by 3 French ships (the Cockerel appears but sails away in cowardice). He damages one of them and has a knock down fight with another and captures it by boarding. Lewrie is rewarded by being promoted as commander into the sloop he captured.
Meanwhile he has promised de Crillart take care of his family. De Crillart is a French naval officer he met in an earlier book. In this book he fights side by side with de Crillart during the Toulon siege but is killed in the last ship action. The problem is that de Crillart's family and fiance(?) has seen him being unfaithful with a prostitute (who he has also promised to take care of but is now in Gibraltar) and the family is now with Caroline and he is afraid they will tell her. Edit: Another annoying thing the author does is having foreigners and even the lower deck talk in pidgin English. I have to fast read through Frenchmen's dialog because it's so stupid. How difficult can it be for the author to write it so it's readable and yet a Frenchman's dialog?
May 11, 2019
These are cracking stories and the progressive advancement of the career of the hero Alan Lewrie makes for addictive reading. Lewrie is supposed to be a cad but he usually conducts himself with honour except in his extramarital adventures where he is usually led into temptation. He is definitely not a Flashman and can be relied upon to act the part of the dashing and courageous naval officer even though accompanied by the odd fool or knave. The difficult naval maneuvers and engagements in this time of sail are also portrayed with great accuracy and precision. However, this is not historical literature of the quality found in Patrick O'Brian or Hilary Mantel but IMHO it's better than Bernard Cornwell.
The downside is that this series will not attract the squeamish reader; the language is often very 'colourful' (viz 'quim hair') in accord with supposed naval parlance of the 18th century and many will think that the sex scenes contain a lot of unnecessary and explicit detail. The author also often overreaches himself in his use of foreign languages, the French for example spoken by Phoebe is sometimes bad and grammatically inaccurate.
But overall if the reader can set these failings to one side the series remains an enjoyable read and is recommended.
The downside is that this series will not attract the squeamish reader; the language is often very 'colourful' (viz 'quim hair') in accord with supposed naval parlance of the 18th century and many will think that the sex scenes contain a lot of unnecessary and explicit detail. The author also often overreaches himself in his use of foreign languages, the French for example spoken by Phoebe is sometimes bad and grammatically inaccurate.
But overall if the reader can set these failings to one side the series remains an enjoyable read and is recommended.
July 19, 2021
This latest installment finds Alan Lewrie leading the life of a country squire and despite his happy family life, vaguely discontented and bored. Fortunately, he is recalled to active service as war with the French looms. He's a assigned to a frigate, H.M.S. Cockerel, as first lieutenant under an insecure sea-going martinet. Naturally he comes into conflict his commander, but escapes his control when he is seconded ashore. The second half of the book involves his adventures during the siege of Toulon and concludes (naturally) in a desperate sea battle against long odds.
In the course of his adventures, he cavorts with Emma Hamilton, meets Nelson again and has his sword taken from him by a young Colonel Napoleon Bonaparte who commanded the French artillery at Toulon.
As always, Lamdin provides a wealth of colorful details about 18th century life and more specifically the Royal Navy, all of which I greatly enjoy. However, the book is flawed by pages of verbiage describing Toulon and its defenses but without a single map to serve as a reference. A pet peeve of mine.
In the course of his adventures, he cavorts with Emma Hamilton, meets Nelson again and has his sword taken from him by a young Colonel Napoleon Bonaparte who commanded the French artillery at Toulon.
As always, Lamdin provides a wealth of colorful details about 18th century life and more specifically the Royal Navy, all of which I greatly enjoy. However, the book is flawed by pages of verbiage describing Toulon and its defenses but without a single map to serve as a reference. A pet peeve of mine.
August 30, 2018
There's a lot of good to say about this book. The action sequences were exciting, though few and far between. I learned a lot about the Siege of Toulon, which was a chapter of history unfamiliar to me. What spoiled my complete enjoyment of the book was the extensive use of what I'll call "pidgin French" in the dialogue between our hero and Royalist French characters encountered at Toulon. While I can appreciate the author striving for authenticity, perhaps trying to give the reader a feel for language difficulties confronting these people who were suddenly thrust together, I found the sheer amount to be daunting, and had me thinking maybe I should have purchased a French version of the book to better read it in English. With that complaint registered, which I'll allow might just be me, I look forward to the next in the series and the promise of learning more about this period that has always fascinated me.
March 4, 2022
I pretty consistently rate these books 4 stars. They are not amazing or without their flaws, but I find them entertaining enough to keep reading the series.
The books have something to annoy everyone. It may be the naval jargon, wordy writing, accented dialog, erotic side stories and details, or the characters. But usually if no one likes what you do you are managing to walk the line between many competing constituencies. I think that is where the Lewrie series falls. There are elements I love....the naval tactics and battles and other stuff I don't. But as I said I do keep reading.
One part of the book I liked was Lewrie managing to cross paths with Napoleon....just as he had with Nelson in an earlier tale. While its not impossible for such to have happened, it seems a bit far fetched. But I appreciate Lambdin going out on a limb to put Lewrie in the cross hairs of history.
The books have something to annoy everyone. It may be the naval jargon, wordy writing, accented dialog, erotic side stories and details, or the characters. But usually if no one likes what you do you are managing to walk the line between many competing constituencies. I think that is where the Lewrie series falls. There are elements I love....the naval tactics and battles and other stuff I don't. But as I said I do keep reading.
One part of the book I liked was Lewrie managing to cross paths with Napoleon....just as he had with Nelson in an earlier tale. While its not impossible for such to have happened, it seems a bit far fetched. But I appreciate Lambdin going out on a limb to put Lewrie in the cross hairs of history.
March 27, 2019
I'm a long-time fan of C.S. Forester's Hornblower stories, so they are the standard by which I judge all seafaring tales. This book did not measure up. The author put far too much effort into phonetic spelling of idiomatic pronunciations of both shipboard terms and ordinary conversation. There is too much detail given of everything from table settings to ship handling, and I--very familiar with Naval vernacular--found many minute descriptions to be confusing and boring.
I admit that I did not read the entire book. I read a couple of chapters at the beginning and in the middle, then the final chapter. No portion that I read seemed to be any better than another.
I won't be reading more books in this series.
I admit that I did not read the entire book. I read a couple of chapters at the beginning and in the middle, then the final chapter. No portion that I read seemed to be any better than another.
I won't be reading more books in this series.
January 21, 2020
Extremely readable pageturner
I have read all the preceding novels in this series and enjoyed each and every one, however the is the best so far in my humble opinion. The weaving of historical fact and fiction is superb (the author apologises for one error for those too pedantic to realise it's a novel), the battle scenes are excellently and horrifically described and there's sex thrown in as well. Alan Lawrie continues in his introspection, but is truly "becoming a tarry handed sailor." I thoroughly enjoyed this tale and would recommend it to any Patrick O'Brien fan.
I have read all the preceding novels in this series and enjoyed each and every one, however the is the best so far in my humble opinion. The weaving of historical fact and fiction is superb (the author apologises for one error for those too pedantic to realise it's a novel), the battle scenes are excellently and horrifically described and there's sex thrown in as well. Alan Lawrie continues in his introspection, but is truly "becoming a tarry handed sailor." I thoroughly enjoyed this tale and would recommend it to any Patrick O'Brien fan.
September 18, 2025
Kindle/Audible borrow
God, you inhuman bastard, he scathed himself. No remorse for cheatin’ on your wife…yet you cry over the death of a stupid cat! - LT Lewrie.
5 stars until about 50%. Too much French spoken to really follow and conversations the just seem to go on. Anyway…
RIP William (ram-cat) Pitt…you will be missed. Welcome Aboard Toulon, who seems to be everything Pitt was not. He’s affectionate & thus far happy to let mice live aboard the newly minted Commander Lewrie’s 6th Rate Ship of the Line, Jester.
1793 Battle of Toulon, subsequent loss & massive evacuation.
Roping good yarn (outside the French language).
God, you inhuman bastard, he scathed himself. No remorse for cheatin’ on your wife…yet you cry over the death of a stupid cat! - LT Lewrie.
5 stars until about 50%. Too much French spoken to really follow and conversations the just seem to go on. Anyway…
RIP William (ram-cat) Pitt…you will be missed. Welcome Aboard Toulon, who seems to be everything Pitt was not. He’s affectionate & thus far happy to let mice live aboard the newly minted Commander Lewrie’s 6th Rate Ship of the Line, Jester.
1793 Battle of Toulon, subsequent loss & massive evacuation.
Roping good yarn (outside the French language).
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 11, 2022
Can’t believe I’m not tired of these naval adventures, it’s addicting watching Lewrie slowly rise up the order. Good fight at the end, the classic terrible captain yarn is a good’un! Napoleons got Allan’s sword, love it. And Alan actually had to get in the water from a sinking ship, boggles the mind that navy tars were scared of the water auch that almost no one knew how to swim. Gobbled this up in 5 days whilst planning for Italy!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 9, 2018
Another solid entry in the Alan Lewrie series, this one focusing on the Siege of Toulon during the First Coalition after the French Revolution. You'll run into many a famous historical figure in this one, including a pre Emperor Napoleon.
If you like stories from the Age of Sail this series is for you.
If you like stories from the Age of Sail this series is for you.
October 6, 2018
Difficult read...
Not the best book in the series so far by any means. I found the chapters written in French, Spanish, Italian and pigeon English too difficult to follow and skipped over many of them. The author seems to be obsessed with describing every minute detail of Lewries sexual encounters!!
Not the best book in the series so far by any means. I found the chapters written in French, Spanish, Italian and pigeon English too difficult to follow and skipped over many of them. The author seems to be obsessed with describing every minute detail of Lewries sexual encounters!!
May 12, 2020
As many others have pointed out there is a tad too much of ow-you-say in ze English... mash-up of l'Anglais and le French languages.
It really did slow the well-constructed story down considerably and along with it often went my attention.
Eventually this dialogue became quite Pythonesque.
Voici le naughty Brian Trubshaw, eh?
It really did slow the well-constructed story down considerably and along with it often went my attention.
Eventually this dialogue became quite Pythonesque.
Voici le naughty Brian Trubshaw, eh?
August 6, 2024
Or maybe even a Two!
I read the first five books in the series and enjoyed them. (For the most part.) Cockerel, however, was far more work than it was worth. The lengthy dialogue in French and bastardized English/French/Nautical made it difficult or impossible to keep up with the plot/story. I was frustrated half way through the book. I finished it but wished I hadn't.
I read the first five books in the series and enjoyed them. (For the most part.) Cockerel, however, was far more work than it was worth. The lengthy dialogue in French and bastardized English/French/Nautical made it difficult or impossible to keep up with the plot/story. I was frustrated half way through the book. I finished it but wished I hadn't.
August 8, 2018
Sorry, I can't help comparing these books to those of O'Brian. It is interesting to watch Lewrie mature and come into his own, but the serendipity is a bit much sometimes. This adds to the depth of the continuing story, so keep on. Hopefully, things will get better.
January 23, 2019
Not for French speakers
If the author inists on giving the many French characters in this novel linguistic authenticity, he should at least have a french speaking editor correct the chastised French he uses with such abandon.
If the author inists on giving the many French characters in this novel linguistic authenticity, he should at least have a french speaking editor correct the chastised French he uses with such abandon.
May 31, 2020
A Ripping good yarn.
Wasn't so sure that I was going to like these books, but once I had read the first one I was well and truly hooked. Must say though that I thought the frenchi bits a tad over the top. Still didn't spoil my read overmuch.. Moving on to the next one now..
Wasn't so sure that I was going to like these books, but once I had read the first one I was well and truly hooked. Must say though that I thought the frenchi bits a tad over the top. Still didn't spoil my read overmuch.. Moving on to the next one now..
January 10, 2021
A dandy of a tale
I am hooked in the Alan Lewrie naval series. This installment brings to light the excitement and loss that only Dewey Lambdin can describe. It is an awesome read and I highly recommend it
I am hooked in the Alan Lewrie naval series. This installment brings to light the excitement and loss that only Dewey Lambdin can describe. It is an awesome read and I highly recommend it
March 27, 2021
Another Alan Lewrie novel with some good character development.
I wish that Lambdin would spread the action around rather than just saving it all for the end, but Lewrie is such an interesting and lovable rake that the stories are usually fun enough anyway.
I wish that Lambdin would spread the action around rather than just saving it all for the end, but Lewrie is such an interesting and lovable rake that the stories are usually fun enough anyway.
May 1, 2021
Lewrie at the seige of Toulon
This episode in Alan's adventures sees him first lieutenant of HMS Cockerel under an extreme disciplinarian of a Captain then commanding a floating battery and of course an amorous adventure or two. Another good yarn.
This episode in Alan's adventures sees him first lieutenant of HMS Cockerel under an extreme disciplinarian of a Captain then commanding a floating battery and of course an amorous adventure or two. Another good yarn.
February 26, 2024
Book #6 of this series. Same high standard of writing.
I have been really enjoying this series.
The historic description’s of life depicted the n the Royal Navy and life outside is so interesting.
Cannot wait for book #7.
I have been really enjoying this series.
The historic description’s of life depicted the n the Royal Navy and life outside is so interesting.
Cannot wait for book #7.
March 2, 2024
Mr Alan Lewrie
So far this story surprises me with each book in this collection. When I first started them I thought it was all Napoleonic but I was wrong. It is so much more. The story of a young man forced into the navy but makes a name for himself despite some prejudice.
So far this story surprises me with each book in this collection. When I first started them I thought it was all Napoleonic but I was wrong. It is so much more. The story of a young man forced into the navy but makes a name for himself despite some prejudice.
February 17, 2018
Good book
July 2, 2018
Great
I have enjoyed all this series and I am looking for more where are they. ALAN LEWRIE great character.
LW
I have enjoyed all this series and I am looking for more where are they. ALAN LEWRIE great character.
LW
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