The Continental Risque

Isaac Biddlecomb #3

by James L. Nelson

From Simon & Schuster, The Continental Risque is James L. Nelson's powerful saga of the American Revolution and a stirring dramatic maritime adventure.

Nelson's exciting seafaring trilogy concludes. As cries for independence ring through the chambers of the Second Continental Congress, Captain Isaac Biddlecomb and his crew are called upon to engage The Royal Navy.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Nautical, Adventure, Historical, American Revolutionary War

384 pages, Paperback

Published August 1, 1998

About the author

James L. Nelson (1962-) is an American historical nautical novelist. He was born in Lewiston, Maine. In 1980, Nelson graduated from Lewiston High School. Nelson attended the University of Massachusetts, Amherst for two years, and then transferred to UCLA, with the ambition of becoming a film director. Nelson, his wife, Lisa, and their daughter Betsy lived for two years in Steubenville, Ohio, while Lisa attended Franciscan University. They also have two boys, Nate and Jack. They now live in Harpswell, Maine, where Nelson continues to write full time.

Reviews

[Dan Lutts · Rating 5 out of 5]

Captain Isaac Biddlecomb returned in the American brig-of-war Charlemagne from capturing black powder from British-controlled Bermuda in 1775. Biddlecomb’s ship was damaged during the mission and many of its crew killed. (See James L. Nelson’s The Maddest Idea.)

Now it’s 1776 and Charlemagne is officially accepted into the newly formed United States Navy as part of a six-ship squadron sent to harass British ships in the Chesapeake Bay and along the coasts of North and South Carolina. To placate the southern colonies, which complain that the northern states have a monopoly on the Navy, Biddlecomb is forced to accept sailors from North Carolina to fill out his depleted crew. Unbeknownst to him, the southerners come from the dregs of society and were recruited from prisons. Biddlecomb is also forced to replace his best friend and first officer, Ezra Rumstick, with Lieutenant Roger Tottenhill of North Carolina.

Friction quickly develops between Biddlecomb and Tottenhill, which affects the crew. To make matters worse, one of the men from North Carolina gets his jollies from setting men off against one another, and the northern and southern crew members offer him many opportunities to create entertaining dissentions. To top it off, the commodore in charge of the fleet decides to ignore his orders and attack New Providence Island in the Bahamas to capture the military supplies stored there.

Thus begins Biddlecomb’s voyage. One filled with antagonism between him and his new first officer and violent attacks between northern and southern members of his crew, who are egged on by the secret manipulator. Can Biddlecomb overcome his own prejudices against Tottnhill and and the other North Carolinians? Can he keep violent sectional hatreds from tearing his crew apart? Will Biddlecomb lose control of the Charlemagne? It appears that the Fates will say “yes.”

James L. Nelson has become one of my favorite authors of 18th-century seafaring novels. Being a licensed square-rigged sailor, he brings authenticity to his descriptions of sailing and shipboard life. Even though I’m unfamiliar with many of the nautical terms (for example, elm tree pump, cockbill, worming), I go along with the flow instead of looking up the terms in the glossary at the back of the novel. )

All in all, Continental Risque was a very entertaining book and I look forward to reading Lords of the Ocean, the next installment in Nelson's Revolution at Sea Saga.

[Mark Mekkes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Being the middle book of the series, it certainly doesn't wrap things up with a nice happy bow. Like Empire Strikes Back, this is the one that leaves the heroes in place for a huge come back for the final confrontation.

[(-&#_-+(.]

Goodbook

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

MAGNIFICO. Il libro sulla navigazione più bello che abbia mai letto. Avventuroso fino all'ultima pagina. DA LEGGERE ASSOLUTAMENTE

[Jared Knighton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent third installment in the series, though towards the end my eyes started to glaze over and I looked forward to finishing it. Kept thinking that I'd rather be reading O'Brian.

[Aeseyman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Better than the first two in this series! More interesting plot and descriptions. Better, more subtle character development. I like both Rumstick and Biddlecomb better with some faults. Excellent historical settings. Hooray!

[Beth A · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great historical fiction about navy warfare during the Revolutionary War.