Ramage & the Drumbeat

Lord Ramage #2

by Dudley Pope

Lieutenant Lord Ramage is ordered to proceed to Gibraltar—with all possible dispatch—aboard his Majesty's ship Kathleen, to support Nelson in a battle with the Spanish off Cape Trafalgar.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical, Adventure, Nautical, War, Military Fiction

288 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1968

About the author

Dudley Pope was born in Ashford, Kent.

By concealing his age, Pope joined the Home Guard aged 14 and at age 16 joined the Merchant Navy as a cadet. His ship was torpedoed the next year (1942). Afterwards, he spent two weeks in a lifeboat with the few other survivors.

After he was invalided out of the Merchant Navy, the only obvious sign of the injuries Pope had suffered was a joint missing from one finger due to gangrene. Pope then went to work for a Kentish newspaper, then in 1944 moved to The Evening News in London, where he was the naval and defence correspondent. From there he turned to reading and writing naval history.

Pope's first book, "Flag 4", was published in 1954, followed by several other historical accounts. C. S. Forester, the creator of the famed Horatio Hornblower novels, encouraged Pope to add fiction to his repertoire. In 1965, "Ramage" appeared, the first of what was to become an 18-novel series.

Pope took to living on boats from 1953 on; when he married Kay Pope in 1954, they lived on a William Fife 8-meter named Concerto, then at Porto Santo Stefano, Italy in 1959 with a 42-foot ketch Tokay. In 1963 he and Kay moved to a 53-foot cutter Golden Dragon, on which they moved to Barbados in 1965. In 1968 they moved onto a 54-foot wooden yacht named Ramage, aboard which he wrote all of his stories until 1985.

Pope died April 25, 1997 in Marigot, St. Martin. Both his wife and his daughter, Jane Victoria survived him.

Reviews

[Reni · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh, Ramage, what am I going to do with you?

Ramage is the delicious, fat fast-food of the Age of Sail novels. You know, on some level, it's not as good and wholesome as the full meals that O'Brian or Forester provide, but it is still delicious!

Yes, the main character is a god-mode Mary Sue, yet, I am sadly addicted to this series. I might pick up the next book in the series right away, I do not think I will be able to resist. The series may be lacking the lavish prose and period detail of O'Brian, and the moral tales and ambivalent characters of Forester, but it is just so much fun!

Yes, the constant, unquestioning admiration of every single character becomes pretty ridiculous pretty quickly. Even the historical characters are no exception! Well, except the ones who turn out to be losers eventually. Therefore Sir Robert Calder is allowed to dislike Ramage, while Old Jervie quickly joins his fanclub (and this is the man that had grown-up men, officers, shitting themselves when they had an interview with him!), while Nelson is even concerned about our hero's love-live and disperses friendly advice from time to time.

And Ramage's fictional followers are far worse of course. They think nothing of laying down their lives in what they think of as a suicide mission, their only regret that their heroic leader will have to die so young. This strains reader's nerves as well as their suspense of disbelief. I found myself rolling my eyes at a couple of scenes a bit. These books could have been so good, if Pope had only turned this behaviour down a notch.

Also, I am worried at the seeming disappearance of Ramage's speech impediment. It was part of the charm of the first book. Also his knife-fetish got toned down a bit (which, it can be argued, should be a good thing, but I though it was hilarious and wished he would have kept it).

It doesn't help that Ramage gets out of each predicament he finds himself in, within a few pages -- safe and sound -- so that halfway through the first volume of the series you stop worrying about the hero. Yet, at least each book introduces a couple of sympathetic secondary characters you can worry about instead. Plus, the action scenes are really, really good! And the books are almost constant non-stop action!

The action is what makes these books!

Ramage and his crew stumble from one adventure into the next, sometimes helped along by chance, sometimes by genius level thinking by the hero that would make Hornblower blush, and yet I never found myself bored.

Take the depiction of the Battle of Cape St. Vincent in this book. It's 60+ pages about a well documented battle that every reader will know the outcome of beforehand. Yet, I found this part to be a veritable page turner. Pope has a knack for decribing naval actions vividly, and each ship as a living entity with a distinct personality.

It's the perfect antidote after a being frustrated by the slow pacing of a couple of O'Brian's books.


So, no, I do not think I will be able to resist the next volume for long (it's already on top of my to-read pile. Oh My!). It has our hero caught up in The Great Mutinies at Spithead and the Nore. Will he be able to secure the loyalty of is crew long enough to complete his mission and smoke out some pirates? (oh, who are you kidding, of course he will. It's Ramage. He will bat his eye-lashes at the mutineers, pout adorably for five minutes, and they will beg to be allowed to lick his boots. :p Followed by 200 pages of awesome action scenes! Yay! :D)

[Elliot · Rating 3 out of 5]

The second installment in Dudley Pope’s Ramage series immediately follows the first novel. Lieutenant Ramage, commander of the cutter Kathleen, is transporting two refugees of the Italian aristocracy from Corsica to Gibraltar, where they are safe from the French conquest of Italy. Of course, rather than an easy journey, this voyage across the Mediterranean is fraught with challenges that our protagonist must deal with. Once he has dealt with these various obstacles, the Kathleen and Ramage rendezvous with Admiral John Jervis’(later Earl of St. Vincent) fleet just in time to participate in the pivotal battle of Cape St. Vincent in 1797.

I wasn’t that taken by the first half of the story. The obstacles that are put in the path of Ramage feel like they are there just for the sake of padding the story and giving Ramage a chance to show off his cleverness. One of these quests, although it introduced some interesting members of the Kathleen, stretched my imagination just a little too far.

Once I got to the battle of Cape St. Vincent, however, I found the book a real page-turner. Most of the description is of the lead-up to the battle, rather than the action itself. This well-executed strategy makes sense to me for several reasons. Besides the decisiveness of the victory for the Royal Navy, this battle has historical significance because it marked another step in the evolution of naval tactics, and also because of Nelson’s invaluable part in the battle. Jervis’ decision to break the Spanish line and engage in a melee with the Spanish fleet was a marked break in the line-ahead tactics of the day. Through the perspective of Ramage, the reader can experience the glorious spectacle of more than fifty ships of war and their dramatic maneuvering. Apparently, there was a British cutter present at the battle, but undoubtedly the role it played was far less pivotal than the role that Pope inserts the Kathleen into. I was a little miffed at how Pope modified certain events of the battle so that Ramage could be a participant instead of just a bystander, but that doesn’t take away from the drama and entertainment of his rendition of the battle of Cape St. Vincent.

Overall, Ramage and the Drumbeat was an entertaining novel. At times, my credibility was stretched a little too much, but Pope’s excellent writing made for an enjoyable read and gave me confidence in continuing with the Ramage series.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this more than the first. Very exciting! I’m getting to know the characters and care about them. The naval adventures are fascinating and I can imagine them well thanks to Pope!

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ramage is such a good time, a continuous story from Book 1, a real pleasure.

[Tony Hisgett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another easy to read story of ‘daring do’ as the author managed to weave ‘Ramage’ and the Kathleen into a pivotal part of the Battle of Cape St Vincent without doing too much damage to the historical detail.

[Murat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful. I am waiting for the 3rd book to continue the story

[Alex Helling · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lieutenant Lord Ramage is in Corsica but directed to get his charge, the Marchesa di Volterra, to Gibraltar. Ramage is in command of the tiny Kathleen, but it is his first command and whatever her flaws she looks beautiful to Ramage. But getting back across the Western Mediterranean, which is hostile Spanish controlled waters, will be quite an adventure.

Pros
Pace and action
Bringing historical events into the plot
Cons
Plotholes
Over the top

Masses of action. Almost non stop. The first third is a peculiar fight with a frigate, followed by capture, espionage, escape, immense storms, and one of the biggest naval battles of the revolutionary war. Packed into a small book. So yes it whizzes along.

Historical novels sometimes just use the setting as their canvas without much intrusion from the real historical events. I prefer it, as here, where the author neatly interweaves our characters through the web of history. The issue with this approach is always how you insert your plot and still make it fit together. Here Pope takes the approach of knocking history off a little in order to have Ramage put it right again. While not a bad idea it somehow felt rather underhand to me, almost as if Nelson had messed things up! But it does mean the outcome remains the same.

For me, Ramage is a bit too perfect. This is obviously very individual, many people want their perfect heroes, but I prefer there to be flaws, makes them more human. Ramage is good looking, intelligent, daring, can apparently do all the roles better than the rest of the crew, what's more he is a strong leader despite his young age, and is lucky enough to be the son of a Lord. Of course much of this was just what the Royal Navy was looking for in its officers.

Plotholes… perhaps that should be plot whirlpools for fiction in a maritime setting. These are particularly in evidence at the beginning where the first action is ridiculous. Some spoilers here - though it is near the beginning so not that big. Ramage’s tiny ten gun Kathleen encounters a dismasted spanish frigate of more than 32 guns. As pointed out in the book the odds of winning this fight are terrible; 5 to 1 in men, 3 to 1 in guns, but probably more like 10 to 1 in weight of shot and ability to take punishment. Fortunately with the frigate dismasted Ramage could avoid action without any risk. His orders are to get his passengers with all speed to Gibraltar, so he should avoid action. And what is more the person he has feelings for is on board - should he imperil her? We are told “Ramage was surprised how dispassionately he saw the situation”(p.33) Really? Clearly not that dispassionate as he goes for it.

Fine reckless courage. How does he do it? The idea ends up being to pack a rowboat with explosives and threaten to blow the ship up. In theory all very well but there are so many fail points that while not impossible it is hard to believe it would work. It relies on the powder in a tiny boat not getting wet when we are told there is considerable swell, on successfully pulling the boat into the right position, on not getting into the firing arcs of the frigate while doing so, and finally on the boat drifting in exactly the right direction in the right length of time without anyone on it. And even if all this works there are further problems. He only has one boat (after blowing one up) and uses it to take the surrender - the Spanish could just take Ramage and his boat and avoid the explosion boat threat. Furthermore the Spaniard is dastardly (as later proven), the Kathleen needs to move from the aft of the bow to tow the frigate. Ramage has not been entirely honorable in how he forced the frigate to surrender, what possible reason does the frigate have to not blow Kathleen out of the water as she moves through the broadside arcs? All this ridiculousness and it really does not matter for the plot as the now slow moving Kathleen can't avoid capture.

Things get better for a while, the whirlpools dry up. Ramage remains immensely bold but this is more understandable under the circumstances he finds himself for the middle part of the book. But there is gloriously over the top, and outrageously over the top, and to me the end of the book fell into the latter camp. To avoid spoilers lets just say that it makes the above recounted bravery look timid. It is so over the top that to me it loses all plausibility, which I personally find kills a historical novel. If you want implausible, make a fantasy setting. Pope should consider that you don't need your main character to be the centre of, and vitally important to, what are very big events to have a thrilling ride. Indeed the events could easily have lent themselves to providing this with only the lightest of touches; simply put Ramage on H.M.S. Captain with Nelson.

With the plausibility blown out of the water for me this was a disappointing read. Leaving me aside, anyone looking for rather brainless action and reckless courage will enjoy it.

[Viva · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not as good as Hornblower but a passable read.

Spoilers ahead:
Following the first book Ramage is transporting two noble Italian refugees to Gibraltar in his cutter when he sees a dismasted Spanish frigate hulk. By threatening to use explosive boats to sink her, he manages to capture the much larger frigate. They soon meet up with 2 British frigates who take the refugees off his hands and ordered to tow the hulk to Gibraltar. On the way there they meet up with the Spanish fleet in the fog and are captured.

He uses a fake American Press Protection (supplied by his American coxswain Jackson) to avoid being taken to prison. He and six other non-British Kathleen sailors are set free in the port of Cartagena, Spain. He releases the Portuguese who desires to go back home. The others decide to stick with him. They befriend the American consul. Later on Ramage finds out where the Spanish admiral lives and sneaks into his house to steal his orders from the Minister of Marine. Once he finds that the Spanish fleet is planning to leave, he steals a zebec and escapes.

They get to Gibraltar where the commissioner gives him back Kathleen (recaptured) and they go to find Jarvis. He gives Jarvis the news and they set out to meet the Spanish fleet which they do at the Battle of Cape St. Vincent.

At the battle, Dudley Pope inserts him into the real battle where he sails his ship into the San Nicolas and boards her and helps Nelson capture that ship as well as the San Josef. He is injured and that's a quick ending to the book.

I read the book for the action and there's a good amount of it here. I find the hero worship of Ramage amateurishly written and over the top. Hornblower gets the same kind of worship from his crew but CSF does a much better job of writing it, he writes it without needing to say it. You can see it from the action rather than dialog. I also find the romantic part tedious and tend to fast read it. A little bit gratuitous but I guess something that writers felt they needed to throw that in in books written in the mid-century.

Some of the other parts of the book were hard to believe like the Spanish allowing them to hang around the port without supervision for all that time and Ramage having enough money all that time. And Ramage given command but I guess he had some patronage and he was the son of a lord. Another reviewer (Reni) said it best when she said that everyone scrambled at that chance to lick his boots including the admirals. I had to laugh when she said that his crew lined up to die for him. I'm now on to the next book.

[Rusty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Discovering a class of book one has not preveouly read is exciting. This was one that I found exciting and fun. It's part of a group called Nautical Fiction. No, I know little about sailing ships of any kind. My only experience was sailing in a pleasure boat with a couple of friends.

So what did I find in this book? I found fast paced action, wonderful characterization, a good story and wonderful plot. What didn't I like? I did not understand so many of the nautical terms that I glossed without the knowing how understanding might have contributed to the read. Nevertheless, this was a fine read. It's part of an 18 book series writen by the author. And, there are many other authors who write in this vein.

About the story: Lieutenant Lord Nicholas ramage captains a very small shop called the Kathleen. His crew so loves him that they follow him without hesitation. Some of his actions are outlandish, even gagainst his orders but somehow he is right, usually landing on his feet and serving the British navy heroically. He has an uncanny ability to see what can happen based on his experience and knowledge of his craft, the sea, weather and crew.

And, he falls in love with a lovely Marchesa di Volterra whom he is is to transport to Gibralter with two other Italians. But the romance only adds a bit of spice to the story because the essence is Ramage himself and his crew whose personalities dominate the tale. This is a fine read and I believe is a wonderful group of books. I only wish the author had given background and details about how what he wrote and why.

[Jack Sakalauskas · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Drumbeat" is the second book in the Ramage series. Another remake of the Napoleonic War with the usual point of view. Although a naval story, it starts of as a romance. Ramage has a lot of internal rants, his mind obsessed with love for a girl that he has met only six days prior. He seems prone to losing ships and although a Captain, he still wants to be one of the boys. He stumbles from one obstacle to another, gifted enough to keep both himself and his crew alive.

It was an entertaining read and there were moments when I found it hard to put down. At the end the story seemed to be cut short. Could have used another chapter and I assume that will be the first chapter of the next book.

[Geoff Woodland · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am slowly working my through Dudley Pope's books.
'Drumbeat' is a fast moving tale that follows on from the author's first book 'Ramage',but you don't have to read book one to enjoy this story. Dudley Pope's research as to life at sea in the early 1800's adds to the story rather than being an 'info dump' for those not familiar with the period.
For me it was a relaxing and enjoyable read that transported me to others times.

[Coleen Dailey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I totally enjoy the adventures of Ramage and his crew. The descriptions of the battles and life in the British Navy make you feel like you are on the ship. In the last book he became the captain of his own ship although to confuse things a bit, he is still a lieutenant. In this book he loses that ship in a very strange way but shows that he can think fast on his feet. There are 18 of these books and I look forward to all of them.

[Jason Adams · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sugary confection of historical fiction

Ramage & the Drumbeat is not great literature. It’s not even good history. Nicholas Ramage has a Forrest Gump-like ability to show up amongst great historical figures and weather all storms. However, it’s a fun, light read and a good way to spend an afternoon.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you like reading nautical novels of this sort, you will enjoy this one. Intrigue, danger, suspense both on land and on the sea. The hero of course survives to fight another day, but it was a “close thing” for awhile....

[Stuart]

The writing and characterization is fine, and the plot is intriguing and enjoyable. The final chapters seem to be a very accurate rendering of the Battle of Cape St Vincent (1797), and the book overall fits the strategic picture of that time.

[Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good effort for the second Ramage book. He is captured and manages to get some very valuable information regarding the Spanish fleet while posing as an American sailor. Escaping with this information he is able to notify the British Fleet who can confront the Spaniards.

[Dangerfield · Rating 4 out of 5]

This a rumbustious, lively story. Although it contains perhaps too much of that which Dudley Pope used in his non-fiction, “Life in Nelson’s Navy”, at least for a non- sailor like myself, it does not detract from the story line.

[Phil Kitchingman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book

Good book. Would highly recommend. Xx xx zx xx x x x x x x x x x xx x

[Lisa Whitehead · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great read from Dudley Pope of Ramage, the brilliant and brave sailor.
Full of action and so well written you can feel yourself there, sailing with him.

[Jason Braida · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very enjoyable....although it did drag a bit at times.

[Alan Dechovitz · Rating 5 out of 5]

a proper seafaring novel

Filled with neck or nothing adventure. An historic sea battle. Unforgettable characters. And a beautiful woman. Fun read for all.

[Melanie Barbarito · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although there is much nautical that I don’t understand, the story is so well written that I can keep cruising through. I’m glad to have found this series.

[Michael Kelley · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Ramage books are getting better with each new story.

[R B · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nautical education. If I knew anything about sailing I would probably give this book one more star.

[Jean · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is book two in the Lord Ramage series. This series is set between 1796 and 1807. This period of time was considered the Anglo-Spanish War as part of the French Revolutionary Wars. Lord Ramage is an interesting and likable character. Unlike other naval historical novels of the same time frame, Ramage is of an upper class background and is a Lord. He is Lord Nicholas Ramage, oldest son of the tenth Earl of Blazey, Admiral of the White. He was born in 1775 at Blazey hall, St. Kew Cornwall. He entered the Royal Navy as a midshipman in 1788 at the age of thirteen.

In this story while commanding HMS Kathleen, Lt. Ramage is ordered to proceed to Gibraltar. He is assigned to Admiral Sir John Jervis who is on the HMS Victory. On his way to his assignments the HMS Kathleen is captured by the French. Ramage manages to turn his capture into an onshore diversion spying on the enemy. They escape and take the information to Sir Jervis of the Spanish fleet passing near Cape St. Vincent. Ramage becomes friends with Commodore Nelson who commands the frigate HMS Minerve. The action in Drumbeat is often far from the usual action in books about naval warfare of the age of sails. Ramage uses both unusual and very creative tactics during the battles. The final battle in the story is the Battle of Cape St. Vincent which took place on Valentine’s Day in 1797. The Spanish out gunned the British almost 2 to 1. Pope stayed fairly close to history for this battle. Many of you will remember that the Spanish Ship La Santisima Trinidad, the largest wooden ship in the world, fought in this battle. Pope describes the battle magnificently.

The book is well written and meticulously researched. It is obvious that the author is extremely knowledgeable about this period of history and of naval sailing vessels. I am looking forward to the next book in the series. I read this as an audiobook downloaded from Audible. The story was narrated by Steve Crossley.

[Michael Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second installment in the “Lord Nicholas Ramage” series and it begins a few days after the first one ended, with Lieut. Ramage commanding an extremely small cutter west of Sardinia in the autumn of 1796, trying to convey the refugee Marquesa di Volterra and her cousin back to Gibraltar, from which they will continue to England to make common cause against Napoleon. They weather a severe gale and shortly thereafter come upon a Spanish frigate that didn’t do as well, having been reduced to a mastless hull. Still, the Spaniard is eight times the size of Ramage’s cutter and her guns presumably still function perfectly; no sane skipper would do anything but give the derelict a wide berth and keep on going. Ramage, of course, has to take a crack at capturing the enemy -- which, of course, he does, through an ingenious stratagem involving a gig and fifty pounds of gunpowder. Awhile later, he meets a British frigate, which relieves him of the Marquesa, and after that the little cutter manages to run smack into a Spanish squadron, which relieves him of both his prize and his own ship.

Ramage perseveres throughout, does a little espionage work (as the opportunity arises) regarding the plans of the Spanish fleet, and eventually finds himself reunited with his ship and his crew and attached to Sir John Jervis’s fleet. This gives Pope the opportunity to present the reader with an excellent picture and tactical analysis of the Battle of Cape St. Vincent, one of the two or three most important engagements of the war. Ramage even plays a key role in “Nelson’s Patent Bridge for Taking First-Rates.” (Well, it is fiction.) Ramage is a personable sort and a (mostly) believable unintentional hero. It doesn’t have the literary depth of Patrick O’Brian but it’s a good, fun series nevertheless.

[Michael Koch · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the second in Dudley Pope’s great Ramage series. In this book Pope introduces a handful of ordinary sailors that stay with Ramage through most of the series. Along with Southwick, the Sailing Master (Navigator) and Jackson, Ramage’s Coxswain they remain through most of his adventures. These men are all ‘common’ and uneducated. They were pressed by the navy into the war against Bonaparte’s France.

As Ramage learns more about the previous lives of his crew, he is awed that such men are so contented with their lot in the Royal Navy. The responsibility he feels towards these men is renewed and deepened. As the skills of his crew become clearer, Ramage begins to use these skills to expand the breadth of his team in fighting his battles and enhancing his capabilities. He uses a ‘locksmith’ to break into a Spanish Admiral’s office to steal the fleet’s plans. He is then able to get this information to his own Admiral allowing him to plan to frustrate the Spanish.

In this book too, Ramage learns the extent and power of his love for the Marchesa di Volterra whom he puts at risk as he exceeds his orders and captures a much larger ship with his much smaller cutter “Kathleen.” Pope follows his normal routine with an early action scene, a middle non-action drama and closing with another action scene. The action scenes are all well laid out. What happens is exciting, fast and feasible if sometimes improbable. In this case, Ramage uses his little Kathleen to create confusion and havoc in the Spanish fleet, allowing the larger British ships to capture and sink more than expected. It was exciting right to the very end.

This was a good story, well told. Four and a half stars.

[Chris Conrady · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice follow up to book # 1 - picks up right where the last book left off without a gap. An exciting action packed adventure of Lt. Ramage and his command of the HMS Kathleen and how he ultimately helped warn Admiral Jarvis and Commodore Nelson of the massing and combining of the Spanish Armada, (complete with the largest ship in the world the La Santisima Trinidad - a 4 deck 136 gun wall of terror) and Napoleon's Navy in Cadiz. The resulting battle of Cape St. Vincent on Valentines day in 1797 was a major victory for the English, being out gunned almost 2 to 1 - and victory was largely in part to the bold and unorthodox actions of Lt. Ramage.

For the most part this book had a great pace and had a nice variety of situations and drama. I found the situations and thought process unique and interesting. Pope provides a good amount of technical detail without overwhelming the reader. As a follow up book, you start to learn more about the key supporting characters like Jackson, Southwick, and, of course, the Marchesa Gianna.

My only complaint was that the details and doubt leading up to the fleet action in the end was tiresome. Perhaps because I had become impatient, but it seemed to go on page after page after page. Sure time is needed to build tension and expound on the gravity of a situation and the implications, but it just seemed to drone on to the point I didn't care any more. Other than that, it was an enjoyable read.

[Carol]

I don't know a lot about naval history, but this historical fiction book includes the Battle of Cape St Vincent(14 February 1797). Although it starts out as a romance, men in the navy when sailing ships ruled!

[Christopher Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick book, Ramage is lieutenant in charge of a cutter after a series of extreme events killed every single officer above him in the ship in the previous book. Despite not really having the experience or age he's managed to struggle along and in the process got a wealthy Italian heiress to fall in love with him while he escorts her to safety.

Ramage is a poor man's Hornblower, he's capable and smart but not nearly as experienced, human, or believable a character. The book manages to still be entertaining, but the guy has been captain of a ship for about two weeks and yet every single member of the crew worships the ground he walks on and expects miracles of him.

His mannerisms are a bit forced as well, and the constant dipping into every character's minds to analyze every event pads the book out but drags the story as well. A question can be asked and two pages later the answer is given but by that point you don't even remember what they were talking about.