Edition: Hamlyn, 1971
Review number: 635
Another one of Kent's conventional naval adventures starring Richard Bolitho. Reading three or four of these in a few months makes them seem quite tedious in the end; the background plot details may move on (a new rank for Bolitho, for example), but everything else about them is pretty much the same.
In this particular case, there are fairly obvious problems with the plot, in the specific way in which Bolitho shows his brilliance in contrast to the incompetence of a superior. Stationed with the vessels blockading revolutionary France (to prevent an invasion of the British Isles), Bolitho spends almost all of the novel chasing backwards and forwards across the Atlantic after a French admiral allowed to escape by the indecisiveness of the commodore commanding Bolitho's assigned squadron. A continuous series of amazing and unlikely deductions enables Bolitho to divine what the escapee plans to do next and mount an attack. Each of these is foiled by the commodore until a wound prevents his interference. None of the mental leaps is really justified, and the contrast with the bafflement of the other British officers is almost comical.
Slipshod and poor, Enemy in Sight! does not reach the standards of the rest of the series, which is usually craftsman-like if never inspired.
Showing posts with label Alexander Kent. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Alexander Kent. Show all posts
Friday, 29 September 2000
Wednesday, 21 June 2000
Alexander Kent: In Gallant Company (1977)
Edition: Hutchinson & Co, 1977
Review number: 528
Although written five years later, the events of In Gallant Company come immediately before those of Sloop of War, detailing the adventures of Richard Bolitho as a naval lieutenant during the American War of Independence.
In Gallant Company is extremely typical of the genre of naval novels set in the eighteenth century, complete with all the standard elements: a gallant hero, pig-headed superior officers, occasional scenes of brutality, and young men either disgracing themselves or proving themselves. It is perhaps slightly more episodic than usual, the periods of boring routine between moments of action being omitted between chapters which could stand on their own as short stories. It gives the impression of something dashed off without a great deal of effort by an author thoroughly at home in his chosen genre.
Review number: 528
Although written five years later, the events of In Gallant Company come immediately before those of Sloop of War, detailing the adventures of Richard Bolitho as a naval lieutenant during the American War of Independence.
In Gallant Company is extremely typical of the genre of naval novels set in the eighteenth century, complete with all the standard elements: a gallant hero, pig-headed superior officers, occasional scenes of brutality, and young men either disgracing themselves or proving themselves. It is perhaps slightly more episodic than usual, the periods of boring routine between moments of action being omitted between chapters which could stand on their own as short stories. It gives the impression of something dashed off without a great deal of effort by an author thoroughly at home in his chosen genre.
Tuesday, 23 May 2000
Alexander Kent: Sloop of War (1972)
Edition: Hutchinson & Co, 1972
Review number: 509
This early Richard Bolitho novel covers his actions during the American War of Independence, which coincides with his first independent command. In this tale of general military incompetence by the army command, Bolitho of course shows his own brilliance. This is frequently at the expense of his superiors, as is commonplace in this type of novel, and in this case he shows such obvious superiority that a higher ranking officer perjures himself at his own court martial in an attempt to destroy Bolitho's career.
Kent's Bolitho novels are fun to read, but he contents himself with always fitting into the stereotypes created by C.S. Forester. Hornblower was such a strong character that Forester's successors are hard put to write anything original that will appeal to his fans and yet be different enough to establish their own voices.
Review number: 509
This early Richard Bolitho novel covers his actions during the American War of Independence, which coincides with his first independent command. In this tale of general military incompetence by the army command, Bolitho of course shows his own brilliance. This is frequently at the expense of his superiors, as is commonplace in this type of novel, and in this case he shows such obvious superiority that a higher ranking officer perjures himself at his own court martial in an attempt to destroy Bolitho's career.
Kent's Bolitho novels are fun to read, but he contents himself with always fitting into the stereotypes created by C.S. Forester. Hornblower was such a strong character that Forester's successors are hard put to write anything original that will appeal to his fans and yet be different enough to establish their own voices.
Tuesday, 28 March 2000
Alexander Kent: The Flag Captain (1971)
Edition: Hutchinson & Co, 1971
Review number: 463
It is inevitable that any novel written about the British navy in the eighteenth or early nineteenth century will be compared to Forester's Hornblower novels, to such an extent that endorsements of a novel saying that its hero rivals Hornblower are virtually meaningless. The genre is quite a narrow one, and Forester dominates it overwhelmingly.
Of the better known practitioners of this genre, Alexander Kent is perhaps the most like Forester and his hero Bolitho most like Hornblower. Patrick O'Brien has brought in a twist with the espionage in his novels; Dudley Pope has lightened the Ramage novels to the point of triviality. Bolitho is more heroic than Hornblower, yet his strengths to the modern reader are similar. Like Hornblower, for example, he finds the harsh punishments of the Navy at this time abhorrent; he possesses the ability to make brilliant strategic plans far beyond the grasp of his superiors and those around him; he rises quickly through the ranks despite the disapproval and incomprehension of hidebound superiors; he has the knack of inspiring devotion among those who server under him.
The tone is a little lighter than Hornblower, and Bolitho has an easier time of things (this may not be the case in the novel preceding this one, in which his beloved wife dies, but I have not read it). Worth reading if you like that sort of thing, Kent does not quite match up to the standard of Forester.
Review number: 463
It is inevitable that any novel written about the British navy in the eighteenth or early nineteenth century will be compared to Forester's Hornblower novels, to such an extent that endorsements of a novel saying that its hero rivals Hornblower are virtually meaningless. The genre is quite a narrow one, and Forester dominates it overwhelmingly.
Of the better known practitioners of this genre, Alexander Kent is perhaps the most like Forester and his hero Bolitho most like Hornblower. Patrick O'Brien has brought in a twist with the espionage in his novels; Dudley Pope has lightened the Ramage novels to the point of triviality. Bolitho is more heroic than Hornblower, yet his strengths to the modern reader are similar. Like Hornblower, for example, he finds the harsh punishments of the Navy at this time abhorrent; he possesses the ability to make brilliant strategic plans far beyond the grasp of his superiors and those around him; he rises quickly through the ranks despite the disapproval and incomprehension of hidebound superiors; he has the knack of inspiring devotion among those who server under him.
The tone is a little lighter than Hornblower, and Bolitho has an easier time of things (this may not be the case in the novel preceding this one, in which his beloved wife dies, but I have not read it). Worth reading if you like that sort of thing, Kent does not quite match up to the standard of Forester.
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