Thomas Kydd has again claimed the helm of his beloved sloop-of-war, HMS Teazer. With him is his old friend Nicholas Renzi. After engaging in some heavy sea action Kydd, a former rakish corsair, is assigned to join in the coastal defenses of Britain against the invasion by Napoleon’s forces. There is a strong sense that invasion from France is imminent, and that only the Navy stands between England and Napoleon.

Meanwhile, Renzi is on a secret mission as a spy in France, seeking to establish a connection to the American inventor Robert Fulton. He is to seek to bribe Fulton into switching his allegiances. Mr. Fulton is developing some new “infernal machines” that can wreak mass destruction from a distance –submarines and torpedoes.

Renzi is eventually successful and is able to bring Fulton to England in one piece. Now the Navy needs to find out whether there is any substance to Fulton’s claims that his inventions will change the future of naval warfare, and – even more important – whether they can be used to destroy the invasion fleet Napoleon is amassing across the channel.

Thomas Kydd, who has some experience in dealing with Americans, is the man assigned to the role as liaison with the somewhat demanding and quite difficult American inventor. More and more Kydd becomes convinced that the infernal machines of Fulton will work, and that they can contribute to the defense of England. And the fate of England is at stake.

But there is much to do – improved designs, lots of testing, gaining support from the powers that are to get access to the needed resources, and so on. And Thomas Kydd is the man for the job.

Invasion is an interesting book in many ways. But there is less naval action than we are used to in this series, and instead more spying and more about politics. I am not sure I like this so much. Also, I feel that the characters of Kydd and Renzi are developing in the wrong direction. Kydd’s main concern seems to be to become a gentleman. Renzi is becoming a kind of philosopher/clerk/spy and a bit of a whiner – a kind of person for which you don’t expect to find in the Royal Navy at the time and who isn’t a very interesting hero.

To me, this whole book feels a little bit like an interlude and as if Stockwin is testing the limits of his increasing skills as a writer. I hope he returns to the style of earlier books instead. The book is, of course, an interesting book for followers of this series, but I cannot recommend Invasion to new readers.

Links to Julian Stockwin’s books at amazon US, amazon UK, and amazon CAN.

©2010 Navy Fiction. All Rights Reserved.

This is a novel in the Horatio Hornblower Saga by C. S. Forester. It is now 1810 and the Napoleonic Wars are still raging. Captain Horatio Hornblower has now been assigned command of a fine ship of the line, a two-decker, and 74 guns, called HMS Sutherland.

Hornblower’s love Lady Pamela Wellesley has married an admiral whose ego considerably outweighs his talents, and as faith will have it Hornblower has been appointed into his squadron. With very little time to prepare and very short-handed, the Sutherland is sent to sea to first do convoy duty and then later to harass Napoleon’s flank, and blockade the Mediterranean coast of Spain to prevent supplies from reaching the French.

Sutherland does a good job during the convoy duty, and then afterward Hornblower is fortunate enough to be let loose to cruise the Catalonian coast. Now Hornblower stages an astonishing sequence of solo raids against the French in the span of just a few days. Each raid is more challenging and inventive than the previous and each requires his cunning ability to calculate risks to the fullest. Needless to say, Hornblower wrecks considerable havoc. As a result he captures a number of prizes and makes a large amount of prize money. But even so, his Admiral is not very pleased with him.

The end of this novel is a spectacular cliffhanger. Hornblower is more or less forced, partly by his admiral and partly by his own fear of being viewed as a coward, to engage four French ships of the line on his own with Sutherland with the rest of the squadron just over the horizon. With such odds, his concern is not with winning, but with doing as much damage as he possibly can. The resulting battle is one of the most gruesome ever in the Hornblower saga – a truly epic battle.

This book really is a book that you will probably find very hard to put down. There is so much action and excitement that I could hardly take a break from it. In addition it is very well written by C.S. Forester. Ship of the Line is clearly among the best in the Hornblower Saga.

Links to C. S. Forester’s books at amazon US, amazon UK, amazon CAN.

©2010 Navy Fiction. All Rights Reserved.

This first book in J. E. Fender’s series about Geoffrey Frost, a new nautical fiction series, introduces us to the setting – the North-Eastern coast of America, and the main characters. Most of the action in this book is set in New Hampshire and up along the coast to British Canada. We are in the beginning of the American Revolution, and the British are the bad guys. Geoffrey Frost has returned from an adventure in the Caribbean with an English prize and somewhat reluctantly turns himself into a privateer because friends and country need him.

The lengthy subtitle of this work, Being an Account of the Life and Times of Geoffrey Frost, Mariner, of Portsmouth, in New Hampshire, as Faithfully Translated from the Ming Tsun Chronicles, and Diligently Compared with Other Contemporary Histories well describes the contents of this very readable work.

With the excellent sloop “Jaguar” at his command, and with more than two hundred volunteers eager to go hunting for British prizes, Geoffrey Frost embarks upon a career as a licensed privateer funding the American cause. The book is full of action, both at sea and on land. Frost sets out to liberate American prisoners in Louisburg and capture English ships. And by employing some clever tactics as well as engaging in heavy and fierce fighting, he achieves his goals. And our hero Frost reveals a flair for tactics and coolness under fire that bodes very well for his wartime career.

J. E. Fender knows his subject matter, has done some excellent research, and writes well. I view this as a very good first book for the series. The Private Revolution of Geoffrey Frost is an entertaining read and provides a fresh and interesting perspective as well.

Links to books by J. E. Fender at Amazon US, Amazon UK, and Amazon CAN.

©2010 Navy Fiction. All Rights Reserved.

The action in Battlecruiser takes place from 1942 onwards. Battle cruisers shared the very large main armament of battleships, usually were of the same size and had about the same armament. However, they were lighter, had less armor and were faster than battleships. The perhaps best known example of a battle cruiser is HMS Hood (see picture below). The ship Reeman features in Battlecruiser is HMS Reliant, presented as a sister ship to HMS Renown, HMS Repulse and HMS Hood. A huge, powerful ship.

At this time, the seas are haunted by Hitler’s deadly U-boats and cruisers. After the mysterious death of the Reliant’s last captain, Captain Guy Sherbrooke, one of only eight survivors from a ship sunk by a German battle cruiser, the HMS Pyrrhus, is given command of this ship. A symbol of everything the Royal Navy stands for, the battle cruiser boasts the speed of a destroyer and the firepower of a battleship.

Battlecruiser is one Reeman’s many good navy fiction novels. There is lots of action on land as well as on sea. The story is very well told, and we follow Captain Sherbrooke in his relationships to his admiral – a somewhat gung ho guy, his fellow officers and in a romantic affair on shore. The action flows smoothly and is well paced. There are major gunnery duels with a German heavy cruiser and an Italian battleship. And the ocean battles are also complimented by flying scenes which are every bit as exciting as the naval clashes.

Reeman’s writing is realistic and good. Battle cruisers at this point in time were basically outdated – along with the battleships – and of very limited practical use, and Reeman shows us why this is the case. Also, he shows in a very realistic fashion how the battles in the book were much less are one-sided than they might seem: a single 8-inch shell could pierce the battle cruiser’s flimsy armor, while the battleship’s greater strength may be outweighed by superior gunnery.

From some points of view – technical, in terms of research – this is a more solid book that for instance Alastair Maclean’s more famous HMS Ulysses. However, Battlecruiser is not quite as suspenseful as Maclean’s Ulysses. Still, it is a good, very well written and suspenseful book that I liked a lot.

Links to books by Douglas Reeman at amazon US, amazon UK, and amazon CAN

©2010 Navy Fiction. All Rights Reserved.

The Golden Ocean is a relatively unknown tale of the sea by Patrick O’Brian. This was the first historical tale of the sea by Patrick O’Brian, written in 1956, before he started on the Aubrey Maturin series. It is a wonderful book that fictionalizes the incredible adventures of Commodore George Anson (later Admiral Anson, 1st Baron Anson PC RN (23 April 1697 – 6 June 1762), a British admiral and a wealthy aristocrat, noted for his circumnavigation of the globe and his role overseeing the Royal Navy during the Seven Years’ War) and his small fleet of ships that set out intent on circumnavigating the globe. They experienced some of the most gut-wrenching tragedies that are imaginable and lost the majority of the men (his force went from 961 to 335 men) on the first leg of the journey, around Cape Horn. Most of them died to scurvy (lack of vitamin C).

O’Brian tells the story masterfully and very engagingly. The tale is told mostly from the perspective of a young Irish midshipman – Peter Palafox, son of an impoverished Irish parson – and it is tempered with subtle humor, wonderful irony and sidesplitting hilarity.

During the journey the fleet is continuously reduced, until they in the end have only one of the originally six ships left – the flagship HMS Centurion. This ship, and Lord Anson (see picture), is famous not only for having sailed around the world, but also for having captured one of the richest prizes even – a Spanish galleon full of riches – and returning to England laden to the gunnels with an incredible fortune. Wikipedia writes:

The indomitable perseverance he had shown during one of the most arduous voyages in the history of sea adventure gained the reward of the capture of an immensely rich prize, Nuestra Señora de Covadonga, possessing 1,313,843 pieces of eight, which he encountered off Cape Espiritu Santo on 20 June 1743. Anson took his prize back to Macau, sold her cargo to the Chinese, and sailed for England, which he reached … on 15 June 1744. The prize money earned by the capture of the galleon had made him a rich man for life, and it enabled his heirs to rebuild Shugborough Hall, the family estate.

The Golden Ocean tells a tale of hardship, illness, cold, shipwrecks, hunger, courage, ambition and sea battles. The writing in this book is as good as in the later and more famous novels. Here, as in O’Brian’s other novels, the characters live and breathe, they love and hate, they veer off the straight and narrow and they feel very, very authentic.

When young Peter Palafox sets out on this journey together with his lifelong friend, Sean, he hopes to find his fortune. They live through some of the worst hardships imaginable, but he does, in the end, return home with a vast fortune. The Golden Ocean is a great book, worthy of the creator of the marvelous Aubrey-Maturin series, and a delight to read for any fan of the series!

Links to books by Patrick O’Brian at amazon US, amazon UK, amazon CAN, and Barnes & Noble.

©2010 Navy Fiction. All Rights Reserved.

We have extensively reviewed the remarkable Master and Commander series of historical fiction novels, featuring Captain “Lucky” Jack Aubrey and his particular friend, Dr. Stephen Maturin, by the unsurpassable Patrick O’Brian. You can find reviews of all the books, and a lot of materials about the author Patrick O’Brian as well, by following the link above.

The movie about Jack Aubrey and his crew, also entitled Master and Commander, is no less spectacular than the book series (C.S. Forester’s book series about Horatio Hornblower has also been filmed – see our review here). In the capable hands of director Peter Weir, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World is a seafaring adventure like no other, impeccably authentic, dynamically cast, and thrilling enough to give any classic swashbuckler a run for its money.

In adapting two of Patrick O’Brian’s enormously popular novels about British naval hero Capt. Jack Aubrey, Weir and co-writer John Collee have changed the timeframe from the British/American war of 1812 to the British/French opposition of 1805, where the HMS Surprise – a ship that appears in many of the novels – under Aubrey’s confident command, is patrolling the South Atlantic in pursuit of the Acheron, a French warship with the strategic advantage of greater size, speed, and artillery.

Russell Crowe plays Jack Aubrey, and gives one of his best performances. Aubrey is firm and fiercely loyal, focused on his prey even if it means locking horns with his friend and ship’s surgeon, played by Crowe’s A Beautiful Mind costar Paul Bettany.

Employing a seamless combination of carefully matched ocean footage, detailed models, full-scale ships, and CGI enhancements, Weir pays exacting attention to every nautical detail, while maintaining a very human story of honor, warfare, and survival under wretched conditions. We experience sailing, sea tactics, and life on board a ship of this era. Raging storms and hull-shattering battles provide pulse-pounding action, and a visit to the Galapagos Islands lends a note of otherworldly wonder, adding yet another layer of historical perspective to this splendidly epic adventure.

I simply loved the movie. From beginning to end, it was extraordinary, very authentic and suspenseful, and wonderful entertainment. Anyone who enjoys action and drama will enjoy Master and Commander. It ranges from great battle scenes with the tang of salt spray to human drama.

• Actors: Russell Crowe, Paul Bettany, Billy Boyd, James D’Arcy, Edward Woodall
• Directors: Peter Weir
• Writers: Peter Weir, John Collee, Patrick O’Brian
• Producers: Alan B. Curtiss, Bob Weinstein, Duncan Henderson, Harvey Weinstein
• Format: Anamorphic, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, DTS Surround Sound, NTSC
• Language: French (Dolby Digital 5.1), English (Dolby Digital 5.1), English (DTS 5.1), Spanish (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround)
• Subtitles: English, Spanish
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
• Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Studio: 20th Century Fox
• DVD Release Date: April 20, 2004
• Run Time: 138 minutes

(You can get the movie with other Region settings and subtitles as well.)

Links to order Master and Commander (DVD) at Amazon US, amazon UK, and amazon CAN.

©2010 Navy Fiction. All Rights Reserved.

Command is the seventh book of the very interesting Kydd series by Julian Stockwin. Very unexpectedly, Thomas Kydd is appointed Commander and master of his own brig-sloop Teazer (16-gun). However, the sloop is
far from ready for sea, and Kydd must race against the clock to make her battle-ready.

Kydd feels the elation and weight of command as he, and he alone, is responsible for the successes and failures aboard his command. However, as we have come to expect, Kydd rises to the challenge, his determination and resourcefulness coming to the fore. He has worked his way up in the hierarchy of the Royal Navy all the way from the bottom, and he is not about to give up now. And he adapts to the new situation admirably. His is a leadership based entirely on his personal qualities, blessed with the common touch, and his competency as a blue water seaman.

We follow him on missions where he makes mistakes, but gradually learns and builds confidence. And, as well, he eventually succeeds in the course of a successful sea battle against La Fouine, an action which brings him revenge for an earlier exchange where the French ship almost had the better of him. Unfortunately, in the midst of this, peace “breaks out” and Kydd is sent ashore without a ship or job.

Kydd is then faced with desperate times as he faces the loss of his livelihood and his best friend. To make ends meet, he agrees to transport convicts to Australia. Little does he know that his friend Renzi, weakened by illness and embittered with the service, is also bound for that colony as a settler. There they will be forced to face their deepest fears and prove themselves against all odds.

Command is another great novel in the “Kydd” series. It is exciting and interesting. The turnaround in the relationship between Kydd and Renzi is very interesting and intriguing.

Links to Julian Stockwin’s books at amazon US, amazon UK, and amazon CAN.

©2010 Navy Fiction. All Rights Reserved.

1. A Glorious Way to Die: The Kamikaze Mission of the Battleship Yamato, April 1945, by Russell Spurr

A first rate military history book. A Glorious Way To Die: The Kamikaze Mission Of The Battleship Yamato, April 1945 dramatizes the final mission of this Japanese battleship which was the biggest battleship ever built in the history of naval warfare. Russell Spurr tells the day-by-day historic, tragic, violent events surround the final days of the battleship Yamato from both the Japanese an Allied points of view. A Glorious Way To Die is fascinating naval history and “must” reading for all World War II military studies collections.

The Battleship “Yamato” (Anatomy of the Ship), by Janusz Skulski

A detailed description of Yamato – the biggest
battleship ever.

The battleship Yamato was a tremendous achievement for the Imperial Japanese Navy. With the greatest displacement, biggest guns and heaviest armour of all time, Yamato and her sister Musashi were the ultimate battleships. Everything about them was gigantic – for example each main-armament turret had a total revolving weight of over 2500 tons – and they proved dangerous opponents to the US Pacific Fleet. Fittingly for such a subject as Yamato, this contribution to the ‘Anatomy’ series has twice as many drawings as a standard volume. The ‘Anatomy of the Ship’ series aims to provide the finest documentation of individual ships and ship types ever published. What makes the series unique is a complete set of superbly executed line drawings, both the conventional type of plan as well as explanatory views, with fully descriptive keys. These are supported by technical details and a record of the ship’s service history.

A fascinating book about a very fascinating ship.

Yamato at Amazon UK

Battleship Missouri: An Illustrated History, by Paul Stillwell

This book has technical data on the Battleship Missouri, and much, much more. It gives the reader a thoroughly enjoyable view of what it was like to serve on this famous warship.

Missouri was one of the four Iowa Class Battleships (New Jersey, Missiouri, Iowa and Wisconsin). These huge ships are considered by many naval experts to be the perfect blend of speed, firepower and protection. Only the Japanese Yamoto and Musashi were bigger. When these ships were designed, no one knew that the day of the battleship was over, naval air power and aircraft carriers reigned supreme in the contest of the Pacific. There were never any huge Battleship battles such as many had imagined.

This book by Paul Stillwell is much more than nuts and bolts of the Missouri. It gives the stories behind the steel, the men who crewed the ship, providing a rare glimpse of what it was like to be a sailor aboard a mighty ship from June 1944 at her commisioning to her service in the Korean War, the Vietnam war and finally, the 1991 Gulf War.

The photographs are excellent, showing interior as well as exterior shots. There are line diagrams to show the ship and what makes it tick. This is a pricey book, but well worth the cost for anyone interested in naval affairs, naval history and a fitting tribute not just to the ship, but the men who served. Highly recommended.

USS Missouri at Amazon UK

Battleships: United States Battleships, 1935-1992, by William H. Garzke and Robert O. Dulin

Every major class of battleship is described in meticulous detail. From design to outcome.

The book deals with the final series of American battleship classes: N. Carolina, S. Dakota, Iowa, still born Montana plus the Alaska heavy cruiser. It also features hull frame lines, which are hard to find elsewhere. Additionally it features deck by deck layouts. The pictures are informative. A chapter about gun turret accidents is very insightful and informative as well.

This book makes a valuable addition to any battleships fan’s library. If you own Friedman’s “”US Battleships” & Breyer’s “Battleships & Battle Cruisers 1905-1970″ the data in this book helps to sort out some of the more obscure points.

The American Battleship, by Samuel Loring Morison and Norman Polmar

A very good book for readers who are new to battleship books or buying one for someone who is new to them. If you are an experienced reader of battleship books , then skip this book.

There is little new in this book, but it contains a good overview and lots of pictures. Most of these, however, have been published in other battleship books. Even so, many of the photos are very nice, and the book is broad enough to provide a good starting point for further explorations into this field.

US Battleships at Amazon UK

Battleships: Axis and Neutral Battleships in World War II, William H. Garzke and Robert O. Dulin

The authors of complete their trilogy on capital ships of the World War II era with this book. They examine WWI development, the Washington Naval Conference and it’s effect on pre WWII designs, the escalator clause and wartime developments affecting the battleships and battlecruisers of Japan, Germany, Italy and Spain. Spain is included among the Axis powers due to Franco’s right wing regime and aid received from Germany and Italy during the civil war.

Step by step details of the design of Yamato and the inherent weakness of her underwater protection are discussed. The gunnery comparisons between Yamato and Iowa are surprising.

The chase and sinking of Bismarck and Scharnhorst are detailed and the weaknesses in German designs are pointed out. Finally, the authors compare capital ships in four design areas: 1) battlecruisers 2) 35,000 ton designs 3) 45,000 ton designs 4) 45,000 plus ton designs. There are gunnery tables included at the end for comparison of contemporary naval artillery. This book, along with their books on Allied and US Battleships, belongs on the shelf of any wargamer or warship historian/enthusiast.

There are some known weaknesses in the descriptions of Bismarck and Tirpitz, but this is due to data that were lacking at the time of writing, and not to omissions by the authors. (Link to this book at Amazon UK.)

Imperial Japanese Navy Battleships 1941-45, by Mark Stille

The Imperial Japanese Navy of World War 2 actually surpassed the Allied and Axis fleets in innovation and technology. This title covers the 12 Japanese battleships that saw service between 1941-45. Each class is considered in turn in light of its design and construction, its armament and wartime modifications.

The author, Mark Stille, also uses first-hand accounts and dramatic photographs to tell the story of these mighty battleships at war, including major engagements during the raid at Pearl Harbor and the battle of Midway. He also examines the wider context of Japanese battleship development by looking at the naval strategy and cult of the battleship. This title will fascinate any naval enthusiast, and the detailed color plates will make it essential for modelers of the period.

The author’s use of primary sources and dramatic photos provides a visual survey of the ships. This is an excellent book.

British Battleships 1939-45 (1): Queen Elizabeth and Royal Soverign Classes, by Angus Konstam

At the outbreak of World War II, Britain’s Royal Navy and her fleet of battleships would be at the forefront of her defense. Yet from a fleet of 12 battleships, ten were already over 20 years old, venerable veterans of World War I.

Extensive modifications throughout the 1930s allowed these ships to perform a vital service throughout the six long years of conflict, and further improvements made during the course of the war enabled them to hold their own against their German and Italian counterparts.

This book offers a comprehensive review of the development of these British battleships from their initial commissioning to their peacetime modifications and wartime service. Detailed descriptions of the main armament of each ship will offer further analysis of individual battleships’ effectiveness, discussing how the guns were manned when engaging the enemy. Describing HMS Warspite during the battle of Matapan in 1941, the author details how this British battleship, together with other Royal Navy and Australian vessels, defeated the might of the Italian navy so that they never again threatened Allied fleets within the Mediterranean. With specially commissioned artwork and a dramatic retelling of key battleship engagements, this book will highlight what it was like on board for the sailors who risked their lives on the high seas.

This book is a good short history for those who want to know the basics of the early WW2 British Battleships. Worth the money.

British Baatleships at Amazon UK

German Battleships 1939-45, by Gordon Williamson

In this book, first of a five volume series covering the capital ships of the German Navy of World War II, Gordon Williamson examines the design, development and operational use of the battleships used by the Kriegsmarine. The ‘Schlesien’ and ‘Schleswig-Hostein’ were used mostly as training ships until the end of the war when they took part in bombardment of Soviet troop movements in East Prussia. The ‘Scharnhorst’ had a successful career until her sinking at the battle of the North Cape, and the ‘Gneisenau’ with her ignominious end as a block-ship. Bismarck’s short but glorious career and Tirpitz’s lonely vigil in Norway’s distant Fjords until sunk by RAF bombers using the massive ‘Tallboy’ bombs are also covered.

(German Battleships of WWII in action – Warships No. 23 is a good alternative for German battleships, but hard to find and only availabe in used condition.)

Some other possibilities for more information are German Battleship Bismarck: Otto von Bismarck, Battleship, Operation Rheinubung, Battle of the Denmark Strait, Bismarck class battleship,Deutschland class cruiser, Plan Z, H class battleship (1939), and German Battleships 1897-1945 (Warships Fotofax).

German Capital Ships and Raiders in World War II: From Graf Spee to Bismarck, 1939-1941 (Naval Staff Histories), by Eric Grove

This is a compendium of seven Naval Staff Histories which deals with operations by major German surface units. The actions described are: The destruction of the pocket battleship Graf Spee, by three Royal Navy light cruisers off the River Plate; the hunt for the Bismark; the Battle of the North Cape when Scharnhorst was sunk by HMS Duke of York in a snowy night action; the escape of the Gneisenau and the Scharnhorst up the English Channel through British defenses in the “Channel Dash”; the series of attacks on Tirpitz by aircraft carriers; long-range bombers and midget submarines in her Norwegian lair; and the predations of disguised merchant raiders such as the notorious Pinguin.

This book is volume one of a two volume set.

German Capital Ships and Raiders in World War II: From Scharnhorst to Tirpitz, 1942-1944 (Whitehall Histories. Naval Staff Histories), by Eric Grove

This is volume 2 of this
set.

By 1942 the Kreigsmarine was largely confined to harbour but none the less the Royal Navy still pursued it. In February 1942, two battlecruisers escaped with a daring, daylight sortie up the channel. Following this, there was a series of battles in Arctic waters which left the Scharnhorst sunk in a blizzard by HMS Duke of York and the Tirpitz capsized by giant bombs.

This second volume describes the disproportionate effort expended in trying to sink the finest warships ever built. The Prinz Eugen for example withstood a nuclear explosion after the war ended.

German battleships at Amazon UK

The Battleship Bismarck: Anatomy of the Ship, by Jack Brower

Bismark and her sister ship ‘Tirpitz’ were the largest and heaviest warships ever completed in Europe. Her one battle cruise was obviously the stuff of legends: She sunk the ‘Hood’ in just a couple of salvos.

The Bismarck is perhaps the most famous warship in the world. The German battleship, 45,000 tons, was completed in early 1941 and went on to sink the ‘Mighty Hood’, pride of the Royal Navy, in one of the most celebrated naval encounters ever. After a dramatic chase around the North Atlantic involving many units of the Royal Navy, Bismarck was finally brought to the big guns of the Home Fleet on 27 May, and dispatched with gunfire and torpedoes. Before this, however, she was the most fearsome battleship in any European navy.

The ‘Anatomy of the Ship’ series aims to provide the finest documentation of individual ships and ship types ever published. What makes the series unique is a complete set of superbly executed line drawings, both the conventional type of plan as well as explanatory views, with fully descriptive keys. These are supported by technical details, photos and a record of the ship’s service history. Complete with an extended ship’s plan on the reverse of a fold-out jacket. The books in this series are generally very good.

Jack Brower runs his own design and draughtsmanship company in Canada. He has spent months researching this book in the Bundesarchiv Kriegsmarine collection and through the original records of the shipyard of Blohm and Voss in Germany.

Battleships of the Bismarck Class: Bismarck and Tirpitz : Culmination and Finale of German Battleship Construction, by Bernard Koop and Klaus-Peter Schmolke

This book adds little
new knowledge to the existing information that is available on the Bismarck Class in a variety of other texts, but it contains most of what is also known elsewhere. The most valuable contribution of this book probably lies in the fine photographs, the diagrams and internal schematics are however very small.

The design criteria and historical context discussion, what little there is, reflects some degree of revisionism via its use of often observed criticisms of the Bismarck Class’ design vs those used by other powers during WWII. Nonetheless, this discussion is not well detailed with regard to a host of specifics, most notably a detailed review of the ship’s immune zones vs certain shells at specified ranges. All and all, some fine photography, but very little new information.

©2010 Navy Fiction. All Rights Reserved.

In this, the ninth book in the Nathaniel Drinkwater series, the Captain and his HMS Patrician arrive in the South China Sea. They have traveled along the coast of North America, battled a typhoon and rescued an East Indiaman on the way

Now Drinkwater is ordered to guard a convoy of ships from the East India Company from Canton to Penang, in an area full of pirates. So in A Private Revenge we find Drinkwater dealing with pirates, French and Dutch men-of-war, as well as an unexpected, unwelcome and very threatening passenger from his past, his archenemy Morris.

The smart but evil Morris whose Navy career ended in a scandal, seeks revenge on Nathaniel Drinkwater and has made plans that will ruin the good, decent and somewhat naïve Captain who seems to be unable to understand the true nature of Morris and the length he is willing to go to in order to harm Drinkwater. His lack of understanding leads to deception and tragedy. Woodman cleverly builds up tension, and we as readers know something terrible will happen, even though Drinkwater does not.

And, indeed, terrible things do happen. Sabotage, treachery, kidnapping, torture, hard fighting and death all result from the evil actions of Morris. The climax of A Private Revenge takes place on Borneo and forces the Patricians and Drinkwater to fight for their lives.

This is a very exciting, to some extent even a frustrating book, for followers of the series. I feel pretty certain that is will be exciting for newcomers to the series, but probably not to the same extent. Woodman’s use of creative plot lines which spans multiple books in the series and historical events is very good. This book is relatively dark and tough, and actually left me a little sad at the end. A book you need to read!

Links to Richard Woodman’s books at amazon US, amazon UK, and amazon CAN.

©2010 Navy Fiction. All Rights Reserved.

This is the seventh installment in the popular and long-running Aubrey-Maturin series by Patrick O’Brian. The Surgeon’s Mate is a historical novel set during the Napoleonic Wars. Here we catch up with Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin just after they have gotten out of American captivity (see The Fortune of War), aboard the Chesapeake. Now they must hurry home to England.

But returning to England turns out to be more complicated than anticipated. Thus the stories in this book are multiple: Jack’s losing himself in an affair with a woman of questionable character in Halifax; “Lucky” Jack and Stephen’s mission to win over a Catalan unit from the French at Grimsholm and capture the fortress; the imprisonment of Jack, Stephen, and Stephen’s Swedish assistant Jagiello by the French; and their attempt to escape. As well, in The Surgeon’s Mate, Stephen’s secret life as a top spy for the British Crown is severely threatened.

The stories that make up this book are exciting and very interesting as well. Stephen Maturin plays a more prominent part in this book than in many of the others, and we learn more about the dangers involved in his line of work.
Also, the sea battles in this book are well described.

The book is extremely well written and full of irony and humor. Patrick O’Brian’s mastery of both the English language and the history of naval warfare are nearly unbeatable. His equal touches of comedy, grief and humanity really put him way ahead of the competition. Overall The Surgeon’s Mate is both entertaining and exciting. I found it to be a spell-binding novel – a book very difficult to put down.

Praise:

Patrick O’Brian is .. someone who shares his splendid vision, his wonderful sense of character, with a growing number of lucky contemporary readers who have found his works.” — George Garrett

Link to books by Patrick O’Brian at amazon US, amazon UK, and amazon CAN.

©2010 Navy Fiction. All Rights Reserved.