Usual splendid attention to detail and character
Description
In the seventh tale of the highly acclaimed Drinkwater series, Captain Drinkwater's frigate, HMS Antigone, is ordered to the Baltic Sea in the spring of 1807 as Napoleon's grip has begun to reach across Europe to the borders of Holy Russia. As country after country falls under the weight of French domination, Captain Nathaniel Drinkwater is faced with the challenges brought about by military disaster and diplomatic intrigue.
On board the Antigone, Drinkwater is threatened by the seething discontent of his crew and the instability of his drunken first lieutenant. Drinkwater's task is to cooperate with his country's allies and intelligence agents. When a coded message is intercepted, his mission suddenly becomes one of extreme personal danger. As the fate of Europe is being decided, Drinkwater must carry out his mission in the face of his old enemy. This final confrontation brings him to the brink of death.
Reviews
This duo of sea adventures spans the historic to the contemporary. Written in 1988, Baltic Mission is an installment in Woodman's Nathaniel Drinkwater series. This episode finds the British sailor on a secret assignment for the crown while Napoleon continues to acquire real estate. Drinkwater is soon at odds with his crew and hamstrung by his drunken first mate. The Endangered Species of this 1992 title are both the British merchant fleet and Capt. John Mackinnon, skipper of the Matthew Flinders. On his last voyage before retirement, Mackinnon, too, finds himself facing a hostile crew, as well as a typhoon and a load of Vietnamese refugees he feels he must rescue and deliver to safety. Now that Patrick O'Brian is gone, this is a solid author to recommend.
There is no doubt that Nathaniel Drinkwater rates up there with the best of the nautical world.
