Continuing the rousing adventures of Thomas Kydd . . . as he battles ships at sea, snobbery at home and the sense that he has serious personal shortcomings . . . Stockwin, a career navy man, writes of the nautical life with vivid authority.
Description
Promoted to acting lieutenant at the bloody Battle of Camperdown in October 1797, Thomas Kydd must now sit an examination to confirm his rank—or face an inglorious return before the mast. But this is only the first of many obstacles for a man who was pressed into the King's service and discovered a calling for the sea. Kydd is from humble origins, yet he attains the lofty heights of the quarterdeck as an officer in His Majesty's Navy. If he is to avoid spending the rest of his career as a tarpaulin officer, he must also become a gentleman. Kydd and his enigmatic friend Nicholas Renzi set sail in HMS Tenacious for the North American station. Aboard the old 64-gun ship, Kydd comes to doubt he will ever match up to the high-born gentlemen officers.
Reviews
A rousingly exciting and delicious full-immersion in the perils of seafaring and society during the great Age of Sail!
Period dialect and seagoing argot aplenty add credibility to the adventure, and the unworldly Kydd is an apt lens for the reader's journey.
Comparable to C.C. Humphreys’s Jack Absolute series and the naval tales of the great Patrick O’Brian.
