Mariner Reviews

The threat of now-Emperor Napoleon's invasion requires Nat's constant vigilance over the French ports, destroying any likely transports and incidentally aiding the spy network in their subversive attempts to overthrow the 'little corporal'. During this routine blockading, the intransigent midshipman Lord Walmsley pushes his status too far and ends up over a cannon wearing a check shirt, then a transfer out of Nat's hair - but who turns up in the future, like a bad penny.

Despite the blockade, the Frogs break out and, in company with the Dons, apparently head to the W.Indies, leaving Nat to wait for Nelson appearing from the Med. Nat gets a transfer to a 74, but in a turn of events he is captured by the Spaniards and flung into prison with his officers. The loathsome Santhonax appears again to quiz Nat and do more dirty deeds as the book closes.

Trafalgar forms the high point of the story, with Nat only able to view the carnage from the orlop of the French 'Bucentaure' 80, where he was transferred as prisoner with little Gillespy.

We see more of the character of Mr.Q, Mr. Frey & Lt.Rogers in this book as well as more of the strategy of the defence of Britain, as Nat becomes more accepted by those in command. A small reference in a letter from his wife, tells us that Nat has fostered poor little Billy Cue Maxted, the Mid whose legs were blown off in the action with 'Requin' off Greenland (in the previous volume 'Corvette'). This touching generosity, the tenderness he shows to little Mr. Gillespy and his encouragement of Mr.Frey reveals a different side to the cool, collected tactician we normally see.
Mr.Woodman's writing gets better and better with each story - more fluid and confident, yet providing another level of suspense under the surface; meanings are implicit rather than voiced; inferences made by subtle suggestion rather than bald statement, which makes this a real pleasure to read.
As good as the best in the genre. *****

1805 starts in 1804 with Napoleon threatening to invade England. Drinkwater, now a captain, must patrol the English Channel to ensure that the French cannot bring a huge army across and subdue the stubborn English. With the powerful Royal Navy besting the French at every tack, was an invasion of England ever a real threat? Woodman makes a strong case that the answer is yes. Woodman, through letters from Drinkwater's wife, conveys the tension that was felt by English people at the time. Whether the threat was real or not, the reader is convinced that it was.

The reader also gets a sense of the loneliness felt by sailors with months or years of separation from their families. Drinkwater becomes a father figure to Midshipman Gillespy. Woodman presents the irony of Drinkwater being a father to a boy who is not his own while his own son is fatherless at home. The loss of fathers for indefinite periods of time or permanently is one of war's great tragedies and Woodman portrays it with some understatement.

Modern readers also know that 1805 culminated in the Battle of Trafalgar, which was Britain's greatest naval victory and perhaps the most decisive naval battle in history. Drinkwater has a unique perspective on the battle. Woodman's description of the battle through Drinkwater's eyes is a vision of hell, a vision that rings very true. Even though the reader sees the battle from the English perspective and the battle is a victory, Woodman emphasizes the tragedy.

1805 is a little uneven but Woodman more than makes up for this by his description of the events leading up to the Battle of Trafalgar and the description of the battle itself from Drinkwater's vantage point. 1805 is a powerful novel that has probably not received the recognition that it should. Without Trafalgar this is just another naval novel but with Trafalgar it's a masterstroke. It's every man's duty to read this one!

edition of the RSV that has the second edition of the NT and then
buy the NASB and ESV. Let these translations in the great tradition of Tyndale/KJV shape your Bible study. Then use others
to supplement your reading and study. The RSV is still available
but not easy to find. Blessed reading!!

"Wings of the Morning" is about young Victoria "Smokey" Simmons, captain of one of the fastest ship of the Atlantic, the 'Aramis'. When her father, the famous Clancy, had died and left her alone in the world, she asks God to give her strength. Three years have passed and Smokey begins dreaming of life away from the sea. She wants to have a home and raise a family. When she meets another sea captain, Dallas Knight, she believes that her dreams can finally come true. Dallas, also hopelessly in love with her, shares her dreams. But when a scheming and evil pirate comes into their lives, Smokey and Dallas' hopes for the future may come to an end. Will they have the strength to overcome these painful events and to trust themselves into their Father in heaven?

A truly marvelous tale taking place in the mid-1800s, "Wings of the Morning" will have you swept into a world of romance and suspense. I love the wonderful characters of Smokey, who is young and shy yet has great spirit, and Dallas, who will do anything to protect her. They are so real that it is very hard not to like them and to hope they have their dreams fulfilled.

The other three books of the Kensington Chronicles are "The Hawk and the Jewel", "Who Brings Forth the Wind", and "The Knight and the Dove", all of them filled with romance and suspense, plus they all are about people who love and honor their God. My suggestion to you is that if you have never read any of Lori Wick's books, you should start with these four books.

And if you are looking for other terrific Christian/Romance books, I recommend all books by Dee Henderson, including the O'Malley Series, "Danger in the Shadows", and the Uncommon Heroes Series. But be ready for suspense, intrigue, and mystery, because these books are filled with them!

Setting the record right with respect to the western coastal settlement is only one of his accomplishments. Also he has performed a service that is beyond measure organizing into a single volume a myriad of important facts from diverse sources.

Having read many of the scientific and scholarly works relating to this subject, I must state that none has been as interesting, unbiased, forthright, unembellished and evenhanded as has Tom Koppel's book.

Louis C. Sheppard, Ph.D., D.I.C.

On top of that, without losing any accuracy or "rigor," Koppel weaves the story like a mystery writer, seasoning necessarily slower passages with hints at just-around-the-bend revelations. And he recaps just enough to keep us straight with the story, not enough to annoy.

With documentary flair reminiscent of John McPhee's work, the guy gives the facts AND the color, always in historical perspective.

I learned and enjoyed, which is all I ask of a book.

Thus..... five stars.

This small volume is a treasure. In hardcover, the pages are silver, the dark blue typography is a beautiful old-style Roman, perhaps Garamond or Times, good-sized and leaded out for easy readability. And the illustrations are unsurpassed.

First, the illustrator: Gustave Dore was born in 1832, sixty years after the birth of Coleridge. He died in 1883. Coleridge preceded him in death by 49 years. Coleridge was born in 1772 and died in 1834. Dore was born in Strasbourg, and was a renowned illustrator who was doing lithographs at the age of thirteen.

The fact that Dore was a near contemporary of Coleridge is important because we can be assured that the characters' costumes in his illustrations reflect the actual dress of the time Coleridge was describing. The ships also are correctly drawn and beautifully detailed.

To say that his illustrations complement this classic epic poem is an understatement.

As to the poet, some wag said once of The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, that "a half-great poet had a wholly great day." I have also heard that Coleridge is supposed to have written his epic in one sitting, in a great burst of inspiration. I can't vouch for that, but it is truly a masterpiece--of that there can be no doubt.

I recall trying to memorize it when I was in high school, about sixty years ago. I loved it then, and I still do now.

For the price, this book is an absolute steal. No library is complete without this poem, and of all the renditions I've seen of it, this is by far the most beautiful.

On the surface, this may just seem to be a simple poem by an English Romantic. But there is so much more. There is a lesson to be learned, one of respect for God's creatures and for all of creation. This is certainly a Romantic point of view, and Coleridge puts it forth very nicely in this poem.

This is a great beginning poem for novices of poetry, for beginners and for people who dislike poetry if it doesn't rhyme and have a definite rhythm. This is definitely Coleridge's best poem, one that everyone should be familiar with. This version with the woodcuts makes for a very attractive package--the illustrations add nicely to the poems overall effect.

A King's Cutter features some of the same characters from An Eye of the Fleet, most notably Lieutenant Devaux and seaman Tregembo. The vile sodomite Morris is missing although it was implied that he would be back. Drinkwater has a new nemesis in Edouard Santhonax, an enemy who Drinkwater will face in subsequent episodes. The novel covers a period that begins just before war with Revolutionary France, includes the mutiny at Spithead and culminates with the Battle of Camperdown. Intrigue and subterfuge are as much a part of A King's Cutter as broadsides and boarding parties.

Like its predecessor, A King's Cutter has gothic elements. There are mysterious forces at work, which are neither fully understood nor explained. Even Drinkwater, who is as decent a human being as any in the RN, has a dark side to him. While graphically violent scenes are not present as in its predecessor, it is clear that life at the time is nasty, brutish and short and that warfare is not a sport of gentlemen.

Woodman has carved out a different niche from other writers of the genre; one that is unique, appealing and an interesting contrast to earlier series.

C.L.R. James wrote this book while he was interned with the newest generation of "Mariners, Renegades, and Castaways" on Ellis Island awaiting deportation. James's fate--that of a foreigner who offers the finest existing interpretation of one of America's greatest books and is still deported--serves as a cautionary tale for our own times. James concludes, "What the writing of this book has taught the writer is the inseparability of great literature and of social life."

Rather than see Ahab and Ishmael as representing respectively "totalitarian" and "American" cultural themes as critics in the 1950's saw it, James offers a vison focused on the Pequod and its crew. A view in which the MARINERS, RENEGADES & CASTAWAYS of the ship were at the mercy of their Captain. In James' interpretaion the Pequod is a factory ship and the crew are the workers. Ahab is no longer a mere sailor but is now illustrative of a "Captain of industry."

I agree with the reviewer from New Haven regarding the peculiar situation James found himself in. The established interpretation of a Cold War allegory was in keeping with the times in the 1950's. If James or Melville himself were writing today, the interpretation on offer here - rather than something to be persecuted for - would be considered far more plausible than the narrow and blinkered view of the 1950's mainstream critics.

As you read the book, you can't help but feel as though you've been transported back to 1912 and feel a part of history...

This book is definately a keeper, Good Work!