Band of Brothers: A Midshipman Bolitho Novel (The Bolitho Novels) [Hardcover]

Alexander Kent (Author)

Book Description

Series: The Bolitho Novels | Publication Date: October 1, 2005

Bolitho stands on the brink of manhood and must pass his examination before the Navy Board to begin his true career as a King's Officer. Soon, he and his friend Martyn Dancer set sail to deliver the new schooner Hotspur to the Channel Islands. Bolitho finds himself forced to confront an abusive lieutenant and test his mettle against vicious smugglers.

Editorial Reviews

Review

" . . . Full of rousing sea action." -- Kirkus Reviews

About the Author

Douglas Edward Reeman, who also writes under the name Alexander Kent, joined the British Navy at 16, serving on destroyers and small craft during World War II, and eventually rising to the rank of lieutenant. He has taught navigation to yachtsmen and has served as a script adviser for television and films. As Alexander Kent, Reeman is the author of the best-selling Richard Bolitho Novels. His books have been translated into nearly two dozen languages.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 144 pages
• Publisher: McBooks Press (October 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1590131061
• ISBN-13: 978-1590131060
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,369,638 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

36 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Terrific series -- but a really really bad, really really short entry in it!, August 14, 2006

By 

Michael K. Smith (South Louisiana) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Band of Brothers: A Midshipman Bolitho Novel (The Bolitho Novels) (Hardcover)

This is the most recently published of the more than two dozen novels in the Richard Bolitho naval series, but by the internal chronology, it comes third. It's here that Midshipman Bolitho is examined for promotion to lieutenant, and also here that he loses his best friend, Martyn Dancer, in a very minor action against a smuggler's brig. The problem with this extremely brief "novel" (a mere 113 pages, not counting the glossary and the selection from the next book in the series) is that the narrative and plot line are both as thin as muslin. It's almost a sketch of what ought to have been a full-dress novel three times its length. I found myself stopping to go back and reread a couple pages, thinking I'd missed something. And I kept checking the printed page numbers, in the suspicion that two had been glued together. The lieutenant's exam, for instance, has only just begun, maybe two or three basic questions asked, when suddenly it's over and Bolitho is being congratulated on having passed! When it becomes apparent Richard and his small party are going to have to capture a lugger on the beach in order to interrupt the loading of smuggled cases of muskets -- at least, I think that's what they're attempting to accomplish, it's never really clear -- the narrative jumps from the beach, to a moment in their own boat, to a few minutes after they take the smuggler's boat. If this were a movie, it would be littered with scene cuts and pages ripped from the screenplay. The whole thing seems to be a ploy on the author's part to bring in some extra dough without having done anything to earn it.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good read, July 10, 2008

By 

Dr J (United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Band of Brothers: A Midshipman Bolitho Novel (The Bolitho Novels) (Hardcover)

This is the third (chronologically speaking), but number 27 or so written, of Alexander Kent's Richard Bolitho series. It's an easy read, can be knocked off in one evening, as it's only about 100 pages. Bolitho and his buddy go up for promotion to lieutenant and engage in a battle or two. This one is not quite as action packed as the earlier novels, but it answers some questions and ties up some loose ends that were skipped over when Kent wrote the series. I am not sure why he waited so many years to fill the gap. It's a necessary read for anyone who has read the other bolitho novels.

1 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Band of Brothers, April 11, 2007

By 

Sue "Bookaholic" (Mississippi) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Band of Brothers: A Midshipman Bolitho Novel (The Bolitho Novels) (Hardcover)

I thought that this was a good but sad story. The continue adventures of Richard Bolitho, midshipman. This time he and his friend have been assigned to fight smugglers.