Customer Reviews

Beyond the Reef

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

By now we've heard almost all the sail commands and maneuvers possible, and Kent seems to have run out of new sea lore. This is another book in which Bolitho's passionate interest in his married lover Catherine takes pride of place to sea action. Kent is spinning his wheels in these later stories, or better said: "he's all aback, an' that's no error." Now that Richard Bolitho has been an admiral for a while, he's become more involved with grand strategy than small ship actions, and Kent is harder pressed to make him an exciting figure. This is probably true to life but makes for a tedious tale. Symptomatic of the problem is the fact the publisher devotes most of the cover blurb to the author's credentials to write such a book, and only two sentences to the story. The "Reefs" of the title are more metaphorical than geographic: the estrangement of Bolitho and his favorite officer, Herrick; Herrick's court-martial; Bolitho's cruel sister; Herrick's betrayal; and Bolitho's continuing estrangement from power and reward due to envy and his illicit affair. Despite his youthful appearance, a lifetime's violent assaults and horrific losses are grinding Bolitho down. Kent's mistake may have been to start Bolitho too early in his career and promote him too rapidly, arriving at flag rank too long before the convenient end of the Napoleonic world wars. Kent seems to be grooming Admiral Bolitho's nephew, frigate Capt. Adam Bolitho, for better and more cheerful stories in the future.

I love the Bolitho series and have reread them all several times, Kent has not proved able to handle the transition from officer/captain to flag rank. Too dark, not enough action, what happen to the brillance of "To Glory We Steer" and others of the earlier books.

In this book, Kent's hero Bolitho broods about marital difficulties and best friendships gone bad for most of the novel. There is only one major sea battle, and that starts at page 296 of a 310 page novel! Bolitho, his best friend, his nephew, his coxswain, his servant and his flag captain are all undergoing problems related to marriage simultaneously. I was left wondering if Kent has some recent disaster in his personal life and wrote this dark and depressing book as a therapy session. I rate this book as the worst I've read in years, the worst Kent book I've read (out of about ten), and a definite do not read.

Not by far as exciting as the earlier books in the Bolitho series. The delicate balance between personal affaires of our main character on the one end and the tremendously detailed action scenes on the other is lost. There are far too many sentimental bits and too much hero-worshipping stuff in this book. Kent is a bit off course in my opinion.

Vice-Admiral Richard Bolitho faces personal tradgedy, professional risk, and the lose of his best friend in life. With his beloved companion Catherine he encounters treachery and shipwreck, once again putting his leadership to the test. With Captain Keene, Allday, and traitorous crewman he pits his skills as a seaman and leader against the best to ocean has to offer. Having gone before a court-martial of Thomas Herrick to testify, his faith in his friend is at risk. Again in Antigua he must rally his piteously small fleet against a superior French force, and risk the loss of the Caribean to Napoleon. As always a tale told with wonderful detail and breadth. Second to none, in the tradition of wonderful craftsmanship and even better detail. A must read for the lovers of Richard Bolitho, and anyone else who loves a great sea adventure set in the late 17th century.

I have to admit that I am very confused about the direction that Alexander Kent is taking this series. On the one hand, this book continues the series with many of the normal and expected elements. So, we have a battle at sea between French and British fleets with the latter under Richard Bolitho's command; we have glimpses of Adam Bolitho's ongoing career progression; we see an evolution of Richard Bolitho's and Katherine Somerville's romance; and many other elements that have swirled around as sub-plots in previous novels.

On the other hand, this book seems to have very little to say in furthering the overall stories and so there are many, many recycled elements. There is yet again a mutiny (why do they appear to be so common?); enemies that have more information than Bolitho and his crews, yet they fail in their mission; a harrowing escape from a sinking ship via lifeboat and the terrible suffering of its occupants - and of course, Bolitho sustains everyone's morale through his example and only those who believe in him survive; ongoing political wrangling and more.

So, where does all this leave us? I do not know.

This is somewhat of a transformational novel as far as I can tell. With nothing really meaty for Richard Bolitho to be involved in, we see him being sent to Cape Town to re-organize patrol craft to watch for slave ships. Is this really what you need a fighting Vice-Admiral to be doing? Then, after the shipwreck, he returns to London and there is no more talk of Cape Town, but instead he is sent to the Carribean. What's up with that?

The only thing that I saw that was positive is that Alexander Kent is evolving in his writing along with the story line and the time it has taken to put all these books out. In earlier novels, he really struggled with the man/woman relationship thing and he still has a lot to work on. However, in comparison with his previous efforts, this book is much better. The relationships between Kate and Dick, and Adam, Val, and Zenoria are much better thought out. Now he has gone too far down the line of discussing sexual themes for a book series that is meant to be read by pre-pubescent boys. Love and infidelity also take place here.

Another story line that evolves a bit is the situation with Tom Herrick. This great friend of Bolitho's was last seen as a wreck on the wreck of the Benbow. The book starts with Herrick's Court Martial and exoneration. However, as Tom and Dick's paths cross again, I was reminded of the comments made in earlier books that Herrick should never have made it higher than a Lieutenant. If the juxtaposition between Herrick and Suttercliffe is not accidental, than Kent is making a point here of how some people are allowed to move on and get promoted well above their talents and shows the negative impact of that practice. Nonetheless, the falling apart of this great friendship is sad to read.

So, again, what is all this leading to? I have no idea. I get the impression that because there was a lull in the naval actions between Trafalgar and the end of the war that Kent himself is filling in the timeline with soap opera of the lives of the main characters. Until the war of 1812 with the U.S. breaks out, it may be that we read stories like this one. If so, that would be too bad.

I had not heard of Alexander Kent until I complained at a book store that they had no copies of Patrick O'Brian's books. The owner said, "Have you read any of Alexander Kent?" I had not, and that began a wonderful new adventure. Kent writes naval stories about the same historical time period as O'Brian, but Kent often has more action scenes, which I thoroughly enjoy. If you like O'Brian, you will love Kent. It seems that each Kent book throws in a new twist to an old theme, or sometimes a totally new theme.
Prentice Kinser III, D.Min., Author of:Limitless Living, A Guide to Unconventional Spiritual Exploration and Growth

I've read much nautical fiction and the Bolitho series is my favorite. The last few books of the series are not among the best and Beyond the Reef is included in that group.

The main thing that hurts this group is the love story that Kent decided to take up approximately half of each of those books. After reading a little more than half, I thought that if she called him "dearest of men" one more time or if Bolitho thought of her saying "Don't leave me" once more, I might scream.

The reason I gave it a 3 star rating instead of lower is that the rest of the book is pretty good. Kent/Reeman has always been excellent at description, the ability to make the reader see the colors and sights which fill out a scene. He has the ability to create and develop characters that, if they're allowed to survive, become as familiar to readers as old friends and acquaintances. No series is more consistent in giving readers a realistic feel of life aboard ship in the age of sail.

Kent fell into the same pit as Clive Cussler did with the Dirk Pitt books. When Pitt's insufferable offspring were brought in, the series went to hell in a bucket. Same happened by making the love story a central part of the Bolitho series near its end.

I should say near the end for Sir Richard because Kent has carried on with Bolitho's nephew Adam. I read the first one featuring him and felt that Kent had been re-energized. I hope that continues to be the case.

Vice Admiral Richard Bolitho should be a member of the court martial convened aboard his flagship to try his closest friend, Rear Admiral Thomas Herrick, after Herrick's loss of the convoy he was assigned to protect. But since Bolitho found Herrick still trying to fight the battle, his flagship disabled and his dead Marines scattered "like toy soldiers" over the deck as he continued giving them orders, Bolitho must be a witness instead. It's an ordeal, to say the least. Will Herrick, whom Bolitho continues to love dearly despite his friend's disapproval of Bolitho's open affair with Lady Catherine Somervell, be sentenced to death? And does Herrick even care, now that his beloved wife is gone?

That's the poignant opening to this novel, which next carries Bolitho toward the Cape of Good Hope as a passenger aboard a privately owned ship. He has a mission from the Admiralty, of course, but on this ship he can bring Lady Catherine along. He also has his staff with him, men like his coxswain, John Allday; his flag lieutenant, Stephen Jenour; and his flag captain, Valentine Keen. Meanwhile, back at the Bolitho estate in Cornwall, Keen's bride stays at the Bolitho home and develops a close friendship with Captain Adam Bolitho, the admiral's nephew, whose ship is in port locally. Will these two young people manage to break each other's hearts, since Zenoria Keen cannot adjust to a marriage she may have made for gratitude's sake rather than love? For Adam does love her.

This novel features rousing sea adventures, but is carried mostly by the characters' personal relationships. That's typical for a "later in series" Bolitho novel. I am not sure how it would read for someone coming in fresh, who would not know those characters already and feel invested in them. For me, a reader since early days catching up after a long hiatus, it was thoroughly enjoyable. My only quibble is a small one, and perhaps it is simply due to the changes in mainstream publishing expectations over the past 30 or so years. The love scenes in these books have begun to read like passages from a romance novel. I don't mind that; I'm not unfamiliar. But it's jarring, coming in the middle of a book that otherwise echoes C.S. Forester.

--Reviewed by Nina M. Osier, author of 2005 science fiction EPPIE winner "Regs"

This book may not have the major fleet engagements sprinkled through it as most Alexander Kent books do, but it is not lacking in action, character development and page turnability (that feeling when you just have to read the next section to find out what's going to happen next). I first fell in love with this series of books when I was 12, and I'm most of the way through a complete read of the series in many years. These books are as fresh and enjoyable to read as the first time I picked up Sloop of War. I highly recommend this entire series to anyone who is interested in the days of fighting sails and sailors.