The Blooding of the Guns [Hardcover]

Alexander Fullerton (Author)

Book Description

Series: Everard Naval | Publication Date: December 1, 2001

Introducing young Nicholas Everard at the Battle of Jutland, the first of the nine volume Everard Naval Series spanning the years 1916 to 1943.

On the last day of May, 1916, one hundred and fifty British ships, manned by sixty thousand sailors, confronted the German High Sea Fleet of one hundred ships and forty five thousand men in the icy North Sea off the coast of Jutland. This epic battle is the subject of the first in the series of naval novels featuring Nicholas Everard and his sons. A meticulous and dramatic recreation of an historic confrontation, it is filled with action, tension and heroism. This is naval warfare, as close as one can get without actually having been there.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Although several volumes of Fullerton's naval adventure series have been published to high acclaim in the United Kingdom, this book marks the U.S. debut of the series. The star of the series is Nicholas Everard, a young naval officer in the British navy during World War I. In this first volume, Everard plays a role in the Battle of Jutland, an important and decisive encounter in May 1916 involving 150 British ships and 100 ships from the German High Fleet. Unfortunately, the novel suffers from trying to do too much. The focus is diffuse; instead of concentrating on Nicholas, the author shifts to his brother, David, and his Uncle Hugh, who are also naval officers in the battle but on different ships. This results in a choppy and confusing narrative, as well as uneven characterization. Although the volume is far from satisfying, naval adventure series (e.g., Patrick O'Brian's more successful Aubrey-Maturin books) are perennially popular with patrons. Large public libraries, then, may want to consider. Fred Gervat, Concordia Coll., Bronxville, NY
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"The most meticulously researched war novels that I have ever read."--Len Deighton

"The research is unimpeachable and the scent of battle quite overpowering."--Sunday Times (London)

"The accuracy and flair of Forester at his best."-- Irish Times
-- Review

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 286 pages
• Publisher: Soho Press; First American Edition edition (December 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1569472599
• ISBN-13: 978-1569472590
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #953,107 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great fictional account of the WWI naval battle of Jutland, July 2, 2002

By 

Kenneth S. Smith (Goleta, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Blooding of the Guns (Hardcover)

This is a fine fictional account of the Battle of Jutland. Jutland was the one major engagement between the British and German navies in World War I on 30 May, 1916. The clash involved hundreds of ships ranging from small destroyers to 30,000 ton battleships. During the battle the British learned of a major design flaw in their battle cruisers. These ships were lightly armored for speed but armed with large caliber main guns to match battleships. Unfortunately, the magazines were not properly protected from the turrets firing above them and the had a tendency to blowup and disintegrate the entire ship. Most of this novel takes place during the battle. The author gives excellent descriptions of the equipment, crews, tactics, and running and handling of the ships that participated in the action. The battle sequences are exciting and realistic. The main characters are Hugh Everard, Captain of a Queen Elizabeth class battleship. He is the mentor of his nephews, David and Nick. David is older than Nick and an experienced sailor assigned on a battle cruiser. The inexperienced Nick is newly assigned to a Destroyer. Each of these three men are severely tested during the battle. This is the first novel in the Everard saga and well worth the read, but be warned: these novels can be addictive.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The First of a Great Series, August 8, 2005

By 

T. Berner (New York, New York) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Blooding of the Guns: The Everard Naval Series: Volume One (Paperback)

At first blush, the Everard family doesn't look like much on which to base a series of heroic sailors. Hugh, drummed out of the service before the war in some unnamed scandal but pulled back in because of the emergency, is in love with his brother John's wife. John, a general in the army in France, does not make an appearance, but his sons Nick and David do. Nick is feckless and irresponsible, just one step ahead of being drummed out of the Royal Navy himself, while David is more professional if somewhat dull. That in the course of the book, one's opinion of everyone changes 180 degrees is a tribute to the author's skill at both showing character development and also at revealing a character's past layer by layer, like peeling an onion.

The criticism commonly made about this book merely shows the inability of some critics to appreciate the intent of the book they are reviewing. Yes, the book is choppy and yes, it is hard to follow the course of the action. One's initial impulse is to wish for maps and an appendix, but then you realize that this is the whole point. Fullerton's goal is to present to the reader exactly how fighting the Battle of Jutland felt to those who were there. Jutland was a confusing battle and it was many days before those who were there had the foggiest notion of the sequence of events. Fullerton has studied the battle carefully and everything that happened in real life happens here at exactly the same time. But you can't construct a coherent whole out of the narrative, just as even Lord Jellicoe wasn't able to do so. For that, you need to consult another book (I would recommend Rules of the Game by Andrew Gordon, which is not only the finest description of the battle, but one of the finest works of military history), but do it after you read this book, so that you get the full flavor of the writer's intent.

Very few writers capture the fog of war as well as Fullerton does.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Magnificent High- Seas Action, December 31, 2002

By 

Holmes Brannon (Woodland Park, CO USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Blooding of the Guns (Hardcover)

I just finished Alexander Fullerton's "The Blooding of the Guns" and my heart is still beating faster than it should. This is an outstanding work of naval fiction. Fullerton follows three men, the Everards(each on separate ships), during the Battle of Jutland. Swiftly shifting from one vessel to the next, the author manages to convey some of the confusion and "fog of battle" that plagued both the British and the Germans during this, the greatest naval battle of WWI. Fullerton's knowledge of nautical terms and early 20th century Royal Navy practices and customs creates a staggeringly realistic action novel. For readers tired of the stodgy, plodding works of Patrick O'Brian, or the gee-whiz gimmicks of Ludlum and Dale Brown, or who simply prefer dreadnoughts over wood and sails, Fullerton is a rare and welcome addition to the short list of truly authentic war novelists.