Customer Reviews

Colors Aloft

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The fragile peace between France and Britian was broken in 1803. During the Peace of Amies the British government ran down the fleet in number of ship and men while the French continued to build up their navy. In his last battle ViceAdmiral Sir Richard Bolitho had captured the French admiral Jobert's ship the Argonaute. Now Bolitho raises his flag at the foremast of this prize ship. He resumes command with only a few of his experienced crew. He is short of experienced seamen and has a reduced squadron. Bolitho is beset by depressing thoughts: problems at home with his wife who wants him to leave the sea and assume duty in London;doubts whether he will return from this combat; responsibility to lead his inexperienced crew to victory and safety. Hs main task is to catch the French if they break out of ports and destroy them in the Mediteranean. His prime enemy is Rear Admiral Jobert whose ship Bolitho now commands. He is a formidable wily enemy who is out for revenge. It will take all of Bolitho's skill and ingenuity to defeat him. Kent draws a vivid puicture of life in the British navy. The accounts of the battles are graphic and sirring. This reader had the sense of experiencing the events firsthand. The book is wellwritten;the characters finely drawn and human;the action swift. Highly recommenced for any reader of naval fiction....

Colors Aloft! is the 15th or so book in the Bolitho series and this one particulatly seems to be very humdrum. The timeframe for the story is right after the ending of the Peace of Amiens and the resumption of active warfare between France and Britain. During the peace, France was building its navy up while Britain released most of its sailors and retired its ships. So, when the war resumes, Britain is struggling. This explains why Vice Admiral Bolitho is put in command of a small squadron and sent to the Med to reinforce Nelson's blockade of France. This also explains why there are so few trained and qualified seamen on the ships in the small squadron.

This setting is the norm for this series and does lead to an interesting duel of wits between Bolitho and his arch-enemy: Admiral Jobert. The higlights of this book include the cat and mouse game being played between these two warriors and, of course, the individual battles between ships. Kent is a master of describing the roar of the cannons and the clash of steel as ship meets ship in that age of sail. If Kent would have stuck with these parts, he would have had a well-written story on his hands.

However, Kent put in several other things which take away from the quality of the story in my opinion. These things include: Marital discord in the Bolitho family; instantaneous love; Bolitho experiencing hate and despair; and Bolitho's feeling of approaching doom. Let's address them one by one.

Only two books after Dick marries Belinda and only a book after he finds out that he has a daughter, Bolitho is having severe second thoughts about his marriage. Supposedly, Belinda is suggesting that he leave Falmouth and set up residence in London to further his career - maybe even take on work at the admiralty. This causes Bolitho no small amount of bother and even causes him to re-evaluate whether the marriage is a mistake! The book goes so far as to hint broadly that Bolitho is still very much in love with Cheney and Belinda is merely there because she looks like Cheney but is a different person. Given how little we are told about the women in these stories, it is impossible for me to understand this wild change in outlook.

As has happened several times in these books, a boy meets a girl, and within hours they profess undying and eternal love to each other. In several previous instances it was Bolitho who had gorgeous women practically fling themselves at him. In this book it is Captain Keen who saves a convicted woman from being flogged and immediately falls in love with her. Of course, she falls in love with him as well and many pages in the book describe the glances they exchange when they meet etc. Kent is not good at describing romances and this detracts from the book. Of course, the romance is useful as a plot device in creating a situation where Bolitho and Keen and their ship are taking care of some of the complications that develop due to this romance and therefore are not present when Jobert breaks out of France and creates havoc - including killing off Captain Inch!

Up until now, Bolitho is always described as a kind and understanding man whom the crews love to follow because he is not cruel or vindictive. In almost every second book Kent makes sure to tell us of how Bolitho cannot stand the flogging punishments that were common in those days. In this book there is a significant change with Bolitho insisting that several French ships by utterly destroyed and other bystanders be harmed. Completely out of character!

Bolitho also gets injured in this book. Again. As is usual, he happens to have a great doctor on his ship who happens to have unusual herbs picked in the Carribean for just the sort of injury that Bolitho suffers. None of that is important however. The important part is the Bolitho is feeling a sense of doom and actively seeks death. Maybe this is tied to his depression over his unraveling marriage, or maybe it is related to his advancing age, but these thoughts and action are completely contrary to the Dick Bolitho that we have known in the past.

To summarize, this is a book that is about the middle of the pack in terms of how it fits in the projection of Bolitho's career. The great naval battles are there as are the problems of command. The book is marred by Kent ineptitude in describing romantic entanglements and has turned to the darker side of the personalities involved. On the other hand, we get to see more of Adam Bolitho (name now changed) and catch a glimpse of Rear Admiral Herrick who makes a cameo appearance toward the end of the book. This one is forgettable and I am looking forward to reading the next one.