A King's Cutter (Mariner's Library Fiction Classics) [Paperback]

Richard Woodman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 2001 | Series: Mariners Library Fiction Classic (Book 2)

In 1792, Nathaniel Drinkwater returns to the Royal Navy with an appointment to the twelve-gun cutter KESTREL, commanded by the inscrutable Madoc Griffiths. Beneath the gathering shadow of the French Revolution, he undertakes dangerous secret operations off the coast of France, including the rescue of emigres and the landing of agents.
As Europe plunges deeper into war, KESTREL participates in the struggle for the Channel, and Drinkwater encounters the devious and sinister Edouard Santhonax, who is attracting a great deal of interest from the British government.
Drinkwater eventually uncovers a network of intrigue that paralyzes the Royal Navy with mutiny, leading to a bloody confrontation at Camperdown, where Drinkwater and Santhonax come face to face.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'Nautical novelist Richard Woodman arrives in New World ports with the first three of 14 installments in the Nathaniel Drinkwater series, previously released in the U.K. between 1981 and 1983 and compared by critics there to C. S. Forester's Hornblower saga. Part of the Mariner's Library Fiction Classics, An Eye of the Fleet, A King's Cutter and A Brig of War are set in the late 18th Century and find hero Drinkwater caught up in revolutions on both sides of the Atlantic. Those looking for high seas action and historical intrigue are in luck but these are strictly for devotees of the genre.' --Publishers Weekly, May 2001

About the Author

As a professional sailor, Richard Woodman has progressed from apprentice to captain in a variety of ships. Along with the Drinkwater series, he has written nautical fiction about tea-clippers and cargo liners and is a member of the Society for Nautical Research. Woodman lives in England, and is considered one of the strongest voices in nautical fiction today.

Product Details

• Paperback: 170 pages
• Publisher: Sheridan House; First Thus edition (February 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1574091247
• ISBN-13: 978-1574091243
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #634,147 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 5 secret landings for Drinkwaters return, October 7, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: A King's Cutter (Nathaniel Drinkwater) (Paperback)

A King's Cutter has its biggest disappointment in its opening: ten years have passed since the first Nathaniel Drinkwater novel, An Eye of the Fleet. I couldn't help but be disappointed that Woodman had squandered ten years of possible adventures for Drinkwater. Given the time scale of the novels, that amounts to 4-5 novels that could have been written and won't be. A King's Cutter finds Drinkwater no further ahead than he was at the end of the first novel. He has married but has not advanced in the Royal Navy. However, a bloody war is not far off and Drinkwater has some apparently minor opportunities.

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.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent historical novel of a young naval officer, April 8, 1999

By 

Fred Camfield (Vicksburg, MS USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: A King's Cutter (Nathaniel Drinkwater) (Paperback)

This may be one of the better books in the Nathaniel Drinkwater series, dealing with the hazards and slow promotion of a young officer in the Royal Navy. It covers his duties as an acting lieutenant, then sailing master, of the cutter Kestral from 1792 - 1797. The book was well researched by the author, and fits in well for that historical period, giving details of the mutiny within the Channel Fleet, the events leading to the Battle of Camperdown, etc.

10 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A shipping manual disguised as a novel, October 10, 2005

By 

Paul Brown (Nagano, Japan) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: A King's Cutter (Mariner's Library Fiction Classics) (Paperback)

I gave up on this book at page 42 owing to paragraphs of marine jargon that meant absolutely nothing to me. Unless you are interested in the very detailed workings of an old sailing ship this book is not for you. Descriptions such as this seem to be on every page:

"By the mast the jib halliard was started and waist deep in water on the lee bow the flogging jib was pulled inboard. Within a minute the spitfire was shackled to the halliard, it's tack hooked to the traveler and the outhall manned. Even as the the big iron ring jerked out along the spar the halliard tightened" Make sense to you? Me either.

I feel that there is a difference between attention to detail and too much detail, especially for us landlubbers who have no idea what he's on about (he doesn't explain it!).

The plot seems to take second place to the author's need to show off his knowledge of seafaring and I was sadly disappointed.

I also found the characters totally forgetable and shallow.

Up to page 42 there is more jargon than plot.