Customer Reviews

A King's Cutter (Mariner's Library Fiction Classics)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

Woodman's Drinkwater is an excellent read for fans of the Hornblower, Bolitho, Ramage, Aubrey, and Lewrie series. Woodman has spun an action packed tale filled with believable characters combined with scenes described from the author's first hand knowledge of the sea (he was in the merchant marine) and deep knowledge of the historical era. A definite keeper!

Marking the coming-of-professional-age of Drinkwater, this book better than any other describes the sheer drudgery of blockade and small-ship work in the Age of Sail. Undoubtedly be best of the lot.

In his second book of the Nathaniel Drinkwater series, Richard Woodman continues to show his ability to communicate the events of the time in an interesting and somewhat suspenseful way. Nathaniel Drinkwater is second in command on the Royal Navy cutter Kestral which seems to keep finding itself in harm's way as the winds of war blow across Europe in the late 1790's. Those of us who grew up reading about the adventures of Captain Horatio Hornblower are returned to the days of sail again. You can feel the wind and smell the salt air as Drinkwater's adventures continue. Good stuff.

Richard Woodman's Drinkwater series have the authentic smell of the sea about them. A feature not dislayed in Patrick O'Brien's novels. Drinkwater is real, with flaws and solid worth. I recommend them to any lovers of fiction set in the days of Nelson.

I can only agree with the reviewer who noted the ten-year time jump between the setting of the first novel (An Eye...) and this one. Lots of material lost there, perhaps.

But, this is a notably better book than the first: sharper in focus on both character and plot. In addition, the secondary characters have more life to them and in this remind one in the best ways of the lesser figures in the Hornblower series. Drinkwater, himself, is a broader fellow (undoubtedly because he is older), and in his maturity we see a maturing action and plot. The second book is as much about character as about the naval technicalities and detail that another reviewer so bemoaned. This is all to the good, and the balance continues into the coming books.

I have found these to fit well on my shelf next to my Forester and O'Brian series. While not quite as insightful into the emotional or historical realities of the period, they are very well written. Hornblower is still my favorite, but Drinkwater is another great Captain to cheer for.

Richard Woodman joins other authors(Forester, Kent, V.A. Stuart, and Dudley Pope) in a excellent mix of history and Fiction. The story line with a fictional main charector is woven with historical fact in a way that the reader learns about this very interesting time in British Naval History. As a historian I found him to be accurate. I recommend him to all of you who grew up reading C.S. Forrester