Customer Reviews

The Darkening Sea (Mariner's Library Fiction Classics)

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

 

 

The Darkening Sea reads as if it were written in the 1920's or '30s. Woodman really makes the reader feel the transition between the Victorian and modern ages. The characters are very multidimensional and complex. The main character in particular is very well done - you understand and feel for him even if he is hard to like.

The book has a much more 'literary' feel than Woodman's Drinkwater series. It's more Hemmingway than Patrick O'Brian.

The nautical aspects as well as the historical/geographic settings are very well done.

A thoroughly enjoyable deep summer read. If you have been frustrated (as I have) by not being able to obtain some of the Drinkwater books (I have to read them in order of course!), the Darkening Sea will be a thoughtful diversion - a taste of Woodman's 'haute cusine' as it were.

Highly recommended!

Woodman is not a romantic writer. For him life is as the sea: unforgiving, treacherous, beautiful, deadly, and unconquerable. Woodman's novels are characterized by central figures who never rise to heroic status. They are average men, fallen men, flawed men who don't always have all the answers and sometimes act in questionable ways. His main characters are tough ships embarked on "Darkening Seas" but their journey is by no means assured. People die. People die without all the loose ends being tied up. Life is messy, relationships are messy, careers hinge on the petty attitudes of superiors who have an ax to grind.

For all that, Woodman is still probably one of the best historical writers around. If you want a taste of how an average Brit Naval officer experienced and understood a world at war then this book will transport you in time in a marvelous manner. If you are looking for a nice, cozy little story where the good guys win and nobody you like gets hurt - this ain't for you.

I have read all the Drinkwater novels and this is my first Woodman story outside that line. I find that the basic theme is the same and consistent with the above. Good book - well worth reading - just don't expect a bunch of warm and fuzzies.

This book describes a British naval family for most of the 20th century. It starts off strongly with the Battle of Jutland and other naval action during World War I. It then continues the family saga into WWII and beyond. However, once peace descends the story looses it strength and putters out. A man's affair with his grandfather's mistress and a menage a trois add some strange flavors to the last few chapters. It would have been a better book if it had ended earlier.

All in all, not nearly as good a book as any of the others in Woodman's Drinkwater series which begins with _An Eye of the Fleet_, which I highly recommend.