Fire on the Waters: A Novel of the Civil War at Sea [Large Print] [Hardcover]

David Poyer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 2001

The year is 1861, and America shudders on the brink of disunion. Elisha Eaker, scion of a wealthy Manhattan banking family, joins the Navy against his father's wishes. He does it as much to avoid an arranged marriage to his cousin, Araminta Van Velsor, as to defend the flag.

Eli meets Lieutenant Ker Claiborne aboard the sloop of war U.S.S. Owanee. An Annapolis graduate who's seen action in the West Indies and the Africa Station, Claiborne is cool and competent in storm and battle, but he now faces an agonizing choice between the Navy he loves and his native Virginia. Whichever road he takes, he'll be called a traitor.

With authentic nautical and historical detail, master sea-yarner David Poyer follows Eli, Araminta, Ker, and their loved ones and shipmates into a maelstrom of divided loyalties, bitter partings, stormy seas, governmental panic, political blundering, and, finally, the test of battle as the bloodiest and most divisive war in American history begins.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The naval beginnings of the Civil War receive lengthy treatment in veteran author Poyer's latest seagoing adventure-cum-romance, the first of a projected series involving the internecine conflict. Here, the focus is on the efforts of the U.S.S. Owanee to provide support and relief as the union crumbles. Poyer's ensemble includes several crew members from the ill-fated ship, the most prominent being Eli Eaker, the Harvard-dropout son of a wealthy Maryland merchant, Micah Eaker, who joins the navy to prove his independence from his tyrannical father. In his adventures, Eaker turns his back on an arranged marriage with his cousin Araminta Van Velsor, who discovers the loss of the family fortune when she, too, attempts to escape her uncle's iron hand by gaining access to her inheritance. Eli and Araminta's romance plays out against the background of shifting wartime alliances, as Fort Sumter falls and the Owanee penetrates Chesapeake Bay on a clandestine mission. Poyer does a nice job of integrating the various characters and plot lines, including a narrative about a black seaman who tries to find his family through the Underground Railroad, and the story of an engine-room worker who finds himself involved in the building and then the scuttling of the Merrimack. But despite his impeccable naval and historical research, and his seeding of the narrative with authentic details of food, clothing and era-appropriate dialogue, Poyer never brings the combination of the fall of Fort Sumter and the burning of the Portsmouth shipyard together into an integrated story. The fragmented book that results has plenty of meat on the bones for Civil War and naval buffs, but may struggle to find a broader audience beyond Poyer's legion of loyal fans. Agent, Sloan Harris, ICM. 8-city author tour.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

The months prior to the attack on Fort Sumter found many Americans, both Northerners and Southerners, questioning their loyalties. Eli Eaker, son of the wealthy and influential New York financier Micah Eaker, has more than one loyalty to consider. There is an obligation to his father, a forceful man staunchly opposed to his son's involvement in the impending war. There is also the prospective marriage between Eli and his heiress cousin, Araminta, a union greatly desired by Micah. And finally, there is Eli's loyalty to his own Republican and Unionist beliefs. Eli enlists in the navy, joining the crew of the Owanee, recently returned from two years in West Africa and led by Capt. Parker Trezevant, a U.S. Naval officer and Southern gentleman. As the ship heads south to defend Fort Sumter, the crew must deal with their own divided obligations. This first book in Poyer's new Civil War trilogy is an interesting character study of a young man's coming of age as well as an accurate historical novel. The author of numerous nautical tales (e.g., Bahamas Blue), Poyer once again displays his expert knowledge of seamanship. For all libraries.
- Loretta Davis, Broward Cty. Libs., Pembroke Pines, FL
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 714 pages
• Publisher: Thorndike Press (November 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786236647
• ISBN-13: 978-0786236640
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.8 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,260,511 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good historical novel, August 25, 2001

By 

Jon R. Schlueter (Grand Terrace, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Fire on the Waters : A Novel of the Civil War at Sea (Hardcover)

I sometimes think that David Poyer is a well-kept secret of a growing cadre of devotees. In my opinion, his best work so far is Thunder on the Mountain. It is an historical novel of the Depression era, describing a wild-cat strike at an oil refinery in Pennsylvania. This book succeeds brilliantly in the same way: it evokes an era. Mr. Poyer has done his homework, and many threads of the Civil War era are articulated in this book, particularly the confidence of Northerners at the outset of the Civil War that the rebellion of the Southern states would promptly be put down, which was the prevailing opinion at the time, as strange as that may seem to us who know how cataclysmic that struggle turned out to be. I admire Mr. Poyer's novels of the modern Navy. But here he goes beyond his characteristic acumen in developing characters, as his protagonist wrestles with the elemental struggle of liberating himself from dependence on his wealthy father, through the epiphany of horrendous loss of life in warfare. As always, the dialogue sparkles. This is a worthy book, and I share other reviewers' eagerness for the publication of further works in this trilogy.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars David Poyer earns another Bravo Zulu with Fire on the Waters, July 16, 2001

By 

Bill Hunteman (Virginia Beach, VA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fire on the Waters : A Novel of the Civil War at Sea (Hardcover)

Fire on the Waters, the latest from acclaimed author David Poyer, earns a well deserved Bravo Zulu (Naval Shorthand for Outstanding Job)for the superb job he has done on this Civil War tale of two navies. His ability to keep multiple sub-plots moving, nautical and period details both accurate and interesting, and keep a lively pace are once again showcased to their fullest extent. His ability to keep a plot twist hidden until the last instant was just one more thing that kept me reading until the wee hours of the morning. I could not put this book down. His characters are sympathetic and interesting, and most importantly, believable. I have read most of Mr. Poyer's books, and once again he has not disappointed me. My only regret is that I have to wait for the next one to come out. This book, like all his books, leaves me eagerly anticipating the next. Mr. Poyer is an outstanding author of Naval Fiction, both contemporary as well as historical, and he has successfully crossed into other genres as well. I highly recommend ANY book he has authored. Bottom line: BUY THIS BOOK!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Navy Classic, September 8, 2002

By 

david e. meadows (Frederick, MD United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fire on the Waters : A Novel of the Civil War at Sea (Hardcover)

David Poyer has once again demonstrated his leadership talent in telling an unique Navy story. This novel will be a Navy classic alongside such books as the Sand Pebble. It brings into the reader's face the struggle between those who wore the uniform between their allegience to their respective states or to their country. It was only after the Civil War that Robert E. Lee is said to have remarked that before the war he was a Virginian and afterwards he was an American. This novel is a glimpse into that gray area just before full hostilities broke out. It is captivating and it will keep you turning pages. If you can only read one historical Navy fiction this year, then this is the one.
CAPT David E. Meadows, USN
Author of THE SIXTH FLEET series