Customer Reviews

By Force of Arms (Revolution at Sea #1)

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This book is very exciting at times, but it also has its weak points. Nelson does a good job of keeping the action going and he also does a good job of describing the intricate workings of a man-of-war during the late 18th century. I also think Nelson made a good decision by having his books set during the American Revolutionary War and told from the American point of view. The sea novel about the Royal Navy set during the Napoleonic Wars has been done to death and done well by many other authors. Now for what Nelson doesn't do so well. Nelson's writing is not nearly as smooth or brilliantly descriptive as Patrick O'Brian. His characters are mostly one-dimensional, much of the plot is predictable and some of the action is a little unbelievable. I have to admit though, in spite of its flaws, I did find it reasonably entertaining.

For those who can't get enough of Nautical Fiction or Historical Fiction of the American Revolution, James Nelson has come to the rescue. Nelson in his first novel puts plot above character (the opposite of O'Brian), but there is a decidedly American flair to his work. For those of us who live in New England, we can feel the winter chill and see the deep blue winter sky of Rhode Island. The work is more like the novels of Kenneth Roberts. The action is fast paced. There are no naturalists pursuing arcane beetles, no duets coming from the Captain's Quarters. What there is, is a good sea story from the age of sail. If the map of Narragansett Bay in the front of the book is not adequate, than the serious history buffs should get out their charts.

A string of unfortunate events propel Isaac Biddlecomb from captain of a merchant ship, to wanted smuggler, to foremast jack, then - the ultimate degradation - pressed into service in the enemy's Navy, aboard a hell-ship run by incompetent tyrants. Hopes of escape in Barbados are thwarted by a farcical attempt at anchoring, the subsequent disgrace tipping the unstable Captain over the brink into madness.

In parallel, all the elements are coming together for mutiny, both at sea and in the American colonies; this is 1775, just over a year after the Boston Tea Party, and the British blockades and harrying of shipping are stretching tempers to the limit.

Biddlecomb finds himself a key player in the run up to the struggle for American Independance
Mr.Nelson does a fine job of weaving the threads of this story into a fine yarn, with plenty of historical facts to back it up. The characters are well-drawn and believable, the writing flows and the action sequences are so vividly detailed, one almost feels like part of the crew.

This is book 1 of a 5-part saga, which promises great things. There is action and plot twists right up to the last page, I couldn't put it down.
The author has also thoughtfully included a glossary of naval terms for those readers unfamiliar with the jargon.*****

Alright, this is mostly a quibble. These books are rousing stories and Nelson has a wonderful talent for evoking the period and feel of 18th century America and the revolution. But he needs to fire his editor. Nothing ruins a good read more than suddenly slamming against a mis-spelled or inappropriate word or phrase. This whole series is full of them: a man talks of his wounded hand "heeling;" he uses "then" when he means "than," and vice versa; and most exasperatingly, he continually mis-represents the name of the American warship Andrea Doria as "Andrew" Doria (arggh!). Overall it seems the publishers have mistaken thier spellchecker for a good proofreader who knows his subject. Oh well, I still can't wait for the next book. Great stuff! (oh, and by the bye; people are hanged, pictures are hung).

When I purchased this book I assumed it would be written in a style similar to Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin series. following so closely in it's wake, so to speak. It is not, though there are some expressions, "Never in Life" and "Easy as kiss my hand", that I had never read anywhere prior to O'Brian. The action scenes fall somewhere between Patrick O'Brian and Alexander Kent. The style is easy with subtle humor woven throughout. I put it down feeling that I had just finished another in a series written by Kenneth Roberts. It put me in mind of his "Arundel" or "Rabble In Arms". Overall I thoroughly enjoyed the book and look forward to reading the remainder of the series. John Minners

As an Englishwoman, naturally I have always looked at History from the UK point of view - I was fascinated by Mr Nelson's novel, it is full of adventure, - romance - sailing detail, fun ... and a refreshing insight to the opposite point of view.

I might be English but Huzzah for Isaac Biddlecomb!

And there are another four books to read in the series - double Huzzah!

Nelson writes revolutionary war era fiction in the rich tradition of Kenneth Roberts but in the naval setting brought to us with such splendid detail by Patrick Obrian. His characters are well developed with special attention to what motivates the various individuals in the ocean going arena. Nelsons main gift to us is Captain Biddlecomb, a passionate sailor and reluctant revolutionary who sees both opportunity and loss in the British mandates on the colonies. Fortunately, for the reader who veiws Obrians work as overly detailed and wordy (of which I am not one), Biddlecombs adventures run with the pace of a Sabatini novel, like Sea Hawk or Captain Blood. This is good reading. Buy all of this guys books, I know I'm going to.

Just discovered James L. Nelson's books, and boy am I glad I did. According to the bio in the book, Nelson is a former professional sailor, and it shows. He really knows how those ships worked! Sometimes the detail got a bit overwhelming, but the plot moved along so fast it was not a problem. The characters were very different from the dashing British naval officers we're used to, because they were not naval officers, but merchant sailors trying to figure the naval stuff out, just like it must have been.

If you like a book that is a great read, not one that will put you to sleep, I recommend James Nelson.

Biddlecomb is an interesting character as are many of the others through the book. The setting and action are very well done. The action and plotting and the narrow escapes kept the pages turning. Compared to Hornblower, Bilotho, Aubrey characters, Biddlecomb is rather meek at times, but he is developing into a heroic figure. The English are portrayed as the tryants that they were at that time. The sea battles and descriptions of the sailing are excellent. The only drawback I found was far too many nautical terms that weren't explained as Alexander Kent does. Nevertheless, a top notch historical adventure. I own the next two books and look forward to reading them. Perhaps another series set in the War of 1812 or the Civil War would be in order. Sail on!

It is not surprising that many reviewers liken Nelson's protagonist to Hornblower rather than Aubrey. When I last saw the author (at Thanksgiving) he confessed that he preferred Hornblower himself! I prefer Hornblower although I might like Aubrey better had O'Brian not taken a dozen volumes to write a trilogy! Hopefully the next two volumes of this work will give us a more three dimensional view of Biddlecomb but as light reads go, the development is at least sufficient. The major drawback to this book is the editing. The book is shot through with typos,the worst of which has the protagonist pacing back and forth on his quarterback! Also I question whether many of the descriptions are readily available to those who are not familiar with sailing in square rig nor with the New England littoral geography. It's a difficult call as certainly this is one of the great challenges of writing historical fiction. The plot turns are also rather too fantastic and require a certain conscious suspension of disbelief. More character development would obviate the need for one Indiana Jones style escape after another. All that being said, I found myself sitting up until 2 AM to finish the book and then kicked myself. I wanted more and now I have to wait for the publication of volume II. That's the sign of an engaging novel flawed or not.