Customer Reviews

H.M.S. Cockerel (Alan Lewrie Naval Adventures)

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

 

 

Dewey Lambdin does an excellent job portraying the image of living and working a wooden sailing vessel as well as give a feeling for what it was like in the British navy of the late 1700s. Unlike other authors who use the British navy as a setting for a plot, the author evokes the feeling that you are part of the character and the story is happening to you. The protaganist is a normal young man who was kicked out of the house for being to hard a child to handle (supposedly). Part of the assocoation with the protaganist comes from the down to earth situations he gets himself into. Like any other young 'buck' in his late teens, early twenties, he doesn't always think with his head on his shoulders when he is looking for a good time. This is definately the series for you if you want an honest look at life in the King's navy with the attending comradere, boredom and technical details. It is not for those who feel that thinking/acting like a sex a sex starved young man is unacceptable. I suggest you start reading as early in the series as you can. Start with 'The King's Coat' (if available, it might be out of print), move on through 'The French Admiral', 'The King's Commission', 'The King's Privateer', 'The Gun Ketch' and 'HMS Cockrel'. 'For King and Country' is a trilogy that begins where the protaganist begins to settle down and contains 'The King's Commission', The King's Privateer' and 'The Gun Ketch'. It will be interesting to see how the author handles the young man coming of age. That telling of that kind of transition is what will really determine if the author is as good as he appears to be.

I've read all the books in the series up to this one, and liked most very much. However, this one is disappointing. The author attempts to avoid most of the major battles that have so often been the background for other fictional British naval heroes, and instead place Lewery in little known clashes. This is to be commended. However, H.M.S. Cockerel suffers from a lack of action and in fact, struck me as rather boring. While I read the previous episodes cover-to-cover, I had no problem putting this one down. I would suggest the reader who is not following the antics of Lewery in episodic order revert to another title.

This books follows in the foosteps of previous installments of the series. The character development is believable and well thought out. However, trying to depict the French attempting to speak English was really frustrating for this reader. I did not mourn the passing of characters that I otherwise liked, because I was too relieved to not have to decipher their speech.

I agree with the reviewer from Portland, OR. The fractured French/English was totally annoying and the map was very poorly printed, but ...
the story seemed like a serial drama, some parts were extremely well-written and exciting. Others were slow and plodding. It was good to sail with Lt. Lewrie again and I look forward to continuing his adventures. He's one of my favorite historical fiction characters.

Lambdin does it again in this (the 6th) installment of the Alan Lewrie chronicles.

I really enjoyed this one though I must admit there were some slow points and trying to muddle through all the French was annoying.

Lambdin does a wonderful job weaving history and fiction and Cockerel is no exception. The thought of Lewrie getting a leg over on Emma Hamilton is quite amusing as is the idea of him coming face to face with Napoleon and Captain Bligh.

Lewrie and his well developed supporting cast will surely keep you entertained. Definitely a worth while read.

Overall this is an excellent series which can be occassionally annoying as the author fumblingly tries to imitate the rake-hell character of G.M. Fraser's Flashman in his mock/hero Alan Lewrie but without the vigor and genius of that inimitable scoundrel.
This book is not the place to start and should probably be read only by those who are following the series in sequence. Too much time on land in this one, and the balance between hitorical backround and foreground action seems to be askew here. The sex scenes are again ludicrous (Alan mounts Emma Hamilton!!--right) and the potrayals of Nelson and especially Napoleon are flat and unoriginal. The maps and dialogue are as others have noted, annoying as well. But despite its longuers, I'll ship out with Alan and Dewey in the next adventure, hoping our hero stays on the waves where he belongs.

Alan Lewrie is a very likable character and I look forward to a long naval career for him. A few details detract from this installment. First, after 13 years in the British Navy, he should stop his ambivalence about doing something that he does quite well. It's fine that he is constantly tempted to be an amoral cad; he shouldn't have gotten married anyway. Second, long passages of Franglish were irritating and hard to follow. Is the author showing off his nodding acquaintance with French? Whatever the reason, it is unnecessary. Lastly, and it is a small complaint, but if the publisher is going to include maps, which are VERY useful to the readers, they should not be so dark as to be unreadable. All of the above seems, on rereading more negative than I intended; I like the series and would not have missed it.

I like this series but it seems nearly 20% of this volume "eez writteen een a francias akscent". . . it gets tiresome to read. I find myself just skipping over it which doesn't do the story credit.