Customer Reviews

Inshore Squadron

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Alexander Kent has chosen an interesting theme for the Inshore Squadron, the British expedition against Denmark. It is a fine choice of topics and allows for a great deal of character developement.

Richard Bolitho, now a flag officer himself, is thrust into the frontlines of nautical diplomacy. He is discovering that it takes more skill running the gauntlet of politics than it ever took in a broadside to broadside action. Now he is given the overall mission and learns that if he succeeds, no one will know and if he fails, he will be relieved of duty without a moments hesitation by the Admiralty.

In the midst of this hazardous assignment, he meets a woman that he is drawn to. Belinda is the cousin of one of Bolitho's former officers, who was also his brother-in-law and whos sister, Bolitho married only to loose her later in a coach accident. They meet coincidently when her coach is in an accident and Bolitho's coach is first on the scene. Deja vu?

The relationship builds but not smoothly. Belinda knows of Bolitho's first wife in fact vaguely resembles her. She knows this and doesn't want to be seen as a replacement for his first wife. It is this undercurrent that follows their relationship and you wonder, if in fact, she is right.

Adam Bolitho is now a lieutenant and we start to see that he is more his father's son then his uncle's nephew. Dueling rears it's ugly head again for Bolitho. His brother fled to America after killing an officer in a duel and it seems like Adam is riding down the same road.

Thomas Herrick is back again as flag captain. He has matured as a captain and also has a grounding influence on Bolitho. He grows in his role of falg captain and is no longer looking over his shoulder for Bolitho's approval or sanction.

All these charecters are thrust into the campaign to neutralize Denmark and the threat it would be to communications between the UK and Russia. The combat between the Royal Navy and Royal Danish Navy is brutal and no-holds barred. One would think it would be no contest but the Danes don't fold after a token resistance, they are in the fight to the bitter end. The Danish Navy is shattered but it is not without cost to the Royal Navy. Thanks to Bolitho the operation is a success, but if he had failed, it might have gone the other way, with incaluable damage to Britain's ability to combat Napoleon.

All together, this is a well written book with interesting and absorbing plot twists and charecter developement. One of the scenes that stays with me now, is Bolitho riding through Copenhagen, during his diplomatic mission, and wondering what it would be like to explore this very interesting city in peacetime. Maybe Bolitho is getting tired of the non-stop sea war has faced since he was a teenager, 30 years before. Hmm.

I highly recommend this book as a valued addition to any Kent library and it is a fine reference to details of the little known and regarded 1st Battle of Copenhagen.

The INSHORE SQUADRON finds Bolitho in command of a small squadron of ships tasked to enter the Baltic at a critical time and try to keep the Danes from joining with Russia against England. Bolitho must pit his ships against the Russians, the Danes, the politics of the era and of course, the hated French. For the first time we see Rear Admiral Bolitho on his own with his trusted Allday, Adam Pascoe, Herrick and other s from the past. Even the great Nelson, noted several times in this book, relies on Bolitho's prowess and strategy to win the day. A great adventure. Don't miss it.

Bolitho is promoted to Rear Admiral and given command of a squadron assigned to the Baltic, where the Tsar of Russia is trying to create an alliance with the scandinavians, and simultaneously make an alliance with Napoleon. Bolitho meets a relative of his late wife, who bears a close resembland to her, and loses his heart to her.

This is another great Kent novel, set in 1800 from the viewpoint of the British Navy. This is the 13th book out of 26 in the Bolitho series, and they are all exciting depictions of life aboard ships of His Brittanic Majesty's fleet. Like the rest of them, one gets the feeling that the period is accurately depicted, with sufficient detail and character development to make you feel that you are a witness to history.

I must admit that I am a fan of Alexander Kent (a pseudonym) and his naval fiction. He seems very knowledgeable about square riggers, their armament, and the problems inherent in naval warfare with only the wind to provide propulsion.

Do I recommend these books? Absolutely!

Joseph (Joe) Pierre, USN (Ret)

author of Handguns and Freedom...their care and maintenance
and other books

In Number 13, Bolitho becomes a rear admiral; Herrick is his flag captain, Pascoe is on board. Bolitho was an average midshipman, a good lieutenant and and excellent captain, although most of his more daring feats were ashore. Kent can't let go of this, and Bolitho improbably hangs his flag on a small frigate, to get that frigate action that Aubrey could never let go of. The best thing about this book in the series is the almost soap-opera relationship with Allday, Pascoe and Herrick.
Bolitho finds a new woman, a carbon copy of Cheney, in a most unbelievable way. We still do not get enough of either the wardroom or the lower decks, except from Dick's ever more removed view. I do not like Admiral Bolitho much, not as much as I liked him before he became an admiral; but he is still more likable than the irascible Nathaniel Drinkwater (Woodman). We lack the incompetent, malevolent superior, as Bolitho becomes the superior. A good enough read, however, to lead me into #14.

This is a more sombre book than any of the earlier Bolitho chronicles, almost as if the grey northern skies it plays out under cast their shadow over events. The bulk of the action plays out in the eastern North Sea and in the Kattegat and Bolitho is seriously wounded and convalescent for much of the story. In the midst of all this romantic interest enters his life but the female in question is little luckier than Bolitho's earlier women - who appear to be born to suffer! The climax involves a side-action to the Battle of Copenhagen and while Nelson turns a blind eye, Richard Bolitho finds himself barely surviving attach by a swarm of Danish rowed-gunboats. The technical detail, and the continuing development of familiar characters, are as engrossing as ever, but the novel has little of the sense of adventure of earlier ones. It's possibly not surprising - the Copenhagen action was a painful necessity for the Royal Navy, undertaken with resignation and from a sense of duty, but without the almost missionary element that characterised the sea war against the French.

This novel fits right into the entire series. Bolitho is an excellent character, as are the many others in this series, Allday, Herrick, Pascoe and many others. Terrific action, plenty of battles at sea, intrique, all the dangers of working the sea in the "wooden walls of England". This novel takes Bolitho and company into harm's way against not only the French, but the Russians and Danes as well. Huzzah! Another Kent classic. Enjoy.

If asked about the Bolitho series, I always recommend them. Kent captures the essence of Naval Warfare 200 years ago and I'm looking forward to finishing the series.

Yet, Alexander Kent, Bolitho, Hornblower, Ramage and the rest of them suffer from one overwhelming handicap. They live in the same fictional universe as Patrick O'Brian, Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin.

I'd sleep well knowing that Bolitho, Hornblower, and Ramage were defending me, but let's face it. They are all a bit priggish. I'd sooner have Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin as friends.

Jerry Schroeder Seattle, WA

Alexander Kent¡¦s Richard Bolitho series has always been strongest in its depiction of naval battles during the age of sail and weakest when it comes to matter of the heart between the two sexes. Therefore, you can imagine my disappointment to find that The Inshore Squadron is focused squarely on Richard Bolitho¡¦s love and family life.

In this volume, Bolitho has already been promoted to Rear-Admiral. This seems to be astonishingly fast as we only had one story of him as a Commodore while we had many of him as a Captain. But let¡¦s leave that aside. As usual, Bolitho manages to have a squadron of his compatriots around him and all the usual characters are either on his ship or elsewhere in the fleet. Herrick is newly married and commanding the flagship while Inch is now a full Captain in charge of a 64 gun ship (Inch moved from a bomb Ketch as a Commander to a flag Captain awfully fast too!). Allday is the Admiral¡¦s Coxswain and Adam Pascoe is on board as the third Lieutenant. Also present from the past is Captain Charles Keverne who previously appeared in the series as a midshipman. Is it simply my imagination or has the world of the British Navy gotten awfully chummy? Well, that was a rhetorical question as every Admiral and senior office that we meet is always for the first time, while the gang that comes up in the Bolitho stories are maturing and being promoted along with him. Maybe it was simply that a lot of new ships are being commissioned at this time? º

Anyway, Bolitho¡¦s squadron¡¦s first mission is to relieve one of the squadrons that is blockading the Baltic. As part of this mission, Bolitho takes a Frigate to Copenhagen to present his credentials and thereby enters the world of diplomacy for the first time. As it happens, a French Frigate is also at Copenhagen. Bolitho is introduced to the crown prince of Denmark in a surreptitious manner which makes me think that there will be more to this in future volumes. While sleeping in Copenhagen, Bolitho is alerted that six British merchant ships have been captured and are in the Baltic. At the same time, the French Frigate leaves the harbor. Bolitho ignores the rules of neutrality and rushes to find the French ship and the captured British ones and immediately attacks the larger ship and releases the merchantmen.

Back on station a French squadron appears. It is escorting a transport ship bringing crack French soldiers to help train the Russian army (One of many incongruities here is why the French insist on transporting many of their mail or important things via ships when the overland routes are safer, more direct, and more convenient ¡V but I suppose then there would be no stories to tell?). Bolitho¡¦s smaller squadron attacks and manages to turn the French squadron around. Unfortunately, Bolitho is wounded by a musket ball in the thigh during the engagement. All of this happens in the first few chapters.

Now, comes the best part of this book as we learn what it is like to be subject to the medical care of that time and how easy it is for people to die while under it. Compared to the care available today, this part of the book makes one shiver and quail as the rough medical care is provided as the best there is. No fear though ¡V Bolitho survives! Of course, it is apparent that the surgeon would have amputated the leg of anyone else, but because this was the admiral, well¡K

As Bolitho is healing we switch over to the romantic part of the story. This is where Kent¡¦s weaknesses come to light. First he creates an unbelievable recreation of the scene in which Bolitho loses his wife Cheney. Then, to compound the problem, the damsel being rescued is a carbon copy of Cheney in looks and is even loosely related to her. Finally, and not surprisingly, Belinda is unbearably beautiful and recently widowed. Now, isn¡¦t that convenient? As usual in these stories, Belinda and Bolitho spend one or two hours together and are in immediate and passionate love with each other. Oh, Kent throws a couple of curveballs at us and has them separate here and there with no assurance of the love being returned or consummated but those are clearly ruses. These parts of the story occupy most of the book.

To help in making it seem like a real Bolitho story, we are also entertained with another two rounds of Bolitho needing to guard his nephew¡¦s reputation from his brother Hugh¡¦s misdeeds. This time it goes as far as a duel with a proxy for a senior office involved. And, we are given to understand that Bolitho and his squadron also took part in the Battle of Copenhagen in a role that is auxiliary to Nelson¡¦s. This is the second straight book in which Bolitho plays on the same stage as Nelson as we head toward Trafalgar.

As you can tell from my writing, I think that Kent writes and excellent adventure series as long as he maintains his focus on sailing ships, handling them, and the action between the British and French navies. He clearly loses his touch when he attempts to add romantic elements to the story. I wish he would stop trying to add the romantic elements and focus on his best side ¡V the adventure aspects.

Ever humble in his sterling achievements, a popular hero cheered by his men, Richard Bolitho has been made rear-admiral. Bolitho has moved away from his more happy-go-lucky (but never sky-larking!) enthusiam of youth and turned towards introspection and the burdens of ever broader commands of, necessarily, ever more anonymous people (now grown to 3000). Kent seems increasingly interested in writing of the psychology and pressures of supreme command. We see the thinking of The Admiralty vying with the jealousies of admirals, or the uncertainties of information and of diplomatic choices. In the climactic battle for Copenhagen we see Bolitho make his first cold-blooded command decision to throw away a ship in favor of the survival of his fleet as a whole.

This is an often grim story that jumps between English ports and the entry to the Baltic Sea, plots and battles, health and death, and points of view. As with the novels of Hornblower and Drinkwater, Bolitho's Baltic mission is intimately tied to Tsar Paul's potential (mes-)alliance with Napoleon in 1801, and the British attempts to prevent it. Britain was fighting the greatest threat to its existence in 800 years, struggling to keep any allies at all on the continent to face the totalitarian French juggernaut (Hitler's model). The secondary story is about Adam Pascoe, Bolitho's orphaned nephew, and his growth as an officer in the squadron through trying personal relationships and, finally, knowledge of his birth. Extraordinary coincidences threaten to repeat some of the dark episodes of earlier stories: a wound that again drives Bolitho out of his mind, Pascoe's involvement in another duel like his traitorous father's, a carriage wreck like that which killed his beloved wife, and someone providentially like her....

As a writer Kent doesn't include informative period asides so much as go for the jugular of battle or command tensions. In idle moments Bolitho indulges in reminiscence of people from earlier stories, of most meaning if you've already read them. As always, pay really close atttention to any sailing instructions (e.g., difference between wind veering and backing) if you want to visualize what's going on; at one critical point I thought two squadrons were approaching battle bow-on, when they weren't! I really missed a map of the intricate waterways at the mouth of the Baltic.

It almost gets repetitive, but this one rates with Kent/Reeman's best in a superb series. Good story, thrilling action, great scenes and exchanges between Bolitho and Herrick, Allday, & Adam. The usual excellent descriptive writing, this time of conditions in the Baltic during winter, was of great help when reading it in a crowded bus in San Francisco when the temperature was an unbelievable 103.