King, Ship, and Sword: An Alan Lewrie Naval Adventure (Alan Lewrie Naval Adventures) [Hardcover]

Dewey Lambdin (Author)

Book Description

Series: Alan Lewrie Naval Adventures | Publication Date: March 16, 2010

THE SIXTEENTH TALE IN DEWEY LAMBDIN’S CLASSIC NAVAL ADVENTURE SERIES

December 1801. The Peace of Amiens end the long war with Napoleon Bonaparte’s France, but Captain Alan Lewrie, Royal Navy, is appalled by its consequences. First, he’s been in the Navy since 1780 (most unwillingly, most of the time!) and at sea for the better part of nine years, since 1793, so what is a dashing and successful frigate captain to do with himself, if he’s ashore on half-pay, and if so, for how long?

Second, and even worse, is where will Lewrie twiddle his thumbs and be bored to death until the war begins again, as he’s sure it will? Will he idle in expensive, exciting London, or go home to his rented farm in Anglesgreen in Surrey, and rejoin his wife and in-laws who (mostly) despise him like the Devil hates Holy Water, where he knows as much of agriculture and animal husbandry as his two pet cats do of celestial navigation?

Peace and domesticity are hellish-hard on the rakehells!

Yet by the spring of 1802, Lewrie and his Caroline have somewhat reconciled (again) and are off to make a go of a second honeymoon – in Paris, France, of all places! But Lewrie’s notion to return the swords captured from deceased French officers to their kinfolk gets turned into a formal presentation at a levee in the Tuileries, and a face-to-face rencontre with the First Consul Napoleon Bonaparte. Lewrie can’t help spurring him into a “kick-furniture” rage, and he and Caroline must flee for their lives, with aid from the most unlikely source imaginable.

When war breaks out again in May of 1803, Lewrie has fresh orders, a new frigate, and a chance to punish and pursue the French, but it’s no longer for Duty or King and Country – now it’s personal!

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Alan Lewrie, intrepid sailor and charming scoundrel, is back in Lambdin's superb 16th Royal Navy adventure. Lewrie is an endearing character—hero, philanderer, smuggler, spy: a courageous naval officer unencumbered by high morals or indecision—and during the brief peace between England and France in 1801, while on a reconciliation vacation to Paris with his wife, Lewrie encounters old enemies and former lovers, all seeking revenge for past injuries and insults. A botched audience with Napoleon Bonaparte sets assassins on Lewrie's trail, and after they kill someone close to Lewrie, he vows bloody revenge. When war resumes in 1803, he is given command of a heavily armed frigate and another chance to go to sea and kill Frenchmen. The harrowing sea adventures that follow take Lewrie and his crew from France to Louisiana and put Lewrie's seamanship and quick thinking to the test. As expected, Lambdin leaves just enough loose ends in this swashbuckler to ensure there will be another sequel of intrigue and cannonballs. (Mar.)
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From Booklist

In the sixteenth Alan Lewrie novel, the rakish adventurer with more than a passing thematic resemblance to Tom Jones (Fielding’s character, not the singer) is in Paris, just after the turn of the nineteenth century. He’s looking for a little fun, and maybe some intrigue, but he doesn’t expect that he’ll end up racing across the high seas, locked in a deadly pursuit. But then Lewrie has a habit of getting himself into dicey situations, doesn’t he? Fans of this series, which has seen its protagonist grow from a boy into a man (while retaining many of his boyish traits), will enjoy the book for its rousing story and for its author’s writing style, which combines drama and light comedy. Readers who haven’t yet sampled Lewrie’s adventures need only know that comparisons to Forester and O’Brian are entirely appropriate. --David Pitt

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books; First Edition edition (March 16, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312551843
• ISBN-13: 978-0312551841
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #549,690 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Dewey Lambdin is the author of fourteen previous Alan Lewrie novels. A member of the U.S. Naval Institute and a Friend of the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, England, he spends his free time working and sailing (he's been a sailor since 1976). He makes his home in Nashville, Tennessee, but would much prefer Margaritaville or Murrell's Inlet.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars King, Ship and Sword; Not Necessarily in That Order, March 22, 2010

By 

Steve Angers (Vermont) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: King, Ship, and Sword: An Alan Lewrie Naval Adventure (Alan Lewrie Naval Adventures) (Hardcover)

King, Ship and Sword is a fine addition to Dewey Lambdin's exceptional series of naval adventures set in the Age of Sail during the late Eighteenth Century and early Nineteenth Century.

This installment will likely be of more interest to long-time readers of the series. It may not be the best place to start for those just discovering Lambdin and his always entertaining -and abundantly human- hero, Allen Lewrie. Rather than a cohesive novel, King, Ship and Sword is a series of three loosely connected episodes, with the majority of the action set on land.

Bridging the short lull in the Napoleonic Wars that followed the 1802 Treaty of Amiens, Lewrie concludes his brief tenure as Captain of HMS Thermopylae, settles a variety of personal business on land, and returns to sea with increased motivation and vigor when hostilities between England and France resume. Along the way Lewrie renews past acquaintance, some welcome, most not-so-welcome, with many characters from previous installments in this series. The result of his adventures, as always, is entertaining and will keep readers on the edge of the seat.

Typically, Lewrie wrecks havoc on his King's foes while at sea and creates mayhem, most of it quite unintentionally of course, for himself and just about everyone else who comes into contact with him (or who just happens to be sailing In Sight) while on land. In fact, in this adventure one might even speculate that Lewrie, nigh single-handedly, is responsible for bringing England and France back into conflict in June of 1803.

King, Ship and Sword is a definite must-read for the long-time Lambdin fan. New readers will also find it entertaining but may be better served to make their acquaintance with Allen Lewrie by starting with an earlier adventure; perhaps with The King's Coat, the initial installment in this series.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not the best of the series, but close!, March 25, 2010

By 

Dennis E. Marshall (Huntsville, Tennessee) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: King, Ship, and Sword: An Alan Lewrie Naval Adventure (Alan Lewrie Naval Adventures) (Hardcover)

I have been reading the Alan Lewrie series since 2003 when I picked up The King's Priviteer at a shop in Tampa, FL while on vacation. Since then, I have been addicted to this series. Most are what I would call very good, with 5 or 6 being truely superb. This installment belongs in the latter.

Although the majority of the book takes place on land, the character development that takes place is superb. Our hero picks up a few of his old enemies (what could have possessed him to go to Paris?) and the ending of the intrigue that follows is nothing short of astounding (I NEVER saw it coming).

The only reason this is not closer to the top of the list in this series is the naval action, as while it was accurately described and exciting, it almost felt like an anti-climax. Nevertheless, this series ranks as my all-time favorite (sorry Star Wars & Star Trek) & I am allready looking forward to the next installment!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Peacetime can be as hazardous as Wartime for Captain Alan Lewrie!, April 5, 2010

By 

A. Lee (L.A., CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: King, Ship, and Sword: An Alan Lewrie Naval Adventure (Alan Lewrie Naval Adventures) (Hardcover)

The tale opens with Captain Lewrie still in the Baltic and in a very cold and boring sort of limbo with the total lack of action as the Peace of Amiens comes into effect. And there's only losing his ship which is to be sent into ordinary at the end of it. It has been said before that Lewrie can fall into more dangerous scrapes upon land than at sea, so a period of peace, no matter how brief, is worrying. And yet, an idyllic time spent with his family at his house in Anglesgreen through the winter holidays comes as a lovely change of pace (even while wondering WHEN the other shoe will drop). This is all told with some seriousness and little dash, which had me wondering if Lambdin had taken a somber more literary tone for this book. However, things change when the Lewries take a second honeymoon of sorts in Paris of all places! Old enemies and new just come piling out of the woodwork, as well as the never-all-that-helpful English spy-types. And for those who demand actual Naval Adventure in a series so en(sub)titled, there is that, too, with a new ship and crew and some old friends (no obvious old enemies, but that's only a matter of time!).

The sixteenth book in a series is never a perfect place to start, so new readers are directed to the first: THE KING'S COAT, a fantastic read. Readers who have made it this far are either masochists or devoted fans or ??? but should know what to expect by now (or one should think!). I simply adore this series. It's full of lively adventure, great historical details and a main character worthy of following through such an extended series. I can't wait for the next book!