Customer Reviews

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

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

 

 

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.

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!

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!

Hmmm, loads of 4 and 5 stars?

Ok, like has been stated, first time readers to the series are lost. The characters are ones from earlier in the series and generally stay under explained to those who would be starting out with this book.

I have read them all though. As well as all the Sharpe series, Hornblower, Bolitho etc.

I have read it at least 2 or 3 times now. I can't give it more than 3 stars. For me it seemed like a bit of a cop out in a number of plot details. Maybe I just had higher expectations. For me the basic premiss of most of the novel was weak. And the revelations on the last few pages left a lot to explain in the next book, so in that way it was more like a season finale I guess.

As other commenters have noted, this book is not the place to start with the Lewrie series. There is just too much backstory.

That being said, this book is brilliant, easily one of the best Dewey Lambdin has written. There are several tips-of-the-hat to other fictional works set in the Napoleonic era. And the denoument of Lewrie's trip to Paris is a plot twist that promises to take the series in a new direction. A conflict that was professional has now become very, very personal.

Oftentimes a series becomes tired after a while. I am happy to report that this has not happened to the Lewrie series. This is one of Lambdin's best. Not only does the action keep coming, but the author kills off two of his more irritating minor characters that had been been a bit of a drag in some of his other novels. Guess the author was sick of them as well.

"The brightest stars in the galaxy of English military historical novels are Forester's Hornblower, Cornwell's Sharpe and Lambdin's Captain Alan Lewrie. In this 16th novel Lewrie rejoins his wife, travels to Paris to meet First Consul Napoleon and engage in just the kind of adventures that Lambdin's fans are eagerly waiting for."

Our often tested hero is smashed to smithereens this time but manages to survive and give promise to better days ahead.

King, ship and swords is a well written book, very well researched as to locations and places in Paris, but I would have preferred another ending at the end of their flight from Paris ahead of Bonaparte's police. Perhaps I would have preferred Lewrie being made to flag rank and raised to a peerage?
What now? will Eudoxia come back into the picture? Will his American Indian son show up in London? Or will Lewrie wake up from a bad dream next in bed with Caroline?

Character developement, and just plain fun, makes this series the best! Always fun to see our hero get into, and out of, one or more unique problems in each new book!