Customer Reviews

The King's Privateer

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

 

 

This fourth novel in the "Alan Lewrie" series is something of a departure, its heavily political (rather than simply naval) plot dictated by the end of the American Revolution in 1783. Lewrie finds himself back in London on a lieutenant's half-pay, subsisting comfortably (as long as he watches his expenses) and indulging his taste for sex with as many women as he can, of any age or marital status. But he's caught 'en flagrante' by an elderly husband -- once his patron, but no longer -- who wants his blood. Just as he's packing for his escape from the city, timely orders arrive from the Admiralty to report immediately to Plymouth, . . . and he's off on another adventure, this time as junior officer on a semi-secret mission to India and Canton, fighting Malay pirates who are in league with a French-backed privateer. The political leader of the mission, Mr. Twigg, is as bloody-minded a secret agent as you will find, perfectly willing to torture and murder surrendered prisoners to get the information he wants. Definitely not a nice person. And in India, Lewrie meets up again with his father, who had stolen from him, set him up with his supposed half-sister, had him essentially shanghaied into the navy, and then decamped to escape his creditors. But now we get the other side of his father's story and, while Sir Hugo retains nearly all his faults, he certainly becomes a more rounded character. Captain Choundas, on the other hand, is vicious, sexually perverted, and one-hundred-percent evil -- and since he survives the final fight with Lewrie, I would be very surprised if he did not return in future installments, probably as an agent of the French revolutionary government. Not as successful as the previous book, but I'll certainly keep reading -- though I hope the author will reduce his use of exclamation points!!!

This is one of a series wherein the author has created a hero to rival Hornblower, although there is a dash of George MacDonald Fraser thrown in. This is a wonderful discovery for those who enjoy the age of wooden ships and grand descriptions of topical settings and blazing cannons. The entire series is worth finding yet sadly the last word was that there were no more books planned in the series. If you are planning a vacation and want a good read to have along this would be an excellent choice

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 likea 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.

For sheer feel, this is the best of the Lewrie lot. Lewrie alternates between rage and panic and indecision, just like real people.

By going far afield the writer helps to highlight some of the less-known aspects of the interwar period 1783-1794.

This time we managed to avoid the pornographic blow-by-blows of Lewrie's rutting with non-white women, though the smut remains while he's in England.

Overall the series is a disappointment.

The war with the American Colonies is over, so what's a Lieutenant in the Royal Navy without a ship supposed to do? Well, if you're Alan Lewrie, who was forced to sea at 17 and have now been set up fairly well with a decent income and a nice place in London and still have the raging hormones of a young man who was cooped up aboard ship for months (or even years) on end, you're going to be having a lot of fun amongst the ladies. Unfortunately, Alan is caught in bed by an enraged (and socially powerful) husband and needs to get out of town fast. Fortunately, an assignment comes from the Admiralty--to be fourth lieutenant on a ship that is unofficially Navy, on a secret mission to the Far East in order to hunt down French-led pirates.

Even in the boring time between wars, Alan Lewrie gets up to plenty of adventures, on land and at sea, leaving not a dull moment. This one starts with quite a lot of time on land (hey, it IS peace-time), but then we get more sea action and adventure than one could wish for, with great descriptions of battles and a real feel for the dangers and lives at stake. And we get to explore the ports of India and China along with Alan.

I am increasingly enjoying this series. Alan, as a hero, is a good mix of amusing flaws (that lead to lots of adventures), with a core of basic decency (so that we want to cheer him on) and with the skills and instincts of a true leader, almost despite himself. And after three previous books (THE KING'S COAT, THE FRENCH ADMIRAL, THE KING'S COMMISSION), things continue to be fresh, with new places to explore, different situations, even more intense battles and action... and with the characters developing well and becoming more interesting. I'm greatly looking forward to reading the next book!

Not O'Brian or Kent, but still a good author. This book is less interested in the fooling around, and more into describing the sailing and naval battles.

This was a drop in quality in the series so far. The first three and H.M.S. Cockerel were better. In "Privateer", the story tends to wander from the focus that was a plus in the others. It isn't a bad book, none of the ones I've read in the series are. Lewrie is still an interesting character, and it's worth reading. It's just that it is a valley in a series of peaks to this point. I do look forward to reading the next in the series.

I certainly hope that Edward.Lulie@kis.net is wrong about no new books being planned in this series. I just found Lewrie/Lambdin recently and certainly hope that they both go on for a long, long time. I am trying to read Mr. Lambdin's books in order, and I have just finished The Gun Ketch. In his remarks about the future of Lt Lewrie, Mr. Lambdin suggests that he does certainly have one. And I note that two books are printing in 1997. H.M.S. Cockerel and A King's Commander. This is a super series for lovers of the great age of sail - the tall ships. And the author has created a hero, however devilish, that is human and likable. This is really good stuff.

It's 1783 and Britain is in the depression 'between wars' and like an actress between jobs is hard-up and desperate to improve her lot.
Enter young Alan Lewrie, gulled into a commision on an East Indiaman with a hidden agenda of retribution against French privateers.
Alan, like most young men, keeps his brain in his groin and finds no shortage of willing bed-partners; but this lascivity leads to problems, the least of which is a pregnant maid. On the run, even 4th luff on the Indiaman looks an attractive prospect, with the chance to make money and a name for himself, but as they arrive in Calcutta, the past catches up with him.
He is thus privy to news that the rest of the young officers are denied, causing jealousy and unrest in the gunroom.

Mr.Lambdin strives to convey accents with a quaint use of spelling and punctuation - it usually works, but sometimes is a trifle heavy going. Otherwise, apart from one or two slips, the plot rolls along very nicely. There is initially markedly little naval action - but there is plenty of intrigue and double-dealing to keep one guessing all the way through. However, when the action does start, the below-decks detail is extremely well described, educating the reader in the minutiae of the proceedings.

I am not fond of the detailed amorous interludes, which do nothing for the plot, only rubbing in the fact that Alan is human and prey to all the vices that the world has to offer, to my mind a subtle hint works better than a blow-by-blow description which easily turns salacious if not handled well.

Having read most of the other authors in this genre, I can say that Mr.Lambdin is definitely not near the bottom of the list - as I read more, he may rise alongside Richard Woodman, James Nelson & Patrick O'Brien in my estimation.

Lambdin continues to extract the very best and most accurate of detail from the 18th century naval services. The technical detail exceeds C.S. Forester's excellent works and the ever-too-common human characteristics of the lead character are as real today as then. This series is a must for readers who seek to understand what it was like to sail at seven knots, live, and die in the pre-industrial age of sea power. R.S. Carnes, CAPT, U.S. Navy