The Only Victor (The Bolitho Novels) (Volume 18) [Paperback]

Alexander Kent (Author)

Book Description

Series: The Bolitho Novels | Publication Date: April 1, 2000

February 1806: Vice-Admiral Sir Richard Bolitho carries the news of Trafalgar to southern Africa, where he is to aid British ground forces in any way he can to retake Cape Town from the Dutch. Impatient to be home, Bolitho decides yet again that the boldest measures are best, and proves to the army that brave men do not die in vain.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Kent's descriptions of ships under sail . . .crackle with realism." -- Library Journal

"One of our foremost writers of Naval Fiction." -- Sunday Times

About the Author

Alexander Kent, pen name of Douglas Edward Reeman, joined the British Navy at 16, serving on destroyers and small craft during World War II, and eventually rising to the rank of lieutenant. He has taught navigation to yachtsmen and has served as a script adviser for television and films. His books have been translated into nearly two dozen languages.

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: McBooks Press (April 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0935526749
• ISBN-13: 978-0935526745
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #104,643 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #22 in Books > History > Military > Napoleonic Wars

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A preoccupied Bolitho, June 23, 2002

By 

tertius3 (MI United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Only Victor (The Bolitho Novels) (Volume 18) (Paperback)

This is by far the longest book in Kent's Bolitho series. Unlike most books earlier in the series Bolitho spends considerable time on shore iintimately nvolved with his illicit love, Catherine, and then when he is at sea again passionately longing for her. The brave stories of a scared little midshipman who eventually finds his courage, or the lieutenant who excels despite having lost half his face are nearly lost behind Bolitho's obsessive anxieties over his separation from the bold Catherine. Bolitho, now half blinded, is showing signs of tiring and retiring. The series has become a study in the accumulated effects of endless time at sea and in fighting sharp and desperate actions. Bolitho, always deeply concerned with his men, has progressively lost the closest colleagues on whom he had depended, "we happy few," an' that's no error. Still there are flashes of the old outer heroics while fighting the Dutch for Cape Town, on a secret mission to Copenhagen, and coming to the rescue of his troubled friend Herrick at sea.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A good series gone bad, January 4, 2001

By 

Tony Epler (Washington DC, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Only Victor (The Bolitho Novels) (Volume 18) (Paperback)

I read the first 16 or 17 Bolitho books in a hurry, 4 or 5 years ago, and enjoyed them quite a bit. Recently I picked up this one and was very disappointed. Rather than a good story of action and history, that I had come to expect from the author, this recent edition was dedicated almost entirely to Bolitho and Catherine mooning about each other and lamenting their separations.

19 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Publishers padding particularly poor, November 12, 2000

By 

David Wilson - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Only Victor (The Bolitho Novels) (Volume 18) (Paperback)

I have read the Hornblower series twice and the Aubrey/Maturin series three times and I looked forward to reading another Britanic Naval series when I began Kent's Bolitho series. The series began strong but towards the end (somewhere around "Success to the Brave") the series started running out of gas. It appeared to me that the publishers requested Kent to pad the books with inane story lines (or they themselves committed the sin) in order to extend the series (at nearly US$15/book) to increase their profit. I got to the point that when I read the one of many over used phrases, such as "blood ran from the scuppers as if the ship itself was mortally wounded", I put the book down in disgust. Futhermore, I would occasionally read a few pages that reminded me of the better written books that began the series, affirming my belief that a much less talented individual had a hand in the completion of the series. I suggest to anyone looking for another Aubrey/Maturin series to pick up O'Brian's "Master and Commander" and reread that series. However, if you do pick up the Bolitho series stop investing in the books when it becomes obvious to you that the publishers are padding the stories.