Sea of Grey: An Alan Lewrie Naval Adventure (Alan Lewrie Naval Adventures) [Paperback]

Dewey Lambdin (Author)

Book Description

Series: Alan Lewrie Naval Adventures | Publication Date: December 1, 2003

Captain Alan Lewrie returns for his tenth roaring adventure on the high seas. This time, it's off to a failing British intervention on the ultra-rich French colony of Saint Domingue, wracked by an utterly cruel and bloodthirsty slave rebellion led by Toussaint L'Ouverture, the future father of Haitian independence. Beset and distracted though he might be, it will take all of Lewrie's pluck, daring, skill, and his usual tongue-in-cheek deviousness, to navigate all the perils in a sea of grey.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The tenth in the series of Alan Lewrie nautical adventures by Dewey Lambdin, Sea of Grey finds the swashbucklin', wisecrackin' 18th-century British naval officer who habitually drops his gs aiding the French in their attempts to suppress rebellion in the colony of Saint Domingue. Lewrie battles Toussaint L'Ouverture between trysts with a flock of breathless international beauties ("I have the basin... you wish me to sponge you? You are tres hot? I cool you?"). The lively pace and white-knuckle battle scenes should make this another winner with Lambdin's fans.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Dewey Lambdin is the author of nine previous Alan Lewrie novels and an omnibus volume, For King and Country. 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 on a rather tatty old sloop, Wind Dancer. He makes his home in Nashville, Tennessee, but would much prefer Margaritaville or Murrell's Inlet.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin (December 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312320167
• ISBN-13: 978-0312320164
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #549,580 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

28 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Another informative and interesting read., November 6, 2002

By 

Luke Warm (Greendale, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sea of Grey: An Alan Lewrie Naval Adventure (Hardcover)

Contrary to some reviewers' comments, I found this a solid and enjoyable addition to the unfolding Lewrie adventures. Granted, it didn't have cannons blasting on every other page, but the story moved the main characters forward on occasionally surprising, though utterly believable paths. Moreover, it did what I expect of all readable historical novels; i.e., it provided solid information about an aspect of history of which I knew little--in this case the on-going slave rebellions in the West Indies--while keeping me interested in the overall story line and characters.

I've read all the Hornblower books, as well as the entire O'Brian collection, and although I enjoyed them enormously, I find the Lewrie books the most enjoyable of the lot. The main character is clearly the most interesting to be found in these three series, resembling the roguish Flashman in George MacDonald Fraser's terrific series.

If you're looking for the print equivalent of a John Woo movie, with massive explosions on every other page, I'd recommend going to a John Woo movie or reading a comic book, rather than this novel. But if you enjoy seeing a character develop believably, beset by an interesting and plausible set of non-stop difficulties against the backdrop of fascinating history--and would like to stay plugged in to the undoubtedly interesting things to come in this rascal's career--I'd highly recommend reading this and all the other books in Lambdin's Alan Lewrie series.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Wonderful Read!, December 16, 2005

By 

Carol Stall "Buoyant Lass" (Austin, TX) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Sea of Grey: An Alan Lewrie Naval Adventure (Alan Lewrie Naval Adventures) (Paperback)

I love these books! Okay, the guy is quite the rake-hell--not your standard hero. That's part of the charm. He is self-serving but decent. He's beset with all kinds of difficulties and has an uncanny knack for turning trouble into luck. His character flaws make him all the more believable and engaging. Lewry's reflections are a hoot. Lambdin's nautical information and sailing descriptions are to my mind, peerless in the nautical adventure series world. Lambdin does his homework.

The series is a most unpretentious romp, full of great information on the era and nautical information. I look forward to the next installment!

3.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining, but there are better, January 16, 2012

By 

J. P. Craig (Montgomery, AL, United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Sea of Grey: An Alan Lewrie Naval Adventure (Alan Lewrie Naval Adventures) (Paperback)

I'm writing a review of this particular novel in the series because it's the one that helped me break my habit. Alan Lewrie is an entertaining character, and the battles and love-making are fun, and the books are fairly well-written. The early ones do make a habit of ending long, long sentences with exclamation marks, in a failed attempt at adding some tension. But, otherwise, Lambdin has some pretty good prose. The books are riddled with anachronisms, such as having Lewrie playing "Down by the Sally Gardens" a hundred years before Yeats wrote it. Basically there are downmarket versions of C.S. Forester or Patrick O'Brian. They're fun, but not particularly though-provoking. After awhile, they get a bit predictable, Lewrie alienates someone, gives us a pornographic sex scene or two, and then blunders into good fortune. Fair enough. But Forester and O'Brian are better, a bit smarter and a bit more rewarding.