Customer Reviews

Shadow in the Sands

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

 

 

Sam Llewellyn's latest sailing mystery novel is a departure from others he has written. Set in the early 1900 in England - and off the coast of Germany- it is written as the memiors of a young man who captains the racing yachts for "gentleman." Charlie Webb, orphaned before his teens, starts out fishing for a living and can not understand people who "sail for pleasure" but, for extra money, he agrees to captain a gentleman's yacht. His talent for winning earns him a share of the prize money, and a nautical encounter with the Kaiser. A few years later, that encounter sets up an unwanted assignment by a mysterious Duke, a man Charlie hasn't trusted for a day. This voyage is full of twists and turns, literally and figuratively, right to the last. Witten in the first person, using the speech and slang of the early 1900's, the story is still fast-paced and full of sailing detail, but at times, difficult to follow. English readers will have less objection to the prose, and Llewellyn fans will find it worth the effort.

I started the book, and though I felt myself becoming sick pushed on through the entire first chapter.

Terrible.
I can see why the author wanted to link it to Erskine Childers' book "Riddle of the Sands", which was an EXCELLENT book (10 stars).

This author attempts to somehow capitalize on anothers work and fails completely.

Even to the point of starting the book in the middle of a race and then the "narrating character" decides to start from the beginning. I dont know much about the author except for this failure.

I would suggest you go read the Riddle Of The Sands again instead.

somewhat slow but with a constant hint of exciting intrigue and believeable action. Vivid descriptions of the sea scape and the "art" of sailing coupled with excellent character development make this story a terrific adventure.

As a yachtie and historian it was inevitable that I would enjoy Erskine Childers' "Riddle of the Sands" as a book and a film and the hero status the homely vessel Dulcibella acheived. To discover a sequel that matched and continued the saga was an absolute delight. The mood, setting and detail is faithful in all respects and was great reading. Oh I wish there was more sailing stories such as this with the charts included!!

Couldn't finish it, it was such a disappointment after Erskine Childers (the real thing).

It's awkwardly written, the narrative voice is contrived, the sense of adventure smothered under mannerisms.

Even Childers' opening is maybe a little off-putting, and certainly dated, but the glory of it is that, like his narrator, he leaves all that behind as soon as he gets aboard the little ship, and simply lives the magic of the sea and the adventure.

Llewellyn never gets over being an author, and never lets us forget it.

This 1998 novel is written as a sequel to "The Riddle of the Sands" and is dedicated to Erskine Childers. The warning of invasion may be metaphorically relevant today. The maps of this area are in the front for easy access, but there is no table of chapters. Llewellyn cannot imitate the style and prose of Childers. Some of the words seem obscure. Charlie Webb begins to tell about his life and times as a poor boy of Norfolk. Some of the words are nautical and not known by a general reader. The conversations seem anachronistic for that time (Chapter 4). In Chapter 5 Charlie Webb meets Carruthers. Webb agrees to work for the Duke of Leominster (Chapter 6). So the story unfolds in the succeeding chapters. Webb, the narrator, tells us what he sees and what he finds out about Eric Dacre and his sailing to the Frisian Islands circa 1903.

Llewellyn wrote a fast-paced interesting story. The anachronisms are jarring. The writing is not like Childers, or even the later E. Phillip Oppenheim ("Day of Wrath"). Its words would not be used in print before the 1960s. The book reminds us about life and culture from a century ago, about the then powerful aristocracy. Llewellyn could be more explicit where Childers had to be more discreet. Overall, Llewellyn wrote a more complex novel than Childers (the secret in Chapter 24). Webb's escape seems miraculous (Chapter 30). The adventures in this book are more from Ian Fleming than Erskine Childers. Of course there is a happy ending. The `Epilogue' ties up the loose ends. But no explanation of the death of Erica Dacre. This book is educational in telling how a mission might be designed for failure when it will better succeed that way!