Customer Reviews

Sloop of War (The Bolitho Novels) (Volume 4)

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Wow! Sloop of War was written at a time when Alexander Kent could deliver top notch naval action. The novel contains more broadsides, swordplay and general action per page than any of his contemporaries could deliver. I read Sloop of War after completing O'Brian's HMS Surprise. Since the two novels were published within a year or so of each other and are set in roughly the same period, one would expect some similarities. There are few similarities. While O'Brian's forte is his use of language, themes and detail, Kent's strength is action, pure and simple.

Sloop of War is set during the American Revolution and follows a format that Kent used as Reeman in HMS Saracen i.e. there are two separate and almost stand-alone parts to the novel. In Sloop of War the separation in time between the two halves is much briefer. The novel features the young Richard Bolitho with his first command as the captain of a sloop fighting the corruption of the Royal Navy and the English powers that be as much as the dastardly American revolutionaries and their French allies. Only on the open seas are things simple or are they? Treachery on land or at sea is to be expected.

I suspect that Kent probably knew that he might alienate American readers by having his hero fighting against the American Revolution. However, he deftly avoids having major conflicts between American forces and his own. Furthermore, he has an American first officer accentuating the sense of internal conflict caused by the revolution. The causes for the war are not discussed and one senses that Bolitho has some sympathy for the colonists although he is bound by duty to fight against them. Wisely Kent does not have Bolitho slaughtering large numbers of American sailors in sea battles.

Kent writes well of the sea and its changeable weather. He is very strong on the action. There are also some serious themes. For instance, the men in Bolitho's ship may be fighting for King and country but ultimately they are fighting for each other. Bonds formed in war are much stronger than bonds based on idealism. The men one fights with can be relied on more than the women one is attracted to.

I did have one bone to pick with Kent's historical accuracy involving Canadian scouts. Kent describes the Canadians in the way that I think of voyageurs or courier de bois. In fact, Canadians in 1778 would have been French. The few English speaking Canadians of that day would not have been the woodsmen that Kent describes. However, it's a minor nit-pick in a thoroughly entertaining story.

Reeman/Kent was at his peak in writing stirring yet grim and realistic action novels when Sloop of War was published. It is not great literature by any means but it's a damn entertaining read.

Sloop of War, by far, is the best book to begin with if you are a new reader to the Alexander Kent series about Richard Bolitho. The book covers his first true appointed command as Commander of the Sloop of War Sophie during the time period of the American Revolution.

The book is packed with action and intrigue from many different angles. Characters are introduced that make appearances again in later books. The writing is superb and often glues you to the pages as you keep reading just to find out how the characters are going to fare.

Alexander Kent weaves Bolitho into a true complete picture, a hero who isn't perfect, a man who isn't perfect. But he makes you care so much about him that as I read the novel, I feel like Bolitho has been a lifelong friend. Your emotions rise and fall with each turn of his life.

I highly recommend the entire series, but this book in particular is a great place to start if you aren't sure you'll like this kind of fiction.

In the world of nautical fiction Alexander Kent #1, C.S. Forester #2, Dudley Pope #3.

Alexander Kent is undoubtedly the best writer of naval fiction on the market today. His books are packed with action, are accurate as to ships, armamment, and the interaction of the different ranks and classes in the Royal Navy of the period, with enough swashbuckling to keep the reader enthralled.

This book in the series, which tells the tale of our hero, Richard Bolitho, as a young naval commander in his first command, the Sloop 'Sparrow' during the American Revolution, is a tale of leadership, betrayal, intrigue, and fast-paced, bloody action. Ships, seaman, soldiers, and the sea all combine to give a fast-paced. grim and bloody tale of those men that 'go down to the sea in ships,' and put those ships 'in harm's way.'

Bolitho's First Lieutenant is an American Loyalist, and the relationship Kent builds for these officers, as well as the rest of the crew of HMS Sparrow is one of the highlights of Kent's novels. Kent knows men and ships, and it shows in his action-packed prose. Ships to him are living things, and his affection for them and the sea in general, is quite obvious. My own father was a professional seaman, which may be the reason these books are a favorite.

Better than the Hornblower series, as serious and grim as actual history, they are a pleasure to read, and to follow the fortunes of Bolitho from Cornwall and the colorful cast of characters that Kent has created. The Royal Navy during the period has been accurately described by a modern historian, and authority on the period, as 'man-eating' and Kent brings this out. His characterization of Bolitho as a humane officer is also compelling, for during this age thoughtful commanders took good care of the men they had to lead into the hell of combat.

Good book, excellent read, compelling characters, superb adventure-what else could you ask for?

This is a difficult review for me to write. This was the very first Kent novel to cross my path. I was 12 years old and had been a fan of C.S. Forester for about three years. I vividly remember the thrill that Sloop of War gave me when I ran across it in the stacks of the visiting Bookmobile... I read it in one sitting that evening and, as a result, ended up with a less than perfect grade on the next day's math quiz. Ah, well; it was worth it.

Now, almost forty years later, I once again read it in a single session. It is, as with all of Mr. Reeman's work, a bit overwritten and quite heavy on the pathos, but crisp and quite readable none the less. My issue is with his lack of historical accuracy and the rather thin cardboard from which his characters are constructed. A 32 pound bow chaser on an 18 gun sloop? Twelve pounder guns on the gun deck? Good lord! There are frigates that would founder under that load! Four or six pounders were more likely and the 32 pounder is pure fantasy. And that's just the first couple of historical stretches to catch my eye. It snowballs from there. Mr. Reeman does not have a firm grasp on the realities of the period.

And the characters; I mean, could they be any more wooden and unconvincing? Sigh.

Is it worth reading? Yes. Sloop of War is a rousing tale of adventure and bloodshed. Is it a good historic novel? Not by a long shot.

In the later years of the American Revolutionary War Richard Bolitho has his first significant command, a trim, fast and deadly slop of war, the smallest class of square rigged vessel in service. His objective is interception and destruction of French supplies to the American and French Armies and his main area of duty is in the Bahamas and the north-eastern West Indies. As always in the Kent novels secondary characters are interesting and contribute significantly to the development of the plot and the mechanics of sailing operations are realistically described, without the detail becoming overwhelming. A young man's delight in his independent command, and his dawning realisation that he is in fact good at what he does, is well conveyed. An act of betrayal by an immediate superior, leading to a court-martial, and an equally stinging betrayal by a society beauty who humiliates him, mature Bolitho rapidly. The novel culminates in the events surrounding the Battle of the Virginia Capes and the British surrender at Yorktown. My only gripe with this book, and its predecessors "In Gallant Company" and "To Glory We Steer", is that Kent compresses Bolitho's American War service into only three novels. There must have been other possibilities - e.g. the young Bolitho would have been the ideal man to have confronted Arnold's fleet of gundelos on the lakes as the British pushed southwards from Canada for their appointment at Saratoga!

So far this is the fourth in the Bolitho series I've read, by Alexander Kent (a pseudonym). That must tell you that I like the series. I have also ordered, and just received the next three in the series.

Like O'Brian's Captain Jack Aubrey series, it is best to read these books in order, since they are in a chronological series as far as the protagonist's career is concerned. Richard Bolitho was born and raised in Cornwall of a seafaring family. He went to sea as a midshipman at the age of twelve. The series picks him up at age 16, in Midshipman Bolitho, the first book of the series, when he was serving on a ship-of-the-line--a third rater. There are actually two stories in that first book.

Each book will stand alone, but I think it is better to read them as the fictional hero lived it, in order. There are a great many books in the series. I'll be sorry when I've read the last one--number 26, Relentless Pursuit.

Kent is obviously very knowledgeable about the sea and the square rigged ships of the Royal Navy circa the late 18th and early 19th century, as well as the customs, hardships, and naval strategy of the time. But, to him, the story comes first, and he is a master story-teller. The action never drags, and his characters seem to live. There is truth in his depiction of the brutal, sometimes arrogant, often bullying sea officers and petty officers that feels accurate and realistic.

The implements of sea warfare: pikes, pistols, muskets, and especially cutlasses, swords and hangers are well described, as are their uses. I had to look up the "hanger." It is a short, usually curved, thick-blades short sword used in hand-to-hand combat. And there is a lot of hand-to-hand combat in this book, as well as the others.

As the late O'Brian indicated in his series, the cannon balls were less destructive of human life than the splinters they caused when they struck these wooden sailing craft.

This is truly a great series, and if you like sea tales--expecially those written about this period in history often referred to as the time of "wooden ships and iron men," then I cannot recommend Alexander Kent's books too highly.

Joseph (Joe) Pierre, USN (Ret)

author of Handguns and Freedom...their care and maintenance
and other books

"Sloop of War" follows the appointment of Lieutenant Bolitho to command his own ship, HMS "Sparrow." Of all the first four "Bolitho" novels, this one is my favorite to date. Especially for any former military officer, there is something irresistable about reading about an officer's first independent command.

Another great attraction to this novel is the fact that it is set on the American East Coast as the British are trying to suppress the American Revolution. I admit that I was rooting for the Americans, but in no way did this diminish my enjoyment of this novel. The American Revolution was a tough, hard war fought in bleak and harsh conditions and the British were far from home. For the American reader it is interesting to read a story set in our revolution from the British perspective. Further, in this novel it seemed to me that the author's writing was crisper than in the earlier novels. The action scenes were easier to follow. Overall, this one is a thoroughly rewarding reading experience for those, like myself, who enjoy historical naval fiction. RJB.

As the American Revolution continues, Richard Bolitho takes command of a King's ship for the first time. The sloop of war "Sparrow" may be small compared to other ships in which the young officer has served, but this one is his own to captain. He needs to understand his officers and crew quickly, because they have been together under another, recently deceased captain; and his first lieutenant frankly announces that he has applied for a transfer and been refused. This crew has not the faintest concept of what it means to go into combat. So Bolitho, who knows only too well, must teach them. Quickly - for they are heading into action now.

This novel covering almost four years in Bolitho's life and career moves along smartly, and it has a nice balance between action and character development. As usual, Kent gives his supporting characters as well as his protagonist a chance to change with the story's events; and also as usual, this happens in ways that make sense. An enjoyable read throughout.

--Reviewed by Nina M. Osier, author of "Granite Island"

Do not, repeat, do NOT start reading this book late in the evening when you have to work the next morning! You'll be red-eyed in the morning. I could hardly put it down. Our hero, Bolitho, is put in command of a sloop, the Sparrow, and takes on the Americans and French in various places and assignments. There is even a girl. But, thank goodness, she doesn't ruin the story, as the inclusion of so many girls often does to a good war story. Nevertheless, Kent keeps the narrative moving along with plenty of action and adventure. As opposed to some other series, many of Bolitho's officers, indeed friends, actually get killed. So, you never really know what is going to happen in any particular battle.
This is great reading. Of course, it's not a documentary (as some other reviewer pined away about); it's naval FICTION. Whenever anything is put to print or on film for entertainment, that's what it is--entertainment.
And, boy, is this good stuff! Can hardly wait to pick up the next book.

With this book my opinion of Alexander Kent soars. This is a terrifically well written novel of small ship coastal actions during the American rebellion. Bolitho has risen to command his own ship and is engaged in many forms of convoy duty under some commanders of indifferent talent or active malevolence. It is a tale of astounding betrayals, and unexpectedly resolute loyalty. The book is two stories in one (as also was the first volume, Midshipman Bolitho), set in 1778 off the East Coast and then in 1781 in the Bahamas, the beginning and end of his time in command of the Sparrow sloop.

This is a masterful story in young command. It presents a remarkable interior look at the development of command, not only in the outward heroism of Bolitho and the contrasting incompetence of arrogant superiors, but of their inner states of mind, and occasionally that of their subordinates in the gut-wrenching heat of battle. We see the minutiae for which a captain is responsible, but especially the burden of command when people will die from the decisions he must make. Also, Bolitho falls resoundingly in love again, this time with an insouciant and manipulative aristocrat, of whom he had best beware! (This minx would make a great continuing character, a beguiling nemesis in the wings.) This is an altogether better and deeper story than its predecessors. It is as full of exciting episodes of bloody action as ever, but contains multiple plot lines and carries an emotional depth that is new.