Under Enemy Colors [Paperback]

S. Thomas Russell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 4, 2008

Born to an English father and a French mother, lieutenant Charles Saunders Hayden’s career is damned by his “mixed” heritage. Assigned to the HMS Themis, an aging frigate under the command of a captain reviled by his crew for both his brutality towards his men and his cowardice in battle, Hayden is torn between honor and duty, as the British navy engages the French in a centuries-old struggle for power.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Audio fans of Patrick O'Brian and C.S. Forester will rejoice as Vance admirably re-creates Russell's debut novel set in 1793, during those authors' period. There's arguably more Forester than O'Brian here, but few listeners will be disappointed. A promising young Royal Navy officer, Lt. Charles Hayden, is passed over for a command of his own because his father is English and his mother is French. Instead, Hayden boards a smart new frigate called Themis, captained by Josiah Hart, who is reviled as "Faint Hart" by his crew for his cowardice. To make up for his dislike of battle, Hart treats his men like the enemy. Vance gets all the voices right: the proud and ambitious young Hayden and the sniveling Hart, who abuses his power. The other snobs and older officers, who don't have as much to do or say, are also vividly brought to life. Vance transports listeners to a world both exciting and memorable. Simultaneous release with the Putnam hardcover (Reviews, May 14).
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Both C. S. Forester's Horatio Hornblower series and Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin novels reaped critical success and legions of faithful fans. Those authors succeeded by blending careful history, vast knowledge of ships and the sea, fascinating glimpses of the period, and ripping-good adventure into spellbinding fiction. Now Russell is bidding fair to succeed the departed masters (and join those, like Bernard Cornwell, still asea). It's 1793, and England is battling revolutionary France. Honorable, heroic Lieutenant Charles Hayden has only one chance to get back to sea: he must join HMS Themis as first lieutenant, under Captain Sir Josiah Hart, despite Hart's reputation for being "shy" about engaging the enemy. Hayden accepts the appointment and quickly learns that Hart is not only a coward but also a tyrant toward his crew, some of whom are intrigued by the "republican" ideas coming out of the U.S. and France. Perhaps not yet quite as polished as Forester or O'Brian, Russell has the makings of an A-lister and is sure to attract fans of fighting sail. Gaughan, Thomas --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Paperback: 512 pages
• Publisher: Berkley Trade; Reprint edition (November 4, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425223620
• ISBN-13: 978-0425223628
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (49 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #507,344 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

37 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Forester, O'Brian, Russell? Just Possibly, November 17, 2007

By 

Douglas S. Wood "Vicarious Life" (Monona, WI) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Under Enemy Colors (Hardcover)

S. Thomas Russell debuts with `Under Enemy Colors' an age of sail novel set in 1793. Lieutenant Charles Hayden finds himself summoned by the First Secretary of the Navy Philip Stephens who offers him a position aboard the Themis as first lieutenant - with an added duty to file secret reports with Stephens. Hayden reluctantly accepts what he feels are Stephens' somewhat dishonorable demands. Arriving for service he finds a ship in utter disarray under the command of the `shy' tyrant Josiah Hart. Hayden's efforts to set the ship aright are frustrated by the captain and the second lieutenant as much as by a fractious crew.

That much the reader learns in the first 50 pages. From there Russell takes the reader along on a rollicking good tale with a stealthy night-time ambuscade, espionage on French soil, sea battles with broadsides and boardings, and a mutiny. For all the action Russell also manages to weave in Hayden's back story (his mother is French), a budding romance, a debate society among the middies, and even an inventor's attempted improvement on the ship's guns. Russell's talents shine as he unfolds the courts martial and accompanying naval intrigue.

`Under Enemy Colors' inevitably draws comparison to the tales of C.S. Forester's Horatio Hornblower and Patrick O'Brian's Jack Aubrey and Russell relishes the challenge. This reviewer finds himself somewhat surprised, but delighted to report that Russell's Charles Hayden just may be up to the task. Russell at times seems to be in a rush to get his series fully under sail, but perhaps that may be excused by the obvious care and devotion the author gave to writing this book. Russell promises another installment in 2009. Let's hope it fulfills the promise of `Under Enemy Colors', which was just a heck of a lot of fun to read.

27 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Think Hornblower, not Aubrey-Maturin, October 8, 2007

By 

David K. vun Kannon "making up the rules" (Tenafly, New Jersey United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Under Enemy Colors (Hardcover)

It's a little sad that every novel of a young man rising through the British Navy during the period of the Napoleanic Wars must now be considered derivative, but there it is. There is Hornblower, there is Aubrey and Maturin, there are many lesser series that cover the same ground (errr.. water).
Patrick O'Brian once complained that he started the Aubrey-Maturin cycle too late in Jack Aubrey's career, since he was against writing prequels. S. Thomas Russell will not have that problem. He has begun what must be intended to be a long series of novels about the exploits of his half-English, half-French protagonist Charles Hayden in 1793, when Hayden is a first lieutenant. Minor characters are not as well developed, too one-sided. The names Wickham and Hart are minor references back to Austen and O'Brian.
Books of this type require descriptions of the sea and sailing, descriptions of battle, and at least a passing acquaintance with Jane Austen-style romantic complications. Russell provides a good balance of each in his first volume. The author also does a better job describing some actions, such as stepping a mast with the help of sheers, than other authors do.
In my opinion, Russell is roughly the equal of CS Forester in describing action, setting up plot, and fleshing out his characters. He does not come up to the literary level of Patrick O'Brian. The writing has a few rough spots, and from the set up, I was hoping for a "Murder on the Orient Express" at sea type of mystery, which did not develop at all. I am looking forward to the author's next effort with the continuing cast.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars solid naval fiction, September 8, 2007

By 

David W. Straight (knoxville, tennessee United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Under Enemy Colors (Hardcover)

A good start to a new series! This is more of a character-driven novel rather than an action-oriented book with almost non-stop sea battles. There are fighting and battles, to be sure, but in this book, as in real life at that time, the great majority of a naval officer's time was spent dealing with shipboard life rather than in sea battles. The writing is surprisingly good. I was reminded of Stachel's comment to his squadron commander in The Blue Max when asked about his ability, and so as not to seem boastful he replies "I'm comfortable in the air". Russell is obviously "comfortable" with words and sentences--or think of a veteran sailor in a small boat on a rough sea being "comfortable" on the water. Too many authors, including too many best-selling authors, are not comfortable with words and sentences--these authors almost regard them as an enemy--and the labored writing style is often masked with violent action or other plot devices. Russell's writing seems completely unlabored, and the characters are well-drawn, the dialogue believable, and there's a wealth on naval minutae to work with.

It should come as a surprise to no one that influence and interests weighed very heavily with the Admiralty. Men of little ability could, with friends and family in proper places, rise to levels far above what they deserved or could handle--merit played a minimal role. The hero, Hayden, is without influence, and must serve under a cowardly bully who has influence to spare. Flogging captains and mutinous crews are popular plot elements in naval fiction. But the classic case of this was anything but fictional: Hugh Pigot of the Hermione (see Dudley Pope's excellent nonfictional account The Black Ship). Bligh, by contrast, might seem tender-hearted.

There's a good court-martial and the usual romance. I might note a couple of things. First, in most naval fiction, the author likes his or her protagonist to protagonize, so to speak. The hero should direct the action rather than be an also-ran. This means that the hero must almost always be the captain (or acting captain) of a smallish ship (frigate or smaller) involved in independent action--which gives the hero an ability to shine. Think of Cochrane, the model for most protagonists in naval fiction. Being captain of a 74 in a fleet under the command of an admiral gives less scope for the hero to control the action. Likewise, being 3rd mate on any ship is not a popular place for a hero. Even in the early Hornblower stories, it seems that most of the time Hornblower was busy taking prizes back to port and thus in command. I'm grateful for the fine Lewrie series by Dewey Lambdin where in the early novels Lewrie is a low-level player literally learning the ropes ("kissing the gunner's daughter" sounded appealing to him!). So I hope Russell has prequels--several prequels--about Hayden's earlier career.

The second thing I'm not comfortable with here is the ship's surgeon who is addressed as "Doctor" rather than "Mr". Actual doctors were rare at sea: surgeons were common. Doctors had much higher social status, since they did not do any surgery, whereas surgeons of necessity worked with their hands (like common laborers) and thus could not be considered true gentlemen. But this was just a minor distraction from a fine novel.