The Time of Terror (Nathan Peake Trilogy 1) [Paperback]

All you book lover's will recognise this scene. I finish work at 4pm and dash into town for a haircut before heading home. At 4.45 duly cropped I'm on my way back to the car when my clinical inability to walk past a book shop strikes again and before I know it it is 5.30 I have 2 books under my arm and I am frantically looking for a third to complete the 3 for 2 offer whilst an impatient shop keeper is looking at me daggers wanting to go home!
The pressure on, my eyes fall on the cover of this book, an 18 Century cutter surging into the surf, I flip it over, it's the story of a young English naval officer!, memories of Hornblower and Lucky Jack Aubrey spring to my mind and I complete the threesome and put the shop keeper out of their misery!

Had I more time I would probably have realised this is really the story of the power vacuum and subsequent terror and attrocities carried out in post revolution France and the actual sea faring components are comparatively small.

As a historical excercise I found the book hugely rewarding. I had heard of Danton and of course most noteably Robespierre, but had no real idea of their political views, how they came to blows and how they met their grisley deaths. The author also draws a wonderful picture of Paris at this particular time of turmoil and gives a real feel of how quickly things could turn decidely nasty for anyone who spoke against the revolution, used the wrong wording or simply forget to put on a tricolour badge on his hat!

The main problem I had was with the story being told from the point of view of the young Nathan Peake,a Brig commander who through his connections to the America's and his ability to speak French is thrown into the role of an under cover agent, smuggling goods, messages and millions of fake french banknotes onboard a commandeered American merchant man. This was fine but the author also wanted to put Peake into the action at sea and rather contrives to put him on a daring 'cutting out' mission and also more improbably in the heart of the action on the clash of fleets of the 'Glorious first of June' whilst he is flitting back accross the channel for fresh orders!

This would have been fine in a Sharp novel but given the more ambitious and serious nature of the rest of the book it felt a bit incongruous to this reader at least. I felt he would have done better perhaps to have two lead charactors one the spy and one the naval hero, though to be fair this would have invited comparrisons to O'Briens work.

However the book is very skillfully written, especially the political intrigue in Paris and the description of the battle of the first of June. The lead female charactors were especially colourful and engaging, though I found Peake himself a bit 2D and non descript.
It will be interesting to see if the author does a more conventional 'sea' story in the second of the trilogy though I am still undecided on whether to splash the cash or not.

I heard about Seth Hunter when I booked for a writing workshop with Paul Bryer ('Fact into Fiction) and discovered that he was indeed one and the same. Consequently I bought the trilogy and started on the first one! I took three days to read it and the other two followed in quick succession.
I won't tell you the story (others have already done so in previous reviews. Suffice it to say it was an enjoyable and enlightening read.
Nathan Peake was a believable 'hero' tumbling through the most unlikely set of circumstances within Paris and the full horror of the French Revolution. I felt I was there!
I learned more from this fiction of the social history of the time from this novel than from all the dull tomes of the classroom. History came alive, as did the characters in the book.

I ordered this for a friend who is very keen on naval stories. I started glancing through it and a day later finished the novel. This is so much more than a "sailing yarn". Set in the French revolution, it tells the story of an English naval officer - but is full of humour and history and lust as any novel I read. It is masterfully written, a gripping tale, and well worth anyone's time. I've now bought my own copy and have pre-ordered the second part of this trilogy. Don't miss it. Superb.