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"Praise for Alexander Kent: 'One of our foremost writers of naval fiction' Sunday Times 'Shipwreck, survival... a spirited battle... a splendid yarn' The Times"
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
Book Description
More action from the master storyteller of the sea!
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Book eight in the Bolitho series sees Richard Bolitho return to home waters to deal with smugglers, plotting gentry and, of course, the French. A typical Kent yarn, well plotted and engaging. However this edition falls down in it's presentation by the publishers Arrow. Whoever proof read it should be shot. Wrong words and even wrong names crop up on nearly every other page, ruining the flow of the story. They really should do better..
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
When I read my first Alexander Kent book I was hooked and ended up aquiring every one (many from Amazon) and reading them all. I enjoyed the history of the stories and whilst there is a fair amount of repetition in the writing I thoroughly enjoyed them.
One day I will definately read them all again.
One day I will definately read them all again.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
8 reviews
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Bolitho Battles North Sea Smugglers
8 Jan 2001
Format:Paperback
With All Despatch is chronologically the last of Kent's pre-Napoleonic Wars Bolitho novels. It is also the most recently written depicting that era. As such it is one of his most polished if somewhat familiar.
Kent has used the structure of With All Despatch before. Essentially he has written the novel in two linked sections with a mini-climax in the first followed by the major climax and denouement in the second. In Gallant Company was particularly effective using this format and in With All Despatch the two sections are linked even more solidly.
In this entry Bolitho who is still mourning the loss of his lady must obtain men for His Majesty's service while battling smugglers on England's North Sea coast. Complicating the matter is possible collusion between a senior officer and the smugglers. The head smuggler seems unreachable and there is an obvious parallel with organized crime and drug cartels of today. As the novel progresses it is also obvious that France and England will be at war soon. Can Bolitho meet all of his objectives and defeat his enemies? To provide a clue, the series will continue with many more novels for 23 more years.
In spite of being a popular series the reader has to know that Richard Bolitho is a tragic figure. The chronology in most books shows his death in 1815. By With All Despatch Bolitho has lost both his parents and his brother who turned traitor before dying. His faithful sidekick Stockdale was killed after nearly 10 years with him and Bolitho notes that his replacement Allday has been with him for 10 years. The reader has to be waiting for the other shoe to drop with Allday. The series could be really depressing if Kent didn't fill the novels with nail biting tension and thrilling action sequences. Kent's obvious knowledge of sailing and love of the sea also provide charm to the series.
With All Despatch is one of Kent's most polished. Perhaps it doesn't have the fire and intensity of earlier offerings but it is still good. While the entire series is violent some of this novel is particularly gruesome. I wouldn't recommend With All Despatch for younger readers unlike the earlier novels.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Stand by the guns! Loosen the t'gallant and jib!
12 Dec 2001
Format:Paperback
Although not one of the best in the series, this novel captures the grim life at sea and the struggle against nature. In this book, brutal smugglers ply the English Channel between Holland, France and England. The central characters are well written and alive with problems, dialog and several seem destined to re-appear in future Bolitho novels. However, Mr. Kent seemed to have Bolitho dwell in his past too many times. A dark, brooding side of the naval hero seems to fill many pages, but it does make Sir Richard that much more of a fleshed out character. He does feel for his dead friends, former ships and in some cases, former enemies. That aside, the tale moves along like a nimble sixth-rater with all sheets unfurled in a southern wind. The action is swift and brutal as Bolitho gives battle to the smugglers and their allies. Stormy weather, plenty of thunderous cannon fire, smashed bulkheads, parted ratlines and terrified crewmen. The author once again details the sea as an angry foe without mercy. The battle at the end of the book between a couple of corvettes and three cutters is suberb Kent writting. A welcome addition to the collection none the less. Well worth reading and blends seamlessly into the very next novel. An excellent series that has re-defined nautical fiction.
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Smugglers' Cove
15 Jan 2004
Format:Paperback
Two years after the American Revolution, and the British Navy is still licking its wounds. Bolitho, after finally recovering from a serious illness encountered in the South Seas, haunts the Admiralty, looking for a new command, his beloved frigate Tempest laid up for repairs.
The Admiralty awards his past heroism with a squadron of three small topsail cutters, and directs him to assist the revenue service against the often brutal smugglers who are using the Kentish coast, apparently with assistance from powerful patrons.
This is another story of intrigue, violence, and treachery as Bolitho--saddled again with incompetent superiors--struggles to fulfill his duty.
Joseph (Joe) Pierre, USN(Ret)
author of Handguns and Freedom...their care and maintenance
and other books
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