A King's Commander

After flirting with being in command of a ship at times in the past, Alan Lewrie finally gets his own ship, the HMS Jester, a prize he'd won in the last book. The war is heating up and Lewrie sails into the battle of the Glorious First of June, then on to the Mediterranean, where under Hood and along with Nelson, he's at the taking of Corsica. But then Admiral Hood is replaced by Hotham, and Lewrie chafes under his over-cautious leadership. But old acquaintances and enemies from the past appear to, naturally, cause trouble for Lewrie. And he is asked by British agents to give his all--including an assignation with a particularly well-endowed and alluring female spying for the French. I continue to thoroughly enjoy this series. I love Lewrie, with his insecurities, flaws, and his nautical abilities. Yes, O'Brian's series is brilliant, but I never mind comparisons and enjoy these books on their own merits.

Taking place in 1794, A King's Commander is an excellent novel about naval war in the Mediteranean. In the book, newly appointed Commander Alan Lewrie leaves the loving arms of his wife Caroline to sail his sloop, HMS Jester, to Corsica. There he becomes re-involved with his French mistress, Phoebe, and Captain Horatio Nelson in his campaign to wrest control of the island from the French. I really enjoyed this book. Lewrie is an interesting and entertaining character, a combination of Horatio Hornblower, Jack Aubrey, and Harry Flashman. And, while he can sometimes be a jerk, he at least realizes he's being a jerk. He also seems to be evolving with each new book. Dewey Lambdin likes to flesh out his supporting cast too (including Nelson), taking care to make them seem like real people and not just props for Lewrie. (Though Lewrie's main French antagonist, a returnee from a previous novel and suitably dangerous, is a bit too evil.) The book has a bit of everything: desperate naval battles, political intrigue and espionage, illicit romance, and humor. The only part I had a tough time with was when Lewrie's lover Phoebe speaks. The author has her talk half English and half French which makes for heavy going. But it doesn't happen too often and with a bit of work the reader can mostly figure out what she's saying. If you like the works of C.S. Forester, George MacDonald Fraser, or Bernard Cornwell, I think you'll really enjoy this book too.

The Alan Lewrie Naval Adventures, are,perhaps one of the best series in this genre ever created. The author manages to prserve the flavor of the period without resorting to the wordy pomposity of an O'Brien. Lewrie is an engaging rogue. Fully as good as Kent's "Bolitho" series--which I also reccomend. THis Novel sees Our Hero in his first real independent command, the Sloop Of War HMS "Jester" and off to Corsica. A first class read

Just as Alan Lewrie has gotten much better at this Royal Navy thing, Lambdin has gotten better and better at writing novels about him. From a feckless 17-year-old midshipman, Lewrie has advanced in this seventh in the series to an experienced, competent commander of his own ship-sloop, . . . though he's sometimes equally feckless. If only he could keep his breeches buttoned, his life would have a lot fewer problems in it. But even with a loving wife and three kids back home, he still finds himself involved, willy-nilly, with the lovely young Phoebe Aretino from the previous installment. He won't keep her, though, which is just as well for him. On the professional front, having been posted off to the Med, Lewrie finds himself participating in a small way in that spectacular victory over the Republican French navy known as the Glorious First of June. Then he's off to join Hood's fleet and to participate in the conquest of Corsica as a colleague of Capt. Horatio Nelson -- and to be caught up in the machinations of Mr. Twigg, the spy from his time in the Far East, as well as Choundas, the French captain and pirate who has good reason to hate him, . . . and of whom Lewrie admits well-justified fear. The author seems to have gotten under control his penchant for over-writing and over-reliance on period slang, and his ability to clearly describe naval actions and ship-handling have progressed from occasionally shaky to considerably above average. But most important, Alan Lewrie, filled with self-doubts and a full realization of his own shortcomings even while he repeatedly proves his courage and his worth to the navy, is a fully realized human being of whom the reader can develop some understanding and about whom one cares -- even when he does something personally stupid.

I've read the Hornblower and OBrien, but this series by Lambdin is truely the best! Historical accurate gritty, real, and loads of fun usually. This is truly a great adventure serie. I keep checking for his next book.