Halfhyde's Island

This is the second in a series of 15 novels about St Vincent Halfhyde, an officer in HM Royal Navy. It takes place at the end of the age of sail and the beginning of the steam powered navy. Halfhyde has a bad reputation for insubordination and is appointed executive officer of the cruiser Viceroy, an old iron-armored sailing ship built in the 1850s that has been rotting at anchor as a storage ship but curiously just refitted for steam. The Viceroy is to go to the Pacific, under a Captain known for his discipline and a preference for the old ways of sail, to claim a newly emerged, volcanic island for a naval station. This is a risky mission, because the Russians will be after the island too, and the Viceroy, Halfhyde, and his commanding officer have apparently been selected because they are expendable. When they do reach the island, Halfhyde falls into the hands of Prince Gorsinski, a Russian Admiral, who has a score to settle from the first book in this series. By the end of the novel we encounter the Japanese fleet as well. There is a lot of drama and adventure in this enjoyable and well-written book, which is seemingly well-informed about life at sea and makes for a refreshing escape read.

The first thing a potential reader should know is that the author, Philip McCutchan, knows how to tell a story. This is the second book of a series featuring the main character, an officer in the British Navy during the end of the Victorian Era and the beginning of the Edwardian era. Quite frankly, I've become hooked. It is a very pleasant read and I would recommend it and other titles in the series to anyone who enjoys an evening sitting in an easy chair, reading nautical fiction. In addition to being a good story, it captures the sense of duty, honor, and the marvelous hint of arrogance that was characteristic of the British Navy of this time.