Lt Leary, Commanding

Very enjoyable read. Hoping to see more. Kind of of like Dewey Lambdin or Patrick Obrian in Space. Definitely some flavors of Awbrey and Maturin from Pat Obrian, crossed with some Honor Harrington. I like this series a lot, and look forward to more! Drake is nearly always a great read, and nothing disappointed me on this one.

David Drake's 2nd book following the adventures of Republic of Cinnabar Naval Lt. Daniel Leary, a scientifically inclined, politically connected, slightly overweight skirt chaser, and Signal Officer Adele Mundy, a former librarian, deadly shot, information expert and spy, takes the reader to new levels of emjoyment and entertainment.This series is a sci-fi descendant of Patrick O'Brian's New York Times best-selling "Aubrey-Maturin" series, which is high praise indeed. This book is sheer fun, as Leary and Mundy are caught up in high intrigue as Daniel's first command, the corvette, "Princess Cecile", sets out on its first mission.Drake does a nice job of establishing the worlds upon which his characters live and visit, painting an intriguing portrait of Cinnabar and other environs.Leary and Mundy find themselves in high adventure, as they must deal with plots by exiled royalty, the dangers of being marooned, a prig of a commanding officer who just doesn't take a liking for young Lt. Leary, the dangers of interstellar travel, the unexpected appearance of powerful enemies, deal with pirates and have a face-off in a desperate showdown.Drake truly expands the Leary-Mundy universe in this book, and there is a lively sense of humor throughout this adventure. Plus, there's a great supporting cast of characters, starting off with Leary's man-servant Hogg, and Mundy's equally deadly servant, Tovera.This book is intelligent, humourous, and swashbuckling space opera at its finest, ranking right with David Weber's "Honor Harrington" series.

Here is a hero that you just gotta love because he is so cool. Lt. Leary is a real hot dog space jock with brains, political savvy and lots of clout connection wise. And, (like David Weber's "Salamander" Honor Harrington), this risk taker is not afraid of the heat. As a naval officer of Cinnebar's RCN, Leary sails into one blazing battle after another that scorches both his hull and hide when his senior commanding officer decides to set him up and shoot him down in acts that are fostered by the commander's judgemental, self righteous machinations.The contrast of Leary's controlled fire with the ice floes of his Signals Officer Adele Mundy provides a powerful synergy that tantalizes and challenges them both although neither will admit it. Nor will they admit their emerging alchemy that provides a nice sub text to the intensity of each character and their personal battles which are superimposed upon the military ones. Their purported assignment is to patrol a certain area of space used by commercial freighters from the depredations brought about by space pirates. As unwitting hosts to an exiled ruler of an allied world who boards the Princess Cecile illegally, Leary and crew get caught up in a wild and disasterous political plot wherein they are forced to align with and to fight their way out of a politically motivated trap alongside the very pirates whom they were sent to dispatch.Drake is a real wizard in populating his stories with gritty, fascinating people and they are written in such a way as to leave a lasting mark on one's memory. His battle action and tech head stuff is so riveting that even those of us who have never been in the military can get into his stories and "be there" whether he is ...with the political movers and shakers,or blazing outathere in his snazzy corvette. Big Time.Drake is also very skilled at showing the shadow side of his main characters through their counterparts the "outdoorsman" Hogg who is Lt. Leary's manservant, and Tovera the brilliant "sociopath" who serves her mistress Adele. They add considerable wit and tension to this top flight military sci-fi adventure. And, it is this reader's hope that Drake will continue the action in future Lt. Leary books because, for this reader, it's not over yet, not by a long shot. An immensely enjoyable saga.

Cross O'Bryan's Aubrey-Maturin novels with Weber's Honor Harrington series and you've got a pretty good idea of where Lt.Leary Commanding is going to take you. Drake delivers all the action and adventure we've come to expect, but it is a perhaps less expected pleasure to discover that the true strength of this tale is in the depth and development of his characters. Drake has really found the zone and hit his stride and in that respect does Weber one better, spreading before us, like the varied and delectable delights of a dessert cart: the cool and ever precise Adele Mundy; the sociopath, Tovera; Leary, hisownself, a cheerful and sunny soul, but all business and absolutely fearless in a crisis... I could go on, but you get the picture. Actually, the interaction between Mundy and Leary is intriguing in part because Drake has taken the platonic affection of the Aubrey-Maturin bond and given it a male-female gender twist. Few authors attempt to portray a deep, compelling, yet non-sexual, friendship between a man and a woman, and even fewer do so convincingly, or manage to keep it interesting. In this regard, the relationship, if not the distribution of emotional qualities, is reminiscent of the Willie Garvin - Modest Blaise relationship (for those of you willing to forgive the genre skipping and passage of 30 years ). Drake has delivered an entertaining and rewarding yarn. Good stuff.

Drake can be a spotty author, with a tendency toward overly graphic violence and language and a sloppy sense of continuity. None of that detracts from this book, which is the best (along with companion novel "With the Lightnings" which should be read first) of recent space opera (meaning the last couple of Weber or Moon novels.) Engaging characters, interesting non-military themes (library and data science, natural history) running through the books, and rollicking adventure. Also the only really engaging space battle I have ever read. A homage to Aubrey and Maturin that works and is a great addition to Drake's canon.