The Only Victor (Richard Bolitho Novels/Alexander Kent No 18)

Rating:
Summary: Publishers padding particularly poor
Review: I have read the Hornblower series twice and the Aubrey/Maturin series three times and I looked forward to reading another Britanic Naval series when I began Kent's Bolitho series. The series began strong but towards the end (somewhere around "Success to the Brave") the series started running out of gas. It appeared to me that the publishers requested Kent to pad the books with inane story lines (or they themselves committed the sin) in order to extend the series (at nearly US$15/book) to increase their profit. I got to the point that when I read the one of many over used phrases, such as "blood ran from the scuppers as if the ship itself was mortally wounded", I put the book down in disgust. Futhermore, I would occasionally read a few pages that reminded me of the better written books that began the series, affirming my belief that a much less talented individual had a hand in the completion of the series. I suggest to anyone looking for another Aubrey/Maturin series to pick up O'Brian's "Master and Commander" and reread that series. However, if you do pick up the Bolitho series stop investing in the books when it becomes obvious to you that the publishers are padding the stories.

Rating:
Summary: Publishers padding particularly poor
Review: I have read the Hornblower series twice and the Aubrey/Maturin series three times and I looked forward to reading another Britanic Naval series when I began Kent's Bolitho series. The series began strong but towards the end (somewhere around "Success to the Brave") the series started running out of gas. It appeared to me that the publishers requested Kent to pad the books with inane story lines (or they themselves committed the sin) in order to extend the series (at nearly US$15/book) to increase their profit. I got to the point that when I read the one of many over used phrases, such as "blood ran from the scuppers as if the ship itself was mortally wounded", I put the book down in disgust. Futhermore, I would occasionally read a few pages that reminded me of the better written books that began the series, affirming my belief that a much less talented individual had a hand in the completion of the series. I suggest to anyone looking for another Aubrey/Maturin series to pick up O'Brian's "Master and Commander" and reread that series. However, if you do pick up the Bolitho series stop investing in the books when it becomes obvious to you that the publishers are padding the stories.

Rating:
Summary: A good series gone bad
Review: I read the first 16 or 17 Bolitho books in a hurry, 4 or 5 years ago, and enjoyed them quite a bit. Recently I picked up this one and was very disappointed. Rather than a good story of action and history, that I had come to expect from the author, this recent edition was dedicated almost entirely to Bolitho and Catherine mooning about each other and lamenting their separations.

Rating:
Summary: A good series gone bad
Review: I read the first 16 or 17 Bolitho books in a hurry, 4 or 5 years ago, and enjoyed them quite a bit. Recently I picked up this one and was very disappointed. Rather than a good story of action and history, that I had come to expect from the author, this recent edition was dedicated almost entirely to Bolitho and Catherine mooning about each other and lamenting their separations.

Rating:
Summary: NAVAL WARFARE IN THE AGE OF NELSON
Review: The story takes place four months after the battle of Trafalgar and the death of Lord Nelson. The main character is Vice Admiral Richard Bolitho, an aristocrat and one of the rising stars in the British navy. Bolitho is a complicated and compelling figure; with a heart as big as one of his ships of the line, he is also a ruthless and calculating warrior/officer ,seemingly capable of any action that will accomplish the mission. Bolitho is in society's disfavor because of his open liason with a married woman,( an obvious parallel with Nelson's obsession with Lady Hamilton) he is protected by his superior officers , at least professionally, because he gets results. This is the inner tension of the story and Kent handles the love interest with taste and flair. The supporting characters are fleshed out with the same detail as Bolitho, and are never predictable. Like most military leaders of that age, Bolitho leads by the strength of his personality, and no one is neutral in their feelings about him: they love him and will follow him into the worst hell or they will hate and envy him. Bolitho for his part is portrayed as almost the ideal of a best friend, you know he will literally die for you if neccessary. Having said this, Bolitho is also aware of his effect on others and is human enough to manipulate them if that will bring success to the mission. The battle scenes describing the almost point blank range these ships fought at are some of the best ever written (however, both O'brian and Kent are outdistanced by Forrester's single word picture of Hornblower frantically "striking" his colors after a battle in which 75% of his crew is killed; thats tops) and Kent's historical accuracy goes along way to put you there. The author is a member of the British upper class and the precision with which he speaks to us (even across the social spectrum from Vice Admiral to the most common "tar" ) has the other two main competitors O'brian and Forrester beat. The audio version of this title read by Michael Jayston is the perfect union of author and narrator. Jayston has that George Sanders type of inflection to his accent (slightly sinister ?) that transports you to Feb.1806. Most of these titles were written in the sixties and have been long out of print. Resurected with new interest, many are available through " MCBOOKS" in an elegant but expensive format. If your budgit allows it, these are fine produtions and easy to read (when I read all these books in the sixties and seventies I did not need glasses!). 5 stars for the book. 6 stars for the Audio version with Michael Jayston.....happy reading Cal Caligiuri

Rating:
Summary: A preoccupied Bolitho
Review: This is by far the longest book in Kent's Bolitho series. Unlike most books earlier in the series Bolitho spends considerable time on shore iintimately nvolved with his illicit love, Catherine, and then when he is at sea again passionately longing for her. The brave stories of a scared little midshipman who eventually finds his courage, or the lieutenant who excels despite having lost half his face are nearly lost behind Bolitho's obsessive anxieties over his separation from the bold Catherine. Bolitho, now half blinded, is showing signs of tiring and retiring. The series has become a study in the accumulated effects of endless time at sea and in fighting sharp and desperate actions. Bolitho, always deeply concerned with his men, has progressively lost the closest colleagues on whom he had depended, "we happy few," an' that's no error. Still there are flashes of the old outer heroics while fighting the Dutch for Cape Town, on a secret mission to Copenhagen, and coming to the rescue of his troubled friend Herrick at sea.