Kydd

Ahoy all,

I found myself at a used bookstore the other day and ran across Julian Stockwin's Kydd following the adventures of a young man pressed into service on a ship of the line blockading France.

I'm only about halfway through the first book - it's the first in a series. So far I'm enjoying the look at life aboard ship through the eyes of a common sailor (rather than an officer) - has anyone else read Stockwin? What did you think?

I have read them all up through The Privateer's Revenge (or Treachery, if you prefer the UK title). On the whole, I like them. Not as well written as Patrick O'Brian (but very little is); but better (I think) than Dewey Lambdin. Occasionally not entirely believable, but certainly well researched, and written with a consistent voice. By which, I mean that the characters really strike me as speaking like 18th/19th century people, not 21st century people transported to the past.

Well, I just finished reading Invasion, and I was less impressed with the writing than I have been up to now. It may be that I was just paying more attention this time, or it may be a real effect. Who knows?

I will probably have finished off O'Brian's series by the end of the year and so was looking for a recommendation about Kydd. I'll check them out.