M. Kei

Men of Honor is the second novel in a trilogy of 18th Century British, Spanish, and Sallee naval action in the Mediterranean Sea. As I noted in my review of M. Kei's first novel in the series, Pirates of the Narrow Seas 1 : The Sallee Rovers, the continuing saga is reminiscent of the exciting Horatio Hornblower series written by C. S. Forester. The main character Peter Thornton is a young man who ran away from home when he was just a boy and signed on to the first British ship he could find. show more Though he was an orphan in a navy that gave favors to sons of wealthy families, Peter rose in the ranks through ability and self-discipline like the heroic Hornblower.

In this novel, Thornton has risen rapidly to the rank captain of a ship in the Sallee corsairs after resigning his commission as a Lieutenant in the British Navy. He serves at the pleasure of Commodore Isam Rais al-Tangueli (aka Captain Tangle) in more ways than one. Tangle was freed from imprisonment in a Spanish galley with the help of Thornton and the handsome commodore is forever grateful in bestowing rank and loving caresses to his rescuer. The caresses never reach the point of sexual consummation, an important consideration later when Thornton is pressed back into British naval service. It turns out that Thornton's resignation was not legal and Peter must offer his parole (promise not to escape) to the captain of his former British ship.

As a Sallee rover captain and then paroled British officer awaiting court martial for being AWOL, committing sodomy, and converting to Islam relinquishing membership in the Church of England, Thornton is involved in one naval battle after another in the Mediterranean. He is wounded several times, partially blinded in one eye, and falls in love with Tangle and Sallee and British shipmates. The action is non-stop as readers come to admire Thornton's skill, bravery, and honor in storms, battles, and celebrations. There is tension in the background due to the inevitability of his court martial. Peter takes increasing risks of discovery as he develops his sexuality as a gay man, knowing that this worsens his chances of conviction in British naval court.

This is an excellent, action-filled novel with the excitement of homoerotic relationships of the characters who risk their lives in battle and by carefully coming out in the small fraternity of gay men in the British Navy. M. Kei continues his series with a very well-written and entertaining story. I look forward to reading the final novel in the series, Iron Men (Pirates of the Narrow Seas). show less

This felt like an old time adventure novel, but less…. Dated? The writing style feels dated as is appropriate for the time period and the genre, the contents are not. The book contains a lot of historical homophobia, xenophobia etc, but not in the 20th century way that make it seem like the white Christian protagonist is always heroic.

The main character struggles with his English duty and the real life events he witnesses. I particularly liked how gradually he adapted to the corsair life. show more Near the end of the book, when an old friend recites that ‘the English are civilised and superior to darker skinned people’, he is unable to share that view anymore.

Because of the old adventure novel style, I didn’t love the characters or the romance. They were nice to read about, but they never felt like people to me. The main character makes decisions for love, but those are a bit hard to get behind when I didn’t fully support the romance.
Because it’s a nautical adventure first and the romance is very much a side thing, I didn’t mind it too much.
However, I did not get the ending. After turning his entire life upside down, the main character changes his mind about his love interest on the final page?? show less

M. Kei has written a swashbuckling historical/nautical novel every bit as exciting as C. S. Forester's Horatio Hornblower series. I read the latter series as a teenager and enjoyed the coming of age stories in the British Navy during the Napoleonic era. Pirates of the Narrow Seas: The Sallee Rovers is the first in a series also, and I plan to read all of them.

M. Kei's novel is more than the beginning of the exciting adventures of Peter Thornton, a young man who ran away from home when he show more was just a boy and signed on to the first ship he could find. It is richly detailed in terms of 18th Century history of England, France, Spain, and Northern Africa. The focus is on sailing in times of war, and nautical terms are used that require the use of the Kindle's dictionary and more advanced sources for definitions. The novel offers a very good learning opportunity about sailing in a variety of ships.

The novel also is much more than a replication of the maturation of Horatio Hornblower and description of naval action in war. Peter Thornton is gay with repressed desires held in check by strict adherence to his code of duty as a Lieutenant in the British Navy. Being true to himself and to his allegiance to the Navy cause conflict in his interaction with other characters. Peter's tension makes him rigid and recalcitrant causing his captain to single him out for harsh treatment. Of course, Captain Bishop does not know the reason for the anxiety because Peter keeps it a secret. The charge of homosexuality in British naval service, as in our own military until recently, would lead to harsh punishment.

The novel is not limited to nautical action, history, and sexuality, it also involves religious beliefs. Sallee is a common name for all Muslim corsairs originally residing in the city of Sale in northern Africa. Thornton becomes involved with Sallee men in action saving a Spanish galley in a bad storm. The galley is manned with slaves convicted in Spain of serious crimes. A Muslim slave, "Tangle", is revealed as a high ranking Sallee officer, and Thornton and Tangle develop an interesting relationship made fast by dangerous events and sexual desires. Tangle teaches Thornton about Islam, contrasting it with Church of England beliefs held by Thornton. Over time and through many adventures, Thornton broadens his points of view about religion, duty, honor, and human sexuality.

This is a very interesting and exciting first novel in the Pirates of the Narrow Seas series. I'm looking forward to reading the next two published novels in the series, Iron Men and Men of Honor. M. Kei, an internationally known poet and author of the Journal, Atlas Poetica is now writing Man in the Crescent Moon, a standalone novel about Tangle as a young man. show less

Some lovely tanka (and other short form poems), mostly about working on a fishing boat. Loses something because the subject matter wasn't familiar, but the poems, which take the form of a journal, are quite nice, and there is a thread of good humor that runs through the book that can bring a smile from even the most mundane descriptions. He also has a tanka journal, January, which has more varied subject matter and is also very good, and edits several journals--I am working my way through show more volumes of Atlas Poetica, featurting mostly tanka, and finding a literal mother lode of terrific short poems. The journals are $5 each from Amazon Kindle, and worth twice the price. show less