Peter Smalley

Not as good as the first in the series. Once again Rennie and Hayter are sent in HMS Expedient on another politically-charged mission, this time to Jamaica, where the French are believed to be considering invasion plans in the event of a resumption of hostilities. With the sinister Sir Robert Greer again in the background, the Expedients are expected to tease out treasonous plots in the sugar plantations, at considerable risk of their lives. Disappointingly little sea action this time, except for a marvellously depicted battle in the denouement. Still a good read but I would have prefered the story to occur more at sea than in convoluted plots on land.… (more)

in 1786, in one of the rare breaks in the war between Britain and France, Captain Rennie and Lieutenant Hayter are cast on the beach on half-pay, before being tasked with taking the nearly new frigate Expedient on a secret mission to the South Pacific. Travelling under sealed orders they are dogged by poor weather, exploding guns, diminishing supplies and a mysterious unflagged frigate tailing them. Wrhen they finally reach their destination, a seemingly idyllic island, they instead find a warlike tribe who believe Rennie is a god. Quite enjoyable book, somewhat different from the Bolitho/Hornblower/Aubrey models. There is much more emphasis on the mechanics of sailing and sea gunnery, fully a third of the book is taken up with the details of preparing a man o' war for sea, then the voyage itself takes most of the rest of the book. This leaves the finale somewhat rushed and disappointing. However I did not mind this, as the previous parts of the book had been absorbing, I simply loved the emphasis on the mechanics of a long sea voyage, and the sense of the vast distance it coveyed was enormously refreshing after reading similar books where long sails were brushed over in a few pages. I enjoyed the book very much and look forward to the sequels with great anticipation.… (more)

1786: Captain Rennie has been on the beach for 4 years after being ignored by the Admiralty after the glorious battle of the Saints.
Out of the blue, he is given the comission aboard 36 gun "Expedient", with Lieutenant Hayter as his first lieutenant.
They are sent to the South Seas on an scientific expidition.
But there is something odd about their comission. They are given orders which they are not allowed to open until they are well under way, the equipment they are given fails and the guns are exploding as they are being test fired, and they are being followed by a strange man-o-war, which never gets close, but is always just there, on the horizon.
The answers all come to a head after a storm, when damaged Expedient limps for repairs to an uncharted island in the corner of the Pacific.

Overall the book was great, it started off fairly well, became fast paced towards the middle and end of the book, but the ending was a little disappointing. Overall though, 4/5, the book kept my attention and I am looking forwards to reading more of Peter Smalley's books.… (more)