HMS Expedient

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 show more 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. show less

Good period touches, and believable characters; I did feel the plot died away rather towards the end, needing frequent kick starts to keep the readers attention. This is a series I will certainly follow, however, and I heartily recommend it.

1786: Captain William Rennie is on the beach and on half pay when he's given a prime commission: HMS Expedient is a 36 gun frigate; she is to be sent to the South Seas on a scientific expedition.

For Lieutenant James Hayter, in Dorsetshire, whose career had barely begun when the peace came, his own commission in Expedient out of the blue is equally surprising and exciting.

But for these two sea officers there is something odd and disturbing about the nature of their task. They sense that they are not being told the whole truth about the forthcoming expedition, and the shady, powerful figure of Sir Robert Greer is always at their backs. Is someone trying to sabotage their mission? Why is their progress dogged by a mysterious man of war? show more And what are the secret orders locked in Rennie's cabin which may only be opened once they round Cape Horn?

The answers lies on a beautiful uncharted island, in the remotest corner of the Pacific immensity, to which the storm-battered Expedient limps for desperately needed repairs. Soon the dangers of the voyage will pale in comparison with what they discover there, across the limpid waters of the lagoon show less