Captain's Surrender

What if Aubrey and Maturin weren’t just good friends?
Reading Alex Beecroft’s debut novel, Captain’s Surrender, one thing is for certain – Ms. Beecroft is a fan of Patrick O’Brien’s Master and Commander series. She lovingly pays tribute to O’Brien’s style, but thankfully not his linguistic authenticity that requires one to consult an 18th century naval manual for translation. Beecroft’s language is simpler and makes for an easy, enjoyable read.

Peter Kenyon comes on board the Nimrod to take the place of the recently executed-for-sodomy first officer. The assignment is temporary as he is to be given his own command once they reach Bermuda. The captain of the ship is a barbaric tyrant that makes Captain Bligh look like a show more swell guy. Peter is forced to share quarters with midshipman Joshua Andrews. Peter takes Joshua into his confidence about his mutinous contemplations, and Joshua confides his amorous attraction to Peter. Once they reach Bermuda, they begin a love relationship, but each understands that it is only a temporary arrangement. I won’t reveal any more of the plot so as not to spoil the outcome.

The author has chosen a unique method to convey the story. Using multiple points of view is a common writing style, but for the first half of the book, Beecroft relegates a different point of view for each chapter. It works quite well in that you can see the contrast of how Peter and Joshua are perceived by other characters to what is really going on inside their heads. Nevertheless, I found myself looking forward to the chapters that featured the point of view of one of the two lovers. The second half of the book was more traditional in its point of view shifts with the majority being assigned to Josh or Peter.

Where the novel really shines is in its historical texture. Beecroft has really done her homework here. The luscious descriptions of the decks and sails, the smells of battle, all give you just enough information to clearly picture it without overwhelming you with extraneous details. Dialogue is also very authentic. I particularly love the way she paints the goriest details of battle while having shipmates so desensitized that they even make humorous jokes about the carnage.

Another well written passage occurs near the end where Peter wanders the deserted village late at night while he struggles with his inner demons. I was reminded of Professor Henry Higgins in My Fair Lady or Gaston Lachaille in Gigi as they wandered the streets in soliloquy at the end of those movies. However Peter’s thought process is much baser as he has some truly ugly thoughts at this point.

It’s also refreshing that the erotic factor is kept in check. Of late it appears that the women m/m writers are much less bashful about explicit sex than we gay male writers are, so it’s nice that Beecroft chose not to go full erotica.

I hesitate to mention one minor inaccuracy – the biblical quotes spoken by the Reverend are taken from the New International Version rather than the King James Version (with all its “thee”s and “thou”s) which would be the only English-language translation of the bible that existed in 1779. The modern language of the newer translation felt really out of place.

All in all Alex Beecroft has written a wonderful age-of-sail novel that can be enjoyed by fans of sea stories or m/m romance. show less

I gave this book to my friend Frank the Fireman, since like the main character, Peter Kenyon, he is an adult out-comer. I wanted him to, in particular, notice the last chapter wherein Peter goes through the long, dark night of the soul as he struggles between the lifelong conditioning he's heir to...the societal and legal issues surrounding being queer in the Royal Navy of the 18th century...and his love for Joshua Andrews, his best friend, former ship-mate, and one true love.

I didn't mention that I wanted him to notice that chapter, I just sat and hoped. I was rewarded by a phone call. Frank was shaken, saying he'd done almost the precise same minuet of fear, anger, doubt, fear, rage, lust and...in the end...honest peace.

I told him the show more author was a woman. He didn't say anything for a minute. "Lesbian?" he asked. "No. Married with kids." "That is one lucky man," was Frank's response.

I concur.

This book fulfills a long-felt absence in my reading life. It's an historical sea-novel, with nicely handled battle scenes and an authentic-feeling atmosphere of male camaraderie. Its flaws include a rather cavalier approach to time, as in there is no indication that the characters have to wait the extended periods they would really have been forced to endure for news, for travel, for anything. Also bothersome are some absences...backstory mostly, but also some characters have unresolved storylines, and I don't mean opening-for-sequel unresolved, I mean holes. The antagonist of Peter and Joshua is the first one who springs to mind, since he's presented in one dimension and never seen to have reasons for his actions beyond moving the plot along.

I make this point because the book is getting a four-star rating. It's not perfect, I'd really really like to see more of the men's backgrounds even if in flashback for example, but it's a beautifully realized love story with excellent atmospherics and a happy ending...and a Happy Ending, too. Well done, Miss Beecroft, and do it again soon. show less

Books such as “Captain’s Surrender” by Alex Beecroft is a read I love to hate. I hate that it exceeded my expectations and yet I love that I wish I had written this book. It inspires me; it makes me want to aspire and produce quality. The reader in me loves that this book became a part of my life, and will remain on my bookshelf, a keeper. I’m not parting with this one. Nope. Never.

Captain’s Surrender is the work of a talented writer, succeeding on multiple levels. As an avid reader, I plough through many books in all types of genres. I have works that are a light, entertaining read, to doorstop epics, and enjoy them all on many different levels. However, “Captain’s Surrender” is what the art of true storytelling is all show more about.

The story of Josh Andrews and Peter Kenyon takes place at a time in British history where the “crime” of homosexuality meant hanging. The infallible human heart would love to believe that love truly does conquer all, but when the threat of death literally hangs over your head in the form of a noose, what are two people in love to do? When two people love each other is there really such a thing as choice?

The book opens on a grotesque moment and from there your heart is in your mouth until and, possibly, long after you’ve turned the last page. That initial spark of love, of something beautiful between Josh and Peter amidst such horror is only one of the underlying themes of the book. My only criticisms, if you can call them that, is the cover doesn’t do the book justice and being that this is a British book by a British writer, with a British setting, I should like to have seen British spellings. However, the tone hits the period delightfully, and the dialogue is superbly composed. This read is heart-warming, thought-provoking, and immensely enjoyable. show less

Ok, I only had a few hours sleep last night, because I couldn´t put this book away until I had finished it, and now that I´m at work I can´t concentrate properly, because Josh and Peter constantly pop up in my head. So why should I say something nice about this book?

Just kidding. This is a great book. After just a few pages I was set back to a time when boarding a ship to the Caribbean had nothing to do with a journey on a luxury cruise ship, but with one on which you could very well die. I´m no expert on sea stories but in my opinion Alex Beecroft did a great job with her description of the life on a brig or frigat. The atmosphere is so dense that you can nearly touch the wood or smell the gunpowder.

Especially in the first show more chapters this also made me squirm a bit, because the book starts off with an execution, which is the reason the two main characters meet, and a lot of punishments like floggings follow. Alex Beecroft proves her love for details also in these scenes. But these descriptions doesn´t seem to be exaggerated, but a detailed image of the atmosphere of brutality and terror on some of the naval ships in these times and thus are an integral part of the overall mood in which the main characters get to know each other.

The relationship between the main characters Josh and Peter starts off slowly. It´s first a friendship which deepens on their journey to Bermuda and then becomes a love relationship. The struggle of both characters with their love for each other in a time in which it was forbidden and punishable is perfectly carved out. Josh is mostly concerned about Peter, of hurting him, of denying him the possibility to marry and lead a "normal" life. Peter is mostly concerned about himself, of not doing what is expected of him from his superiors, from society, from God.

Altogether this is a beautiful romance set in the Age of Sail and definitely a must read. By the way, here´s a tip for anyone who isn´t satisfied with the erotic factor of the book, even though the love scenes in the book were in my opinion very romantic and beautiful. Alex Beecroft wrote a free story with Josh and Peter called "Insubordination", which can be downloaded from her homepage. I´ll just say: Hot! ;-) show less

Joshua Andrews is a Midshipman on the Nimrod, where Captain Walker keeps his crew in a constant state of terror and suspense. The least infraction will land a man in irons, flogged for all the company to see. If Walker knew what Joshua was, he'd be hanged. He avoids the attention, which would grant him deserved promotion, as well the keen eye under which he is sure he'd be discovered. When Peter Kenyon, a lieutenant, arrives to fulfill the lately vacated position, once occupied by the man swinging from a noose upon his arrival, Joshua is immediately captivated and knows this man will be his downfall.

The dangerous journey from Portsmouth to Bermuda, to aid in the fight against pirates and smugglers, becomes increasingly tense as Walker show more continues to cling to his grasp of power over an increasingly mutinous crew. The only absolution is that when Peter confides in Joshua of his worries over the possible mutiny, Joshua finds he can trust Peter in turn. That, and a pirate ship shows up on the horizon and becomes a good relief for the crew's tension.

Alex Beecroft has written a fantastic story, filled with suspense and tender romance. What I described for you actually only covers about half the story, but I feel if I go to far beyond arrival in Bermuda, I'll be spoiling too much of the story for you. The story does also include some of the terrific problems inherent in romance, the gay sub-genre and historical fiction. Many good reviews have gone into this already, so I'll be going over what really worked and why I'll be reading more from this author. (As soon as my library updates its digital shelves, of course. OverDrive is a wonderful, wonderful thing.)

Joshua is sympathetic, not that Peter isn't either, but we spend slightly more time learning about Joshua's history and his motivations, and as a reader, its easy to connect with him. The action onboard and on the sea is really interesting, most of the nautical terms are used correctly, the only ones I'm not sure about were the ones I didn't know. The twists were interesting, the conflict was a little tired, but brief. I do have to complain about the convenience of some characters appearing when they did. The people Joshua encounters while away from Bermuda, the inexcusable evil of the captain, and the anachronism of the main female character. When I thinking about how lovely everything else was though, I'd read another book similar to this without question.

What about you? Does mustache twirling, convenient plot devices and anachronism rub you the wrong way?

242pp. Samhain. October 2009. show less

This is at that stage (roughly 60%) more like 2.5* than 3*. Possible spoilers ahead!

Pros

This was edited above average, it had sizable stretches which showed a very engaging prose and the entrance scene certainly was a truly well-written whopper.

Cons

Apart from very short passages I never felt truly immersed in the correct time.

Huge, truly enormous main cause of this was the treatment of the female protagonist Emily. She was a modern woman transposed into the 18th century, effectively grumbling and whinging away at facts which for a middleclass woman of that time would have been entirely normal and not at all noteworthy. Breeches and hopping around in the rigging? Certainly not that either. Alone with a male suitor? Even though the 18th show more century was less uptight than the 19th I think not at that age and stage in life. In short--Emily was a feminist manifesto screeching consistently at me. I dislike them already in modern fiction, but in a historical? Heh. No.

Second contenders for distraction from immersion certainly are the two men. Either life in the Royal Navy was as hazardous to the health of the average gay man as Josh made it out to be, then Peter would logically have to have been at least rather like him. Or it wasn't, then Josh comes over as a bit unhinged. Given that but 15 years or so later indeed a boy of barely 17 serving in the Navy was publicly hanged, I'd say Peter ought to have been far more conscious of matters and shows an uncharacteristic (for the time and place) unconcern.

Something which really keeps bugging me in gay historicals: penetrative anal intercourse was a real rarity prior to roughly 1910 (when the percentage of PIA among gay men was lower than 10%!). So when in historical romance after historical romance couples have oil at the ready and bugger each other as if it were nothing to them, then my suspension of disbelief evaporates and I begin to wonder whether I mayhaps am actually reading m/f in disguise. It's heteronormative women who see penetration as "real sex".

The saying is "less is often more", however if you leave it almost all out, that's really not so nice. I missed quite a few scenes which would have helped show bonding between the two men, scenes of import (e.g. Peter's flogging, the keelhauling), action was often left either too early or told instead of shown. Unlike other reviewers I discerned but minimal UST and found nothing a turn on, by the way.

On the whole there was too much pulling me out of this story, and too little drawing me into it. I never got a connection with any of the characters and suspect this has to be one of those Marmite books one either likes or dislikes. show less

This book was a page-turner for me, one that I really struggled to put down. I felt I was deep inside Josh's and Peter's world—if I have a criticism about this book, it's the jumps that appeared to be several weeks or months at time. The romance was good but I could have read more about its context.