Midshipman Bolitho

This omnibus contains three novels that chronicle the early stages of Richard Bolitho's career.

Richard Bolitho, Midshipman begins in Portsmouth as Richard joins the warship Gorgon and befriends another midshipman named Martyn Dancer. Richard, at 16, is already an experienced seaman and has a strong seagoing history in his family, so this book establishes his personality and gives him some early heroics.

Midshipman Bolitho and the Avenger takes place in Falmouth, Bolitho's hometown, in the lead-up to the Christmas season. The crew of the Gorgon has been given shore leave while the vessel undergoes refitting in Plymouth, so Bolitho and Dancer visit the Bolitho homestead. And of course they end up in an adventure of sorts with the ship show more Avenger, commanded by Richard's brother, Hugh.

Band of Brothers sees Bolitho, Dancer and some of the crew on the Gorgon being tasked with sailing the newly built Hotspur to Guernsey, where it will be patrolling the English Channel. Adventures ensue, and the two midshipmen also take their exams in hopes of eventually being promoted to King's officer.

Overall, these were comfortable, undemanding reads. I particularly enjoyed the time period (just before the Revolutionary War) and the setting (southwest England, at least in parts). I was less fond of the third book in the omnibus, finding it a bit disorienting, and in all of the books I never really got over the feeling that the characters were fictional. For some reason the names just sounded unreal, especially Martyn Dancer, which sounds like a book name and not a real person name. And in the first book I found there were too many instances of "Bolitho saw that this person was feeling…" or "Bolitho knew by looking at the sails that a storm was coming" instead of informing the reader of the person's mood or the weather another way. But I zipped through the whole omnibus in just a few days, so I'll keep the series on my list for whenever I'm in need of a brain vacation. show less

This series is more in the style of C. S. Forester's Hornblower than in the style of Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin. Kent is not a fancy writer, but he writes in a straightforward and competent manner and he knows his 18th century British Navy stuff. The reader soon is immersed in the atmosphere of the ship, accompanying 16-year-old Richard Bolitho as he fulfills his midshipman duties. The stories are part description of life aboard and part adventure/war plot.

I have seen other reviewers of this book complaining that Bolitho lacks personality, and I can see where they are coming from. In the crowded conditions of the ship, with no privacy, strict military discipline and almost no spare time, it is difficult for people to express their show more personality. C. S. Forester dealt with that by giving Hornblower some exaggerated personality tics, which made him seem more distinctive. Kent does not do that, so Bolitho's personality is less remarkable. But that's OK with me. He is an eager midshipman, competent (unlike Hornblower, we meet Bolitho when he already is an experienced midshipman) but still not as confident as he'll probably be when he is more senior. Hopefully as the series goes on we'll get to know him better, particularly as he gains more authority to make decisions.

This is not high literature. You should understand my rating under this light: Kent's only ambition is to tell entertaining navy tales, and what he sets out to do he does well. I had a good time and want to keep reading this series, hence my good rating.

This book actually collects two different tales that have also been published separately, each of them novellas around 100 pages long.

In the first one, Bolitho serves in the HMS Gorgon, a powerful ship of the line that has been sent to the African coast to deal with pirates. Bolitho has to put up with a lieutenant who dislikes him because of his family and who is not shy about taking the credit for his ideas and actions. In the second he is at home, on leave, accompanied by a friend he has invited (a fellow midshipman). His elder brother, a lieutenant, arrives then, commanding the small and underhanded cutter HM Avenger. He has received permission to recruit both midshipmen, so instead of enjoying their leave the boys have to take part in a risky mission to stop smugglers and shipwreckers in the area. Apart from the adventure, the half-fond half-strained relationship between the two brothers is one of the points of interest.

One of the problems when we follow a navy hero who is not senior enough to command his own ship is that it's not easy for him to make a difference when all he can do is follow orders. This means that the author needs to find an way each time to give him the opportunity to shine. Another thing that you'll notice is that Britain is not at war, so the opponents are pirates and smugglers. No doubt that will change further on in the series.

Recommended to anyone who enjoys stories about military sailing ships, in the style of C. S. Forester. show less

While not as finely detailed as Mr. Stockwin’s “Kidd” or as trenchant as Mr. Forester’s “Hornblower, “Midshipman Bolitho” by Alexander Kent -a pseudonym for Douglas Reeman- has its own nautical panache and endeared itself to me rather quickly. “Midshipman Bolitho” is considered the first novel in the Bolitho series by Mr. Kent and there is an awkwardness there that comes out at times. Nevertheless, it is full of rip-roaring action and nautical adventure that will keep naval and history buffs entranced and entertained. A real gem was the afterward which included a short piece from Mr. Kent’s Bolitho newsletter detailing the lives, times and realistic hardships his characters are living through. I picked up this first show more book in the series on a whim and I hope to have many similar whims in the future. show less

Actually two short novels about Bolitho as a young Midshipman. In the first story, Bolitho is 16 years old and serving on his second ship. He makes a friend and an enemy and battles pirates and slavers. In the second story he returns home with his friend Dancer for the holidays but finds murder, smugglers and wreckers. We also meet his older brother Hugh who will later in the series disgrace the family. An enjoyable read for naval fiction fans.

A popular book series set in the Napoleonic era British navy, but I don't like these as well as the Hornblower or O'Brian books.

Audiobook to listen to when getting to sleep. So I often miss bits. It was OK for that.

another navel series, young mans wins victory while officers incapacitated