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The Naval Adventures of Alan Lewrie, by Dewey LambdinI am a lover of books. Among the books I love the most to read, are historical novels. Master & Commander, Sword Song, Masters of Rome, and more, are among my favorites. Alan Lewrieis the main character is this series of books. He is a brash, impetuous ladies' man and general rakehell. He's also an officer in the Royal Navy where his bravery and quick thinking bring him success as often as they land him in hot water.From a young midshipman who develops a love for naval artillery to captain of a dashing frigate, Lewrie moves up the ranks as he samples the pleasures of the world and makes his mark as a King's officer!  political intrigue, the ships and crews. It is in a class of its own as reading. Not necessarily always great literature, but often - in the hands of a good author - great reading and lots of joy! And while he may not be a C.S. Forester or a Patrick O'Brian, Dewey Lambdin is a good writer!And the series  entitled The Naval Adventures of Alan Lewrie by Dewey Lambdin is just that. Great, joyful reading. The series, which is published in chronological order (14 books so far), starts with The Kings Coat. This is a book about the young Alan Lewrie, who is brash, somewhat rebellious, and quite a libertine. Seventeen years old he is forced to go to sea as a midshipman in the tall-masted ship-of-the-line Ariadne. Basically his father wants him removed from the scene so that he can spend Alan's inheritance himself.
Dewey Lambdinis a self-proclaimed "Navy brat," has been a director, writer, and producer in television and advertising in Tennessee.He is a member of the U.S. Naval Institute, the Cousteau Society, and the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, and is a Friend of the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, England. Besides the Alan Lewrie series, he is also the author of What Lies Buried: a novel of Old Cape Fear. He lives in Nashville, TN.  the Caribbean, passes the examination board for lieutenency and is appointed first officer on the brig o'war Shrike. His horny nature and popularity with the ladies, however, gets him into tons of trouble. And, indeed, both these books, taking place in the Caribbean and in the far east (Calcutta, Canton, in the trading ship Telesto) are full of battle, love, lust, and learning for the young Alan Lewrie. And in The Gun Ketch (taking place in 1786), Alan Lewrie is back in the Caribbean in his own ship, the Alacrity, a small but  deadly ship. Now, also with the nick name "Ram Cat" - which has not been given him for his love of cats! In these books, Lewrie is also introduced to and used by spies acting on behalf of the Crown, and drawn into mysterious intrigues and battles that are hard to comprehend for the young sea officer - maybe especially a rouge and a ladies man - of a more geopolitical nature. Alan Lewrie's mostly involuntary affiliation with the guys doing the cloak and dagger work of the Crown is an interesting twist to the tale, much as the association of the mysterious dr. Maturin in the Master & Commander-series with the same elements.   In HMS Cockerel, Lambdin does a wonderful job weaving together history and fiction. Alan Lewrie works to get a leg over on Emma Hamilton, and comes face to face with the rising star in France, Napoleon, as well as the infamous Captain Bligh. Not a small feat! This is not my favorite in the series, as Lewrie spend too much time on shore for my taste, but still an interesting and good book (This book is out of print for the moment, and very expensive to buy used).   A King's Commander takes place in 1793 and Alan Lewrie has now advanced and is commander of HMS Jester. She is an 18-gun sloop. As always, Lewrie is spoiling for adventure, and sails into Corsica to receive astonishing orders from his squadron commander, Horatio Nelson: He is to lure his archenemy, French commander Guillaume Choundas, into battle and strike the French spy master dead! HMS Jester is also the ship in  the next novel in the series, Jester's Fortune. Here, Alan Lewrie and his 18-gun sloop are part of a squadron of four British warships in Adriatic Sea. Britain's forces being stretched thin, the British squadron commander strikes a devil's bargain and enlists the aid of Serbian pirates.   In King's Captain and Sea of Grey, we meet Alan Lewrie, or Ram-Cat as he is often called, as a Captain of the Royal Navy, with his own ship of the line. Lewrie has, as is his habit, impressed with his bravery. This time in the Battle at Cape St. Vincent. However, upon taking over his new ship, Lewrie is faces with a naval wide mutiny. He longs for command of   HMS Proteus, but must first win over an old enemy and take back his ship. Eventually, of course, he does, and in Sea of Grey we find him back in the thick of the action in the Caribbean, with ample opportunity to fire his beloved artillery pieces at ships as well as the slave army of Toussaint L'Overeture. And again being used by the Crown's spies in their strange games. As well, we meet in this book the newly revived United States Navy! In Havoc's Sword, it is 1798, and Lewrie and the crew of his frigate Proteus is still in the Caribbean, as he also is in The Captain's Vengeance. Lewrie has rashly vowed to uphold a friend's honor in a duel to the death. As well, he is again confronted with he brutal and cunning French commander Guillaume Choudas   and used by the Crown's spies in their game. But he is learning, and maybe this time they are used by him? In The Captain's Vengeance, Lewrie is up against some of the worst pirates he has ever encountered after a prize ship he has captured, is stolen while in harbor. He chases the pirates all over - Hispaniola to Barbados, far down the Antilles. As well, he is sent on a covert mission up the Mississippi in enemy-held Spanish Louisiana to the romantic New Orleans in search of pirates and prize.  In A King's Trade, Alan Lewrie meet trouble of many types. He is now in hot water for "liberating" a dozen slaves from their Caribbean plantation and putting them to work on his ship, the HMS Proteus. He learns that “No Good Deed Goes Unpunished”. Then Zachariah Twigg of the Foreign Office, one of the spies who has often used him for dangerous missions, suggests a scheme that might save his career: recasting the incorrigible captain as an abolitionist hero. And sends him to sea, reckoning that he will be a more sellable hero at a distance. But Lewrie can get into trouble at sea as well! And even being his bestest self, he does!Troubled Waters,   the final book in the series about Alan Lewrie (so far?), takes place in the Spring of 1800. Captain Alan Lewrie is fresh from victory in the South Atlantic, and he is reckoned a hero on a par with Nelson in all the papers. And back in England, he’s fitting out his new frigate, HMS Savage, the fruits of that victory, the largest and best-armed frigate he’s ever commanded. But trouble is brewing, as it always is when Lewrie is on shore.. |
Søk på LesergledeSøk på netttetSiste 8 bokanmeldelserDødens konsulent, av Arild Rypdal |
navy the young Alan Lewrie is to learn the ways of the navy or die. In the second book, The French Admiral, we find him on a new ship, HMS Desparate. And, against all odds, and to his own amazement, he finds that he is slowly winning the respect of other sailors. Fighting in America, during the War of Independence, he is starting to learn and he show courage and smartness.
The next two books, taking place in 1782 and 1783, are The King's Commission and The King's Privateer.
