The Geoffrey Frost series, by J. E. Fender

Books in the Geoffrey Frost series by J.E. Fender

This is a nautical fiction series in the tradition of C.S. Forester and Patrick O’Brian, but written by an American and seeing things from an American point of view.

The main characters are well drawn and memorable. The hero, Geoffrey Frost, is a former captain of a trade vessel with a lot of experience – he has experience from the China trade and encounters with South Sea pirates. His primary companion is Ming Tsun, his mute aide and best friend – a Chinese warrior with formidable powers and a very intriguing character. It is a great tale of the high seas from the Age of Sail!

The author seems to possess the requisite command of naval lore, and he keeps the action moving at a very brisk pace. I have found this series refreshing and very interesting so far. It is probably not quite up to the standards of Forester and O’Brian, but compares well with Alexander Kent and Dewey Lambdin. And also, there is some of the very compelling smartness of Dudley Pope’s Lord Ramage in this series as well.

The Private Revolution of Geoffrey Frost: Being an Account of the Life and Times of Geoffrey Frost, by J.E. Fender

This first book introduces us to the setting – the North-Eastern coast of America, The Private Revolutions of Geoffrey Frost, by J.E. Fender and the main characters. Most of the action in this book is set in New Hampshire and up along the coast to British Canada. We are in the beginning of the American Revolution, and the British are the bad guys. Geoffrey Frost has returned from an adventure in the Caribbean with an English prize and somewhat reluctantly turns himself into a privateer because friends and country need him.

The lengthy subtitle of this work, "Being an Account of the Life and Times of Geoffrey Frost, Mariner, of Portsmouth, in New Hampshire, as Faithfully Translated from the Ming Tsun Chronicles, and Diligently Compared with Other Contemporary Histories" well describes the contents of this very readable work.

With the excellent sloop “Jaguar” at his command, and with more than two hundred volunteers eager to go hunting for British prizes, Geoffrey Frost embarks upon a career as a licensed privateer funding the American cause. The book is full of action, both at sea and on land. Frost sets out to liberate American prisoners in Louisburg and capture English ships. And by employing some clever tactics as well as engaging in heavy and fierce fighting, he achieves his goals. And our hero Frost reveals a flair for tactics and coolness under fire that bodes very well for his wartime career.

J. E. Fender knows his subject matter, has done some excellent research, and writes well. I view this as a very good first book for the series. The Private Revolution of Geoffrey Frost is an entertaining read and provides a fresh and interesting perspective as well.

Links to books by J. E. Fender at Amazon US, Amazon UK, and Amazon CAN.

Audacity, Privateer Out of Portsmouth, by J. E. Fender

This is the second volume of the series Frost Saga, the story of one Geoffrey Frost, a mariner from Portsmouth, New Hampshire, who is a great navigator,Audacity, Privateer out of Portsmouth, by J.E. Fender excellent naval commander, and a fierce armed combatant. He is also a gentleman, somewhat philosophical and learned in history, philosophy, and other fields. And, finally, he is a businessman. He does not like to waste time – time wasted is business lost for Geoffrey Frost, regardless of whether he employs himself as a trader or as a captain of a privateer.

Geoffrey Frost has entered the American Revolution on behalf of the colony of New Hampshire, commanding a captured British sloop o' war and sailing out of Portsmouth to harass the British fleet. And as Frost doesn’t like to waste time, the story about him too moves fast, with little time spent ashore and lots of nautical action compared to most of the novels about naval warfare in the age of sail.

The story in Audacity, as in the first book in the series, is set during the American Revolution. Here Frost and his crew engage an English frigate very smartly, destroy another English Navy ship, and capture several British trading and supply ships. For Frost and his crew, that means a very nice sum in prize money, and it also serves to enhance Frost’s reputation and influence.

Audacity is very entertaining, rich on historical detail, and has great descriptions of the naval actions the ship engages in. The weakest part of the book is in the exceedingly conceited manner of behavior of the some of the characters, most notably Frost himself. He speaks as if he was reading from a government document or the small print clauses in an insurance policy. I think it is fairly unlikely that anyone ever stood on a quarterdeck and emitted any of the pompous speeches that Geoffrey Frost is guilty of.

Overall, I view Audacity as a very nice read, entertaining, and quite interesting as it deals with the Civil War and the emerging navy of the US.

Praise:

"This entertaining novel .. offers historical detail .. plenty of action, and unforgettable characters." —Booklist

"The battle scenes are plentiful, the historic references neatly woven in .."—Concord Monitor

"A seafaring yarn of the American Revolution, Audacity plunges into action and claps on sail."—The Historical Novels Review

Our Lives, Our Fortunes, by J. E. Fender

This is the third installment in the series often referred toOur Lives, Our Fortunes, by J. E. Fender as the Saga of Geoffrey Frost. In contrast to the previous two, however, this third novel mostly takes place on dry land, so it is not really a nautical fiction book.

The nautical fiction in this book concerns a daring attack on the British collier fleet in the mouth of the Tyne River. This is interesting and relatively well written, but seems a tad implausible.

I didn’t like Our Lives, Our Fortunes nearly as much as I like the previous two – The Private Revolution and Audacity. Mostly, I think, this is because J.E. Fender has written too much history and too many historical figures into this book. The story is that Frost takes on a mission to transport supplies to the hard-pressed Revolutionary Army, led by George Washington – not by sea, by over land. And carries out the mission with much too much perfection, and then meets men like Alexander Hamilton, Henry Knox, and the great George Washington himself.

Fender allows Frost to report on the crafters of the Constitution through the eyes of a practical, well traveled, disenchanted businessman who bears the brunt of the Revolution in his purse and his person. To me, this - and the tale of the book overall - requires too much suspension of belief.

As in the previous book, the dialogue is still pretty wooden, implausible and distracting. The story itself is interesting, but not extremely so. To me, Our Lives, Our Fortunes was quite disappointing, and I can only recommend it to people who want to read the whole series.

Links to books by J. E. Fender at Amazon US, Amazon UK, and Amazon CAN.

To the topNext Frost-page