In Relation To Under Enemy Colors

In S. Thomas Russell's book, Lieutenant Charles Hayden is at the end of his rope. He's a promising young officer in His Majesty's Navy shortly after the French Revolution, but he has no connections. If one is to advance in the Navy, one must know powerful people. So when the First Secretary offers him a position as first lieutenant aboard the Themis, a frigate captained by a man whose nickname is "Faint" Hart, Hayden reluctantly agrees. In the coming months, he will have to battle not only the French, but also his touchy captain - and a mutiny.

Pros: I thought this was really realistic; Russell obviously spent a lot of time researching. There was a lot of focus on characters other than Hayden, too, which was nice for this genre of book. Best of all, Hayden is actually a likeable guy, which I have not come across in any other series like this. Oh, and the sentences were very old-fashioned, but not confusingly so. They helped set the mood.

Cons: I must admit, I got lost among some of the jargon. The sails, etc. could be ignored, but I was totally clueless about some of the ship sections during battle scenes... "Okay, where is he, exactly?" was a question I put to myself not infrequently.

My Rating: MT (language, violence)

Picture from sthomasrussell.com