Until the Sea Shall Give Up Her Dead

Adventures of Charles Hayden #4

by Sean Thomas Russell

'Not a hundred yards distant, the night opened in a blossom of orange flame and roiling smoke.'

Ordered to the West Indies, where they are to harass French colonial shipping, Captain Charles Hayden and the crew of HMS Themis rescue a pair of Spanish castaways en route. This is lucky for the Spaniards but less so for Hayden, who soon finds that his guests are not what they claim.

Caught between the French, predatory privateers and a vainglorious British commander, Hayden discovers that the Caribbean is a lawless sea with many squalls to sink the unwary seaman. Survival depends on rapidly identifying friend and foe - but which are the two castaways still aboard Themis?

This is the gripping fourth tale in the epic maritime adventures of Charles Hayden, a masterpiece to rival the stories of Bernard Cornwell and Patrick O'Brian.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Nautical, Historical, Military Fiction, Adventure, Naval History

518 pages, Paperback

First published July 17, 2014

About the author

A pseudonym used by Sean Russell

Sean Russel has co-written, with Ian Dennis, a mystery series called "Memoirs of a Bow Street Runner". The first volume of the series was published by Bantam under their joint pen name, T.F. Banks.

Sean Russell was born 1952 in Toronto. At the age of three his family moved to the outskirts of the city, where they lived in a cottage at the beach of Lake Ontario. At the age of ten he decided to become an author, and the fantasy genre caught him years later, while reading J. R. R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. After university, he moved to Vancouver, and two years later to Vancouver Island, where he still lives with his family. He published his first novel in 1991. His first historical naval novel Under Enemy Colours, published in 2007, introduced a new Royal Navy hero, Charles Hayden, and HMS Themis, a fictitious frigate.

Reviews

[Tim The Enchanter · Rating 2 out of 5]

very disappointing. I only read 70 percent before finally giving up. the 70 percent was only due to the fact I enjoyed the first 3 so much. this book contains the most awkward and forced love story I have read. For a series that has focused on action on the high seas, this story line was out of character. the story was flat, the characters were bland and the book was boring.

[Spacedout · Rating 1 out of 5]

Disappointing. This series started out great but I found myself skimming this one.

I loved the Bow Street Runner series - evidence of Mr Russell's grasp of writing historical fiction. Moontide and Magic, the Initiate Brother series are all evidence of Mr Russell's phenomenal skill.

The Themis series not so much.

Hayden gave all evidence of being a powerful new figure in naval fiction but I am now beginning to really dislike his character. Too much whining, an improbable level of action/coincidences and over the top dramatization.

Hayden is not the uptight Hornblower, not the authoritative Jack Aubrey and nor swashbuckling Lewrie. He is forever pining or suffering tragedy. Its too much to bear. I have suspicions that I have been spoilt by O'Brian who may have known as much about this period as Mr. Russell but wrote with such authority. Jack Aubrey instilled in me the belief that a Navy Captain does not take advice from consult midshipmen.

This is my first review (and perhaps last) on goodreads. I write to vent and to also hope that the author is inspired to make a mid-course correction :)

That said, everyone else seems to love the book so maybe its me who is crazy. Think I will go looking for some rum and find a Henrietta to pine for.

[Julia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this up at the library without knowing it was part of a series. It worked fairly well as a stand-alone, although there were references to things and people that were probably in the other books.

The main character is a captain in the British navy in the late eighteenth century. Britain is at war with France, although it appears to be pre-Napoleon since there are a lot of references to the Jacobins. Spain is a fragile ally, not sharing religion or culture but also hostile to the French. This book is set in the Caribbean, with the English ships based in Barbados and the French based in Guadalupe.

[Birthe Lauchengco · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lot of historical sailing jargon. Be forewarned my notes say chapter 26 was the longest chapter ever. As a woman I found this book unsatisfying, although it surprisingly had a splash of romance in it. In the end it was more about blood and death. A sobering realization about probably the truth behind the legends of the Caribbean, as noble as the British captain thought himself to be. Local readers: found as part of fabulous nautical collection at the library at Marina del Rey!

[J Mark Harrison 3 · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very excellent book. Very gripping. Full of action, suspense, naval warfare and a thread of romance through the whole story.

[Bernie Ruesgen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great read that was not in my normal genres. I found it well written and highly engaging. It is a great read if you want to transport your imagination to a time past full.

[Ronald Roseborough · Rating 4 out of 5]

An exciting tale of English and French ships and seamen in the age of sail. The sea erupts with the sound of cannons and clash of swords as two nations fight for control of the Caribbean. The book is full of very exciting depictions of sailing and fighting on the high seas. The love interest comes across a bit weak, although it is essential to set up the main plot of the action. Captain Hayden, of His Majesty’s Royal Navy, is once again at sea. This time he sees what appears to be two Spanish men adrift in the vast waters of the Caribbean. The Spanish at this time are a tentative ally of the British in their fight against the French navy. One of the Spaniards is eventually revealed to be a young senorita in disguise. The rather fetching young lady, Angelita, catches Capt. Hayden’s eye and eventually his heart. The young senorita’s brother, Miguel, will have none of this. He plots to ruin the young couple’s plans for a happy life. As Capt. Hayden returns to sea under his new admiral’s orders, treachery and deceit are working behind his back. Hayden is forced to fight his way back to his young wife, only to find she has been kidnapped by her brother and a French spy. Regardless of the miles of sea that separate them or the number of enemy ships that sail in his way, nothing will stop Hayden from rescuing his lady. The best parts of the book are the rousing, imaginative descriptions of the sea battles as Hayden heats up the Caribbean in search of his love. Book provided for review by Amazon Vine.

[Neill Goltz · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed. In this one Russell has Hayden and the crew of the Themis off to the Caribbean on assignment. All the right characters are here. Spies and opportunists. Corrupt officials, privateers and regualar Navy. Love interests.

The actions are good, and the points of sailing well handled. I thought for a few pages that I had caught Mr. Russell out in an error of geography, referencing St. Lucia instead of St. Eustace in the Leeward Islands, but he had it right.

I felt that the most interesting treatment occured in the first couple of chapters when, enroute from England, the Themis overtakes and saves crippled slave ship with a full cargo. The setting is 1794 and it would not be for another 40 years that Wilberforce and the abolitionists would persuade Parliament to outlaw the slave trade. Under the then Law of Admirality, the crew of the Themis is entitle to a percentage of the sale proceeds when the slaves go to auction. Russell's treatment of the discussions of the crew - from all socio-economic classes - of the morality of their situation, and how to utilize their shares of the prize money, is really, really well done. It could easily be used as a stand-alone Critical Thinking module in a high school history and philosphy class.

Truly well done, Mr. Russell

[Jean · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is book four in the Captain Charles Hayden series. It is a high sea adventure historical novel. The story is set toward the end of the 18th century at the beginning of the Napoleonic wars.

The opening of the story has the Captain and Crew of HMS Themis stationed in Bridgetown Barbados. HMS Themis comes upon a pair of half dead shipwreck survivors, a young Spanish nobleman and his beautiful sister. They are fleeing to the New World for safe harbor. HMS Themis rescues a cripple slave ship and tows it to Barbados. The Themis is ordered out on patrol in a squadron of three other ships under command of Captain Jones. Two other ships in the fleet disappear leaving just the two ships. Then the fun begins.

There is lots of tactics and age of sail strategizing, hand to hand combat, dangerous harbor raids, ship to ship battles, suspense, action and of course, superiors who are more interested in glory than survival. The book is easy to read, period accurate in every detail and well written. If you are a fan of the British Navy in the days of sail you will enjoy this series. I read this as an audio book downloaded from Audible. Daniel Philpott does a good job narrating the book.

[AndrewP · Rating 2 out of 5]

Book four of this series and defiantly the weakest so far. The plot seemed to meander quite a bit and there was a lot of non-naval melodrama. Captain Hayden reminded me of James T. Kirk in some ways, always getting involved with women and poking his nose into things that shouldn't be his business. I can appreciate his moral amd ethical concerns but sometimes it seemed beyond the scope of what a British naval officer would do.

In that naval action parts of the book, there was to much rowing around in small boats. Maybe it's just me but I did not find this very exciting. Sometimes the author made it seem like the British sailors were down to half a dozen man, then a bit later they were doing something that obviously required a great many more. It just seemed unclear and inconsistent.

I found myself having a hard time concentrating on this one. The narrator of the audio book was not nearly as engaging as the ones for the previous three books. When the next in the series comes out I will be reading some critical reviews before I purchase it, or just get it from the library when it becomes available.

[Viva · Rating 4 out of 5]

I quite enjoyed this series and is somewhat bummed that it seemed to end rather abruptly at book #4 because there seems to be a few loose ends. Maybe the series didn't sell enough, which is too bad because I feel it's one of the better if not the best Hornblower clone.

Spoilers ahead:

I like this series because the writing is easy to read and get into. The author does a good job of making the characters interesting, the sailing and action scenes are well written and realistic, his plots are outside the box, and he's an intelligent writer who's not afraid to explore different subjects. The books are quite long, a lot happens and if I had a negative to say I would say that the author is sometimes a long writer, he's not intense and concise and sometimes drags events out too long.

This book never seems to hit its stride but that's just the way of the author's plots. Hayden is once again given the frigate Themis because the 64 gun ship from book 3 is deemed too big a ship for someone of his junior seniority. His orders are to join Admiral Caldwell in the Bermudas. On the way there, he picks up 2 mysterious shipwrecked Spaniards whose ship was sunk in a collision (Spain is an ally of Britain at this point).

Once there he is attached to a frigate squadron whose orders are apparently to capture as many prizes as possible to enrich the admiral. During the voyage he also found out that the younger Spaniard is actually a woman of high quality in disguise. She and her brother are actually escaping their stepfather who wants to kill the brother to get the family assets. She (Angel for short) and Hayden fall in love and marry despite their different backgrounds and against the wishes of her brother.

Finally he's sent off with the frigate squadron. Unfortunately the senior captain (Jones) is a foolhardy if brave man and tends to take ridiculous risks without having any second thoughts. The first task they try is to capture a brig which has taken refuge in a bay with a convoy of 30 other French ships. Hayden and Jones each set out in 2 ship's boats to cut out the brig. They capture the brig but on the way out of the bay they are chased by overwhelming French forces. Jones abandons Hayden and Hayden and his crew have to hide out on the island.

Hayden flees the island after a day and manages to capture a French schooner and releases 2 prisoners held on it. One of the prisoners is a French Royalist who convinces him to try and save 50 Royalists who are trapped on the island. Because they only have small boats they can only embark about 10 people at a time and go back to the same beach 4 nights in a row. On the last night they are ambushed by infantry and a French naval cutter. They fight against the big odds but eventually win and finally get back to Barbados.

Once back in Barbados he finds that his bride has been kidnapped by her brother and a Jacobin spy. They, together with a French privateer squadron are on their way to capture 2 Spanish treasure ships. Caldwell orders Hayden in his newly captured schooner to chase after them, officially to chase after the treasure ships.

In a long running fight he first finds, then captures all the French privateers and the 2 Spanish ships which they have captured. Angel has unfortunately caught Yellow Fever and dies. Summary ends.

I kept on thinking that the real plot would be his adventures with the squadron but in fact the whole book is of him being marooned away from his ship after the cutting out action of the brig. He basically spends on the whole book in the schooner. There are a lot of action and fighting scenes and that and sailing tactical scenes are well written and engrossing.

Apart from the main action, there are a few subplots or commentaries sprinkled through the book, one of which is the marriage of the Roman Catholic Angel to Hayden and another is the moral dilemma of slavery. Eventually Britain bans it through the activism of the Quakers and more progressive members of society but at that time it was still legal. The author devotes a segment where the officers question and debate it amongst themselves.

This series does feel unfinished. I had thought that the plot line with Henrietta wasn't going to end just like that in the last book. The marriage of Angel seemed to quash that plot line but she conveniently dies of Yellow Jack to make Hayden available again. And of course we are left hanging with Hayden as a junior post captain.

Now I'm left in the lurch but my historical naval fiction kick has led me through about 40 books in the past few months and I'm ready to take a break. Maybe I'll check out this author's other books as I quite like his writing.

[Lauren · Rating 2 out of 5]

The quality of Russell's Hayden series has continued to diminish with each passing book and what was a wonderfully promising start to a fun series has now culminated in a spectacularly disappointing finish. While the characters and the actual naval adventuring remain solid, exciting and a truly enjoyable read, Russell's continued insistence on including terrible romantic subplots that detract from the overall narrative makes whole chapters of story-telling unpalatable and difficult to get through. The last half of "Until the Sea Shall Give Up Her Dead" (that which is without any romantic storyline) is worth at least four stars. But as the page count started to run out and the story began to look like it would have to be resolved in only a handful of pages, it all fell apart again in a wholly unsatisfying, slapdash ending as though Russell himself simply gave up around the four-hundred page mark and threw an ending onto it. There appears to be no word as to whether or not there will be a fifth book -- to be honest, I probably won't read it if there is one.

With the Henrietta storyline resolved somewhat in the previous novel, I had hoped that might mean this one could focus on Hayden, his crew and some good old fashioned seafaring. Instead he marries literally the first woman he sees post-Henrietta, a woman with whom he has no chemistry and no real reason to be married to and who dies in the last two pages of the novel further proving that she served literally no purpose whatsoever to the overall narrative other than that Russell seems to think that his books need a romantic subplot to find success. To be honest, I so strongly didn't care about Angelita that when she died I simply shrugged and closed the book because it was over and there was no emotion to be wrung from me whatsoever. Not even the joy I'd felt at Henrietta being gone. I so solidly didn't care about this character that if Russell had simply forgotten she existed halfway through the book and never written another word about her again, I would have been perfectly fine with that. Such a waste in what otherwise would have been a nautical series nearly on par with the Hornblowers and Aubrey/Maturins of the literary world.

Two stars on the whole. You disappoint me, sir.

[Ray Theron · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is by far the best of the Charles Hayden novels I have yet read. The pace is fast, the characters memorable and the action breathtaking.

Lovers of tales of the sea set in the late 18th and early 19th centuries will enjoy this book. Capt. Charles Hayden as a character ranks right up there with Horatio Hornblower. No monodimensional character, his, but a very believable one with all the strengths and failings that make one human. Sean Thomas Russell's mastery of the technicalities of sailing ships of the era and his profound knowledge and understanding of sail handling and naval warfare shows clearly and makes his work stand out above the norm. The other characters, like midshipman Wickham, are as convincing.

When I thoroughly enjoy a book I tend to ration my reading so as to prolong the pleasure. With this one it was at times impossible. I cannot recommend it highly enough!

[Bradley John - Author · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hmmm, ‘ey? All I can say to the author (whom I admire tremendously) is to bring on book five and quieten down the mutinous fans (who made you walk the plank at the drop of a love story, or two). As an historical writer, perhaps the study of history cannot be undervalued - even fans of Hornblower cringed and cried when he married that girl… click, click (what’s her name?). Sigh. I know I cried when the beautiful French girl to whom Hornblower should have married (sorry no spoiler for that book here) did not happen. Anyway, I stand loyal to this wonderful author and his fabulous creation - I am thinking Penguin probably made him do it - anyway, a fifth book (with some good ol’ fashioned action, battles and confusion) would mayhap have been the required tincture… or is it too late? Never too late my friend. Please bring it on… we await at your pleasure.

[Garfield666 · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really really liked the first three books in the series, this one is a complete letdown.

The sea warfare action is bland and uninteresting and the new love interest, argh!!!!

The romantic sub plot of the first three books was psychologically credible and had a wonderful Jane Austen-esque authentic period feel, the romance here is at the level of the worst kind of fanfiction or a cheap neckbiter Banging the Highlander adventure novel.

It is so annoying, contrived and clicheed that I was happy when

*SPOILER*




she died in the end. Just to get rid of her asap.

Really a pity that a very promising series at the same entertainment level as the Alan Lewrie series nosedives and now seems to be ended with THIS piece of literary manure.

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is very much a book of two halves for me. The early part - the love aspect - is not, in my opinion, particular good or gripping. I just found myself getting increasingly frustrated with Hayden for being led by his willy and with the author for not really living in the real world. On the otherhand the later part - the more naval focussed - was exceptionally well written and I found the chase scene at the end of the book particularly gripping.
Having now read four books by Sean Thomas Russell in this series, what do I think?.....his books are interesting to read and certainly rate above some others, but are not as good as O'Brien or Forrester - middle of the pack but still entertaining.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Disappointing. I have to believe the author has given up this series given the time since this last installment, and perhaps rightfully so. After a stellar beginning with the first two books, the latter two seem to be on a downward trajectory, as the author putrefied his work with attempted romances. Unfortunate, because he is very talented at writing the stuff for which we read books like this- naval adventure and intrigue, both on sea and land. This book demonstrates in flashes the author’s talent in that respect. But the bizarreness and unbelievability of the romance angle in this book is just too much dead weight for the story to take off with.

[Yves · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book delves deeply into the intricacies of a running battle on water, with a reef, open water, an estuary ... and the reader loses the thread of where they are and who is talking, which is a shame. A positive point is the author’s genius in describing action during a boarding that transports the reader next to Captain Hayden as that ball ricocheted right past his ear. Pure delight. Yellow Jack needed more dialogue from the doctor and considering the towering historical documentation on Yellow Jack in the British Naval and Medical archives, I expected more content. Great book ... cannot wait for the next!!

[John · Rating 2 out of 5]

I generally don’t read novels but my attention was drawn to this novel due to its title. I have a maritime background being a former merchant mariner and Naval officer.

I found the book all too often described naval battles over a huge number of pages making it a difficult read. The book is set in the days of sail so the battles ensue with elaborate details of sails, and ship handling. To be honest I would often flip through many pages to get beyond the battle. IMO, anyone without a nautical background would not likely enjoy this book.

[Brian Allocca · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked up this series after finishing the Master and Commander series by Patrick O’Brian and wanted more seafaring adventure. The adventure is there but the sailing mechanics described aren’t on the same level as Patrick O’Brian. But it hasn’t stopped me from buying the entire series and enjoying it. Some of the chapters feel rushed and some feel like they take too long to get past pilot points (the chase through the fog especially comes to mind) but overall I’d recommend this book series to friends.

[Mary A · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not really very well written at all - but I persevered with it because I do love a historical British maritime novel.
The best part were the scenes at sea without the silly love interest. And having a woman disguised as a man aboard a ship at sea (in those close quarters!) was absolutely ridiculous.
I was pleased to see the love interest was conveniently killed off at the end of the novel.
All the reviews say the first 3 books in the series were significantly better, so I'll give them a try.

[Sean · Rating 3 out of 5]

These books are still more entertaining than the Aubrey/Maturin books even if they are much less realistic. It felt like the author gave up a bit on this one though. Everything the captain did was successful in battle -- no matter how risky. And then at the end, in the last 2 pages, the woman the captain had been trying to get back for the second half of the book abruptly dies. Seemed like he just gave up on the ending. Like I said, still entertaining.

[Leonard · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good read about the European clamoring for colonies in the Caribbean. This led up to the war of 1812 between the Americans and the English. The Spanish were being pushed out of the colony business and the void was being filled by the French and the English. In the long run, France fell to the english and England gained a brief period of being the European master in the Caribbean.

I do hope that more will be heard from Captain Hayden.

[Em Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was hesitant about the writing style until the main action began around page 175. The pacing of the battle, the imagery and the ingenuity of the maneuvers was such a treat.
I have not read anything else in the series- or by this author- and didn't realize it was a 4th until home from the library. But it is the type of series that makes it easy to jump in to any one of the adventures of the Themis.
I shall have to read more from this author!

[Geary · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was disappointed in this, the 4th (and final??) installment in the Charles Hayden series. With Capt. Hayden stationed in the Caribbean waters this story had so much potential, sadly unused. The story ended far more quickly than it should have, with so very much unanswered. Perhaps at some point in the future the series will resume.

[John Nino · Rating 5 out of 5]

Captain Hayden’s Tribulations

Fraught with trials and tribulations Captain Hayden wins through again although with great Tragedy. Certainly held my interest until the very end. A worthwhile read. Heartily recommend this book. A good blend of politics and naval action. Excellent character development.

[Des Pemberton · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the fourth and last book in the series. If you've read the first three books, there's no need to bother with this one. The author, Sean Thomas Russell, seems to have lost his way with this saga; got bored with it; remembered at the last minute to take his cat to the vets; so posted the book off to the publishers on the way. Hope his cat is okay.

[João · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not quite up to O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin quality, IMO, but deals with slavery, racism and gender in a way that is much more comfortable to me than Forester's Hornblower.

If you've slowly come to exhaust Napoleonic era naval fiction, definitely worth a read!

[Adrienne Anila · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hmm... I like that out bold captain can display weakness. And our author has the good sense to leave the future open to future endeavors. Definitely not my favorite Hayden book to date though. Seemed a bit reaching for plot.

[scott hamilton · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good read that respects accuracy in the details

A good story well written. The ship scenes were accurate. The middle of the story slowed a bit, but a good read. The book is recommended.