HMS Prometheus

Fighting Sail #8

by Alaric Bond

Autumn 1803, and Britain remains under the threat of invasion. HMS Prometheus is needed to reinforce Nelson's squadron blockading the French off Toulon, but a major action has left her severely damaged and the British Fleet outnumbered. Prometheus must be brought back to fighting order without delay, and the work proves more than a simple refit.

Barbary pirates, shore batteries and the powerful French Navy are conventional foes, although the men of Prometheus encounter equally dangerous enemies within their own ranks.

A story that combines vivid action with sensitive character portrayal. Number eight in the Fighting Sail series.

Genres: Historical Fiction

368 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 2, 2015

About the author

Alaric Bond has written for television, radio and the stage but now focuses on historical nautical fiction with twenty published novels, fifteen of which are in his acclaimed ‘Fighting Sail’ series.
Set in ‘Nelson’s Navy’ of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars, these have no central hero but feature characters from all ranks and stations; an innovative approach that gives an exciting and realistic impression of life aboard a warship of the period.
Hellfire Corner is the first in an intended new series and marks a change in emphasis, although future ‘Fighting Sail’ instalments are planned.

Reviews

[V.E. Ulett · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story opens with an action with barbary pirates, ones that HMS Prometheus will encounter again among her many foes in the Mediterranean. The line of battle ship commanded by Captain Sir Richard Banks at last joins Vice-Admiral Lord Nelson’s fleet. Through Sir Richard’s eyes, we glimpse the great man and his band of brothers at their council of war. Renown naval figures are not the interest of the tale, however, that lies with the officers and people of HMS Prometheus; lieutenants Mr. King and Mr. Caulfield, Captain Banks, and the naval surgeon and his wife, Robert and Kate Manning.

One major fleet battle and several single ship encounters, provide thrilling action, but author Bond’s great achievement is in the humanity of his characters and their situations. Mr. King must recover from injury and learn to cope with changed physical capabilities, while Mr. Manning experiences the guilt of a physician who may have done his patient as much harm as good. And a young maid brought aboard by Mrs. Manning ends up changing the lives of several of HMS Prometheus’ officers. This eighth installment in the Fighting Sail series is both a rousing sea adventure, and a sensitive study of a ship of war’s people and their culture in the age of Nelson.

[Richard A. Ramos · Rating 4 out of 5]

HMS Prometheus is an excellent look at life and combat aboard a ship of the line that constituted one of England's "wooden walls" that stymied Napoleon's armies in the late 18th and early 19th century. On the surface, the book appears to be more of the same sea warfare in the Age of Fighting Sail, but Alaric Bond has his own unique slant. Instead of focusing on the ship's captain, Sir Richard Banks, Bond disperses his look at HMS Prometheus throughout the command, giving readers a look at how Sir Richard's decisions are received by and their effects on the ship's company from the First Lieutenant Michael Caulfield to seamen like Flint and Matthew Jameson. For those interested in the genre, this book should be on their "must read" list because of its view across the full spectrum of the ranks.

[Robert Crouch · Rating 5 out of 5]

After extensive repairs in Gibraltar, HMS Prometheus sets out to sea with a crew of new and familiar hands in this latest instalment in the Fighting Sail series. Galvanised by a meeting with Admiral Nelson, Sir Richard Banks risks all in his desire to engage and defeat the enemy.

The considered pace of the opening allowed me to get to know and better understand the characters who would shape the adventures to follow. The cast of familiar and new characters, with all their doubts, flaws and ambitions, came alive as HMS Prometheus set sail and almost immediately went into action. I could hear the thunder of the cannons and feel the heady mix of fear and adrenaline during the vivid battle scenes. The author’s attention to detail revealed the realities of life at sea, while the relationships and bonds between characters added humour and humanity to those who risk their lives in battle.

While I’m sure this novel will appeal to anyone with an interest in naval history, this is first and foremost a story about people and how they deal with fear, conflict and death. Told with honesty and humour, this story shows the harshness of life at sea and the resilience of the human spirit in the face of adversity.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

In HMS Prometheus as with every book in the Fighting Sail Series, we meet new characters and become more fully acquainted with older ones. Some characters die or otherwise leave the story which give the entire works a realistic and life-like feeling and keeps me guessing. The author has a comfortable command of his subject and setting, spiriting us throughout the entire ship as we watch officers, men, and challenged by a variety of situations. There is plenty of chasing and fighting action, as expected, but what I particularly admire and enjoy about this book is how each character has his or her own story arc that intertwines with the rest of the characters' dilemmas. Seaman Flint's story particularly resonated with me, as did that of Kate, the surgeon's wife, and her maid Poppy.

HMS Prometheus has an unsettling ending which has me anxiously awaiting book 9 so that I can find out what happens to the rest of this ship's company I have come to know and care about. All in all this is a well imagined, well crafted series that feels authentic and fully lived. I loved it.

[George · Rating 5 out of 5]

Consistently good

I've now read all nine books in Alaric Bond's Fighting Sail Series and have found them all to be consistently good reads. I do hope he continues to publish more books in the series. I'm most interested in what becomes of one of the chief protagonists, Captain Sir Richard Banks.