Band of Brothers

Richard Bolitho #3

by Alexander Kent

The 26th, and final, Bolitho novel in this phenomenally successful and well-loved series.

In this, the long-awaited conclusion of Alexander Kent’s midshipman trilogy, the new year of 1774 seems to offer Richard Bolitho and his friend Martyn Dancer the culmination of a dream. Both have been recommended for promotion, although they have not yet gained the coveted lieutenant’s commission. But a routine passage from Plymouth to Guernsey in an untried schooner becomes, for Bolitho, a passage from midshipman to King’s officer, tempering the promise of the future with the bitter price of maturity.


From the Hardcover edition.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Military Fiction, Historical, War, Maritime, Nautical

129 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2005

About the author

A pseudonym used by Douglas Reeman.

Series:
* Richard Bolitho
* Adam Bolitho

Reviews

[Brian · Rating 1 out of 5]

“This was the past. Ahead lay a new horizon.” (1.5 stars)

Alexander Kent wrote a series of books about the Royal Navy set in the late 18th/early 19th centuries, publishing the first text in 1968. They followed the navel career of one Richard Bolitho. For some reason, Kent went back in 2005 and published a new book that chronologically became number 3 in the series. After reading that book, he should have left well enough alone.
I suppose that BAND OF BROTHERS was written to fill in gaps between the original numbers 2 & 3 in the series? If so, it fails, and is not needed.
The plot feels exactly like its predecessor’s (MIDSHIPMAN BOLITHO & THE AVENGER) because it is the same. The narrative is jumbled and poorly executed. The writing is weak. Key moments in the text are poorly plotted and explained.
In short, this novella should not have been written. It was not needed, and is a discouraging bump in the road. If you read this series, skip it. You won’t miss a thing.
At least it was very short.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book Three of Thirty. Probably 3.5 stars rounded up.

It's the beginning of 1774. Richard Bolitho, along with his best friend and fellow midshipman Martyn Dancer, are testing for the rank of Lieutenant. Along the way they have to deal with a rotten first lieutenant, a new timid midshipman, and some unexpected adventures.

I won't spoil anything for anyone, but sheesh! That scene near the end really took me by surprise! I didn't see that one coming. It was quite the bummer.

This is a likeable seafaring series, and I'd recommend it to those with an interest in historical fiction, especially from the perspective of sailors.

[Tim The Enchanter · Rating 2 out of 5]

A disappointing 2 Stars

Band of Brothers is the final book in early Trilogy of the Richard Bolitho series. The trilogy deals with Richards early days as a midshipman. It appears this final book of the trilogy was written well after the first two books and after the majority of the whole series.

I have little positive to say about this volume. It was as if the author felt that he needed a final book of the midshipman series and then threw together some random thoughts. The result was a disjointed and confusing story about.... Well, I'm not sure what it was really about. Had I read the books as they were published, it might make more sense. It does deal with characters that I get the sense will appear in future books. This likely served as a prequel to show how Richard met these persons. Overall, it was of a much lower quality than the first two which were short, entertaining reads.

[Alex · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is bad. It’s so bad, I only kept reading it to see how bad it would be.

I’m not going to bother with a synopsis. Just know that this is an Age of Sail adventure written by a reputable novelist. It reads, however, like a rough draft. There were passages where I couldn’t follow the action. There were characters set up as threats, only to fizzle. There were ideas recycled from previous novels.

This book reads like the result of a contractual obligation, begrudgingly executed. Honestly, I don’t know how it got past the editor, the publisher, or the printer. Skip it.

[Farseer · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the first two midshipman Bolitho books, but this one was a travesty. It is worth noting that Band of Brothers was written decades later, when the author was 81. I'm sorry to have to say it, but the author seems to have lost his mental capacity to tell a story. The narration is disjointed to a ridiculous extent, difficult to follow and everyone acts out of character.

The only readable part is the beginning, when Bolitho has his examination for lieutenant. That may have been written earlier, from then on the book is painful to read. If you are a fan of the series, do yourself a favor and skip this one. At least it is very short (around 100 pages).

Sometimes I think that it is better to read a series in the order it was written, instead of following the internal chronology. If this had been the first book by Kent I had read I would have stopped reading this series.

[Writerlibrarian · Rating 1 out of 5]

This one disappointed me. First it's short. 125 pages more or less. This concludes the Bolitho Midshipman series. I feel cheated somehow. The whole what happened to Martyn is not in the book. That's ... that's ... I don't know how to express my anger at this. I wanted to know how. Richard gets his lieutenant commission after this "adventure" after a very courageous act and finding out he can lead men. But he loses Martyn in the process and behind the scene because they aren't together during the last 3 chapters of the book. (Remember the book is pretty short). This lost has an huge emotional impact on him. It's almost the whole second book "Stand into danger". So disappointed but looking forward to In Gallant Company.

[Leigh · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book showed it was just a fill in...need more so let the story continue in the next book!

[Viva · Rating 3 out of 5]

Spoilers ahead:

I've just started reading Bolitho (RB) after a hiatus of 40 years and quite enjoy it. This is a short book about 100 pages long vs the usual 250-290 pages. This book was published in 2005 and I'm not sure of the rationale behind it, maybe to document the death of Martyn Dancer? He was a good friend of RB in the first two short books and I guess he vanished off the face of the earth and this one was written to explain why. Edit 1*Later on I found out that the first 3 books are supposed to be a trilogy but have no idea whey they are so short or why the first two books were written in the 1970's and this one 30 years later.

Summary:
After RB's adventure with his brother in book 2, he is back on the Gorgon. However his captain immediately sends him off on another trip, this time to deliver the new schooner Hotspur to Guernsey and come right back. The other officers to go with him are the 1st Lt. Verling, the hated bullying new Lt. Egmont and RB's good friend Martyn Dancer.

On the way there, they discover that somebody is smuggling muskets which may be used in the upcoming rebellion in America. RB is landed with Egmont and a party. Egmont later leaves and RD comes across a beached lugger. He captures the lugger and sails it to an offshore brig which is to carry the muskets. The Hotspur appears, there is a fight and the brig is captured. Unfortunately Dancer dies in the fight.

RB goes back on the Gorgon. His lieutenant's commission is confirmed and he is to leave the ship but he is saddened by the loss of his friend.

This writing is generally easy to read since Kent doesn't use difficult words. However many events he writes about are difficult to understand because he seems to skip a lot of words or explanations. For example, I really have no idea what island RB was landed on or how they even found the smugglers other than seeing a light somewhere. It almost seems like the publisher deleted whole paragraphs that explained the situation. It's the same thing with book 2. I had a hard time understanding the last part.

But I like the characters and relationships between them. Kent spends a lot of time on the characters and it isn't wasted. This book only gets 3 stars because of the confusion regarding how they cottoned on to the smugglers. On to the next book.

*Edit 2: Another reviewer explained it better by saying the narrative was jumbled, badly written and plotted. I'm glad I'm not the only one who feels this way!

[Jim Mann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Spoilers: though anyone who has read Stand Into Danger will anticipate them.

When I read Stand Into Danger, which McBooks Press labels as the second book in the Richard Bolitho series, I thought something was missing. Midshipman Bolitho had ended with Bolitho a midshipman and ready for his next adventure with his friend and fellow midshipman, Martyn Dancer. But Stand Into Danger starts with Bolitho now a junior Lieutenant, Dancer not there, and Bolitho in mourning about something. Clearly there was something missing between the first and second book.

What was missing was the novella Band of Brothers. McBooks published it as a standalone novel, but it's not numbered in the series (despite Goodreads calling it number 3). In it, Bolitho and Dancer pass their interviews and both are now eligible to become officers. They are then assigned to move a ship to Guernsey, what seems like a routine task. Except they run into murderous smugglers. Do in part to Bolitho's daring and his ability to inspire those under him, they take on the smugglers and capture their boat, preventing a large supply of arms from being sent to America. But in the process, Dancer is mortally wounded. The book ends with Bolitho's promotion to Lieutenant.

Overall, it's an enjoyable novella, and it introduces several new and interesting characters who I hope we'll see again later in the series. But it's mostly of interest as plugging the gap between the first two volumes of the series.

A note: it is apparently available in the omnibus volume The Complete Midshipman Bolitho, which includes Midshipman Bolitho, Band of Brothers, and Stand Into Danger. But since I already owned 2/3 of that volume, and the standalone Band of Brothers was out of print, I borrowed the latter from the library.

[RhC · Rating 3 out of 5]

As I just started the series, I have the luxury of reading it in chronological order -- not necessarily as the books were written. As such I get the impression that this entry is backstory filler that was written much later to flesh out some dispositions and origins that were either glossed over or edited out originally.

Anyway, Bolitho passes his Lieutenant's exam, meets a Lieutenant and Captain that may be future antagonists, gets noticed by several high-ranking officers, loses a close colleague, and begins to bond with a couple of swabs and a "Middie."

The flow of the writing was jumpy and the entire effort felt like the fulfillment of a contract obligation with the publisher.

2.5 Stars

[Joe Santoro · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is very much the end of the beginning, and was written WAY after the other books in the series (the last one written), so there's no surprise it extremely similar to the prior one. Here, Richard and Martin face the Review Board to get their commission, then, while helping sail a schooner where it needs to be, they stumble upon some gun runners to those pesky colonies and of course Richard has to be the hero, since it's his series.

I'm expecting the next one (written almost 40 years earlier) will be more interesting, and perhaps create a bit more of a crew (since it has been clear these folk were all temporary).

[Alayne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would give this one 2 and a half stars. I only finished it because it was less than 130 pages, otherwise I would have given up in disgust. The problem wasn't the story - that was quite interesting - but the terrible writing. The author used far too flowery language as if he thought it would help to place the book into the 18th century, didn't explain any of the nautical terms, and worst of all, he used far too many pronouns in such a way that I often had to re-read paragraphs to see who he was talking about. Very poor.

[Graham Dragon · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the third and final Midshipman Bolitho adventure, he passes his Naval Board ready to receive a Lieutenant's commission, and then sails to Guernsey where he confronts gun smugglers. Not a C.S.Forester novel by any means, but still a good readable yarn. Although this is the final Midshipman Bolitho novel it is not the final Richard Bolitho novel, as Alexander Kent has written many more books following Richard Bolitho throughout his naval career.

[Sully Augustine · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars out of 5 - Once again, a two evening easy read. I don't see this book as better than the first two in the series, but I've rated it 4 stars because I think the volume titled The Complete Midshipman Bolitho which contains the first three books (chronologically) deserves better than 3 stars as a whole. I will be going on to read more of Kent's Bolitho books.

[Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Third of the Bolitho books, chronologically, finds him still a midshipman but taking his exam to be named a Lieutenant. Afterwards this short story finds him heading out to deliver a schooner when they get involved in another smuggling plot. Very good book which reminds me a lot of Hornblower but the book was a quick read at about 120 pages.

[Isabel · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very short book but filled with loads of great characters.

I did find myself getting lost a bit in the action sequences and having to reread them a few times to understand what was going on. I am not sure if this was due to the style of writing, my lack of understanding of the navy or just I was reading too fast! Still enjoyed the story despite this.

[Steven · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this book disjointed. There is little build up to the major battle action with little description of the battle itself. I often felt like must have missed a few pages.
The first two books were the same. There is a feeling of having to read the author’s mind in what he is trying to convey.
I really wanted this series to work, but unfortunately this will be my last book.

[Matt Kelland · Rating 2 out of 5]

My dad loved Bolitho. I didn't. Now I remember why. Very lackluster plot, and the characters aren't exciting enough to keep me interested. It's also very short by modern standards, but to be honest, that's a good thing in my book.

[Wilde Sky · Rating 4 out of 5]

A tale of sea, danger and adventure set in 1774.

I enjoyed this book – it had strong central characters and there was plenty of action.

Overall my rating is 3.5, as some of the action scenes could have been clearer.

[Duane · Rating 2 out of 5]

Modestly better than the first two books about Bolitho as a midshipman, this is still a quick read that feels dashed off. The plot is skeletal. It does have the brooding main character, an evil lieutenant, and adoring seamen that we expect from Bolitho. For completists only.

[Richard Estep · Rating 2 out of 5]

One of the weakest books in an otherwise excellent series. Poorly plotted and far shorter than other entries. Uncharacteristically poor.

[Gary Kent · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good story from someone who knows about the period.

[Jonathan Richardson · Rating 5 out of 5]

not included in the complete midshipman audiobook, so had to buy the kindle addition.

[Todd Ewing · Rating 3 out of 5]

It as another fun read for fans of the Bolitho series. Nothing great but a good quick read.

[Robin Halvorson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Continuing adventures of Richard Bolitho the new Horatio Hornblower.

[Jack · Rating 4 out of 5]

I believe I have a paperback of this book under a different title, but I began reading these books over 30 years ago, and all my books are still in storage. My ex called these (and the Forrester books) "Harlequin's for Men." She may be right. This was a quick read and the third of the Midshipman Bolitho series. But there is something about the Bolitho and Hornblower series that struck a chord with me those many years ago. This book is short, unpretentious and well-written, but probably meant for a more juvenile audience. His later books were far more involved, most likely because he wrote the Midshipman series last... probably back-story and notes.

Alexander Kent was the pen-name for Douglas Reeman,who wrote many fictionalized and historical novels about the Royal Navy - especially during the WWII era. It wasn't until the advent of the internet that I realized that these two writers were one in the same. I recommend all the books in both authors names.

[Topher · Rating 3 out of 5]

Calling this literature seems to be overstating the case perhaps, but, I enjoy the break from vampires, werewolves, etc. I'm not sure I could find something enjoyable and further from that topic than following the career of an officer in his majesty's late 18th and early 19th century navy. Originally I was going to try to find that other, more well known (since "the other side of the world" was made into a movie at any rate) series, but, I saw this one and decided to go with it. Naval fiction is definitely different.

[George · Rating 4 out of 5]

Early, 1774, 18 year old Midshipman Richard Bolitho is back on the GORGON fresh from his adventure on the AVENGER. Another exciting 18th Century British naval adventure as Bolitho faces an examination board for lieutenant and becomes a member of the temporary crew from the GORGON for the transfer of the new ship HOTSPUR to its duty station in the Channel islands. Action involves dealing with smugglers as Bolitho contues to mature.

[Bill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another seafaring tale about the exploits of Midshipman Richard Bolitho. During this episode Bolitho and his friend and fellow midshipman, Martyn Dancer, pass their examinations for promotion to lieutenant. Dancer is subsequently killed in action. Bolitho receives his commission at the end and is ordered to the frigate Destiny where we expect the story to continue in the next book, Stand into Danger.

[Dawn · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is now 1774, both Bolitho and his friend Dancer have passed their lieutenant exams and been recommended for promotion. They are both assigned to the untried schooner Hotspur on a routine passage from Plymouth to Guernsey.
A great conclusion to the midshipman trilogy, with lots of action and Bolitho’s trademark problem solving skills.