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Alexis Carew #5
Privateer
Spacers Wanted!Men of Heart! Men of Action!Ship paid off and left you IN-ATMOSPHERE? Are your fortunes still held HOSTAGE by the Navy's PRIZE COURT?Seek your NEW FORTUNE amongst the WORLDS of the Barbary!Captain Alexis Carew, late of HER MAJESTY'S Royal NavyHERO of Giron!SAVIOR of Man's Fall!Now commanding the Private ShipMONGOOSEIn action against Vile Pirates and Nefarious Slavers, The Very SERPENTS of the BARBARY!Captain Carew's first command saw each Man nearFOUR HUNDRED POUNDSPrize Money!Her last saw Salvage ofTWO MILLION GUINEAS!Only the FINEST shall be ACCEPTED!Apply berth 32, Ring 7, QuaysideEven with no war on, there are always battles to fight.A cease-fire in the war with Hanover leaves Lieutenant Alexis Carew on half-pay, in-atmosphere, and with her ship laid up in ordinary until called upon once more for the "needs of the Service." She was, at least, lucky enough to be in her home star system when here last ship, HMS Nightingale, paid off, unlike much of her former crew. She's left to help manage her family lands, though still with no certainty she'll be allowed to inherit them. It would be a tranquil, peaceful life, if not for the influx of asteroid miners seeking their fortunes, the uncertainties of her inheritance, and the nagging certainty that her current life is not what she really wants.She'd give anything to command a ship again.
480 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 2017
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 73 reviews
November 15, 2017
After such a great start with book 1, "Into the Dark", this series has slowly gone downhill. I enjoyed the first book so much (5-stars), and follow on books 2 and 3, but as of book 4, and now book 5 ... well, frankly, the storyline has become boring. For me, it has lost its way ... what started as a great sci-fi space opera filled with action, and a strong lead character is now a mind-numbing sail into the dark space.
November 22, 2017
After four strong books in the series, this one falls short of the previous high standard. It's down to the fact that the war with Hanover is over (for the time being at least) and Alexis is no longer in the navy. This means that the structure that held the previous books together is lost. Privateer starts with Alexis on her home planet, where the political and social changes she has been hoping for are starting to take shape. But despite this, she misses dark space and her time on board ship. The chance of a command, as little more than a licensed pirate, sees her recruiting former navy personnel to head for the Barbary and a chance to find out what happened to her lover Delaine.
This is where the story loses its way, too little action and too much exposition. We even get a character who answers all questions with long-winded explanations and save the author having to do too many info-dumps of his own. The anticipated conflict between private ships and pirates lifts the spirits with Sutherland's usual light touch as the action intensifies but then we end on a half-hearted cliffhanger that does the book no good at all.
Privateer feels more like Part One of Two. The next book is likely to be a continuation of the action at the end of this book; I think with all the slow parts removed Privateer could have easily been folded down into one chapter and stuck at the start of #6 in the series.
This is where the story loses its way, too little action and too much exposition. We even get a character who answers all questions with long-winded explanations and save the author having to do too many info-dumps of his own. The anticipated conflict between private ships and pirates lifts the spirits with Sutherland's usual light touch as the action intensifies but then we end on a half-hearted cliffhanger that does the book no good at all.
Privateer feels more like Part One of Two. The next book is likely to be a continuation of the action at the end of this book; I think with all the slow parts removed Privateer could have easily been folded down into one chapter and stuck at the start of #6 in the series.
November 29, 2017
This series is going a bit up and down. I had a bit of difficulty deciding whether I actually liked the first book in the series or not. In the end I decided that it had a certain thing going for it.
I found the second and third book inte the series quite enjoyable with the fourth going a bit downhill but still a fun read. With the first book I had a bit of difficulty with this strange mix but I warmed to it. The concept certainly has its charm. Horatio Hornblower in space! Unfortunately I was actually a wee bit disappointed by this, the fifth, installment in the series.
The basic premise of this book is the same as the other four of course. They are a mix of future and past. Space ships have FTL drive that uses actual sails in something called "darkspace", gun ports and a lot of other anachronisms. Everyday life is also very much back to the age of sail with floggings, sailors in bar brawls and, of course, pirates! The author is doing a decent job of actually explaining these anachronisms but it still takes a bit getting used to.
The problem I have with this book is that Alexis is no longer a Captain in the royal navy. A good chunk of the book is spent on her wallowing and brooding over the casualties during her last combat. When she finally gets into space it is, as the title of the book indicates, as a Privateer which to me is a dubious mix between legal business and pirating.
As a Privateer she seems a lot more insecure, second guessing herself, bumbling things up and she never projects the competence and command presence as she did in the previous books. I felt the book was a lot slower with not as much suspense and action in it as the previous books as well.
The total dumb ass merchant captain that thinks she is running the show is not exactly improving my opinion of the book either.
It is still a fairly read worthy book but...I am a wee bit disappointed nevertheless. I hope that the next book see her back in the navy as a proper Captain with the proper authority.
I found the second and third book inte the series quite enjoyable with the fourth going a bit downhill but still a fun read. With the first book I had a bit of difficulty with this strange mix but I warmed to it. The concept certainly has its charm. Horatio Hornblower in space! Unfortunately I was actually a wee bit disappointed by this, the fifth, installment in the series.
The basic premise of this book is the same as the other four of course. They are a mix of future and past. Space ships have FTL drive that uses actual sails in something called "darkspace", gun ports and a lot of other anachronisms. Everyday life is also very much back to the age of sail with floggings, sailors in bar brawls and, of course, pirates! The author is doing a decent job of actually explaining these anachronisms but it still takes a bit getting used to.
The problem I have with this book is that Alexis is no longer a Captain in the royal navy. A good chunk of the book is spent on her wallowing and brooding over the casualties during her last combat. When she finally gets into space it is, as the title of the book indicates, as a Privateer which to me is a dubious mix between legal business and pirating.
As a Privateer she seems a lot more insecure, second guessing herself, bumbling things up and she never projects the competence and command presence as she did in the previous books. I felt the book was a lot slower with not as much suspense and action in it as the previous books as well.
The total dumb ass merchant captain that thinks she is running the show is not exactly improving my opinion of the book either.
It is still a fairly read worthy book but...I am a wee bit disappointed nevertheless. I hope that the next book see her back in the navy as a proper Captain with the proper authority.
April 6, 2018
The book starts well and Alexis is quite impressive as she takes on the role of a Privateer. I found the middle of the story a bit confusing and a little boring at times. In fact the middle third felt like ‘filler’. I didn’t really understand what Alexis was meant to be doing as a privateer, because it appeared that she was just being a fully-fledged pirate and nothing else. I also didn’t understand who were the ‘Marchant Company’ and why Alexis was so willing to accept them as some sort of sovereign authority.
I hoped that there might be some improvement as the story moved towards a possible climax, but I just got more annoyed and in the end I was so disappointed I just gave up.
I hoped that there might be some improvement as the story moved towards a possible climax, but I just got more annoyed and in the end I was so disappointed I just gave up.
November 4, 2017
Disappointed after the long wait
Found the episode to be disappointing by not having a true conclusion. It also bogged down in the minutia of the contrived dark space sailing mechanics. I am a sailor myself and I find the sailing explanations tiresome. They would likely totally bore landlubbers. I am not sure I will continue reading the series.
Found the episode to be disappointing by not having a true conclusion. It also bogged down in the minutia of the contrived dark space sailing mechanics. I am a sailor myself and I find the sailing explanations tiresome. They would likely totally bore landlubbers. I am not sure I will continue reading the series.
June 5, 2025
Interesting story
Quite the same as the rest of the series, but ended quite abruptly. I had thought I skipped a few pages
Quite the same as the rest of the series, but ended quite abruptly. I had thought I skipped a few pages
April 6, 2018
Alexis rejects feminism
The series seemed exciting and the hero was a woman. That and the recreating the Age of Sail was a rush. The problem was the translation of Hornblower is too literal and it's a bad translation. Honor Harrington is a similar story set but is better written and much better translated.
By this volume you are meant to accept that a space force has ships led or officered by twelve year olds as was the case in the British and other Western navies. What was cruel and brutal of navies in centuries past is not cute, plausible or realistic in the future. The story could have been written with the spirit of the time, not just a repetition of age of Sail novels. I'm embarrassed that I wanted so badly for this to work that I closed my eyes to some stark flaws in the books.
The enslavement of entire female populations in the Fringe, was horrible. Could it happen, of course. In Texas, a law was passed a few years ago, that states that women whose voter ID names differ from their birth certificate are unable to vote (almost every married woman, including elected officials and judges were disenfranchised at one stroke).
Today, women and girls across the globe aren't just cheated on wages and salaries, subject to sexual assault with no consequence and denied opportunity for advancement and education but are deemed legally to be property. So this future picture is possible drawing on history to the present.
What was troubling for me, was that I turned a blind eye to the writer's explanation for the practice in the future. It's not a religious practice nor does it protect women. Patriarchy has never protected or valued women or girls. I liked the thought of a naval adventure, so I told myself that no one would fall for that explanation as I gushed in my review of these books.
The women are described as being helpless on the frontier but these frontierswomen built up Daulthus IV, carved huge estates, raised and educated children, controlled and managed indentured workers (slaves by any other name are just as much property. The English introduced Irish and Scottish slaves to North America and the Caribbean before ever importing Africans). Yet these women were saved from inheriting property because of a high mortality rate among mothers. That doesn't make sense in Pakistan or even Florida.
If he was going to use that example, call it by its right name. The shareholders shaky covenant allowed women in their class to be stripped of power and turned into legal property. Justifying it with background comments and finally having the main character say how reasonable that had been because childbirth has been so dangerous, made me feel not like a reader but an accomplice.
With each volume, the stories have gotten more difficult to read. From slavery to misogyny, it's too much. I will go back and edit my reviews but I can't read any more of this series.
The series seemed exciting and the hero was a woman. That and the recreating the Age of Sail was a rush. The problem was the translation of Hornblower is too literal and it's a bad translation. Honor Harrington is a similar story set but is better written and much better translated.
By this volume you are meant to accept that a space force has ships led or officered by twelve year olds as was the case in the British and other Western navies. What was cruel and brutal of navies in centuries past is not cute, plausible or realistic in the future. The story could have been written with the spirit of the time, not just a repetition of age of Sail novels. I'm embarrassed that I wanted so badly for this to work that I closed my eyes to some stark flaws in the books.
The enslavement of entire female populations in the Fringe, was horrible. Could it happen, of course. In Texas, a law was passed a few years ago, that states that women whose voter ID names differ from their birth certificate are unable to vote (almost every married woman, including elected officials and judges were disenfranchised at one stroke).
Today, women and girls across the globe aren't just cheated on wages and salaries, subject to sexual assault with no consequence and denied opportunity for advancement and education but are deemed legally to be property. So this future picture is possible drawing on history to the present.
What was troubling for me, was that I turned a blind eye to the writer's explanation for the practice in the future. It's not a religious practice nor does it protect women. Patriarchy has never protected or valued women or girls. I liked the thought of a naval adventure, so I told myself that no one would fall for that explanation as I gushed in my review of these books.
The women are described as being helpless on the frontier but these frontierswomen built up Daulthus IV, carved huge estates, raised and educated children, controlled and managed indentured workers (slaves by any other name are just as much property. The English introduced Irish and Scottish slaves to North America and the Caribbean before ever importing Africans). Yet these women were saved from inheriting property because of a high mortality rate among mothers. That doesn't make sense in Pakistan or even Florida.
If he was going to use that example, call it by its right name. The shareholders shaky covenant allowed women in their class to be stripped of power and turned into legal property. Justifying it with background comments and finally having the main character say how reasonable that had been because childbirth has been so dangerous, made me feel not like a reader but an accomplice.
With each volume, the stories have gotten more difficult to read. From slavery to misogyny, it's too much. I will go back and edit my reviews but I can't read any more of this series.
July 13, 2018
This was probably my favorite addition to the series thus far, and I don't think it was just because I gave myself a break between the fourth one and Privateer.
The Alexis Carew story needed a shake-up, and that's what it got. It was nice to see Alexis more independent, and more able to make reckless decisions. The fights were very fun and satisfying. Also, the side characters, which were a strength in earlier volumes and then a weakness in the last, were much more interesting and fun.
I'm excited for more, and a bit sad that I've caught up.
The Alexis Carew story needed a shake-up, and that's what it got. It was nice to see Alexis more independent, and more able to make reckless decisions. The fights were very fun and satisfying. Also, the side characters, which were a strength in earlier volumes and then a weakness in the last, were much more interesting and fun.
I'm excited for more, and a bit sad that I've caught up.
December 23, 2017
Quality continues
Book 5 is a bit of mix. It has some of "Ship of the line" and perhaps some "Flying Colours" in part 6.
Book 5 is a bit of mix. It has some of "Ship of the line" and perhaps some "Flying Colours" in part 6.
July 4, 2022
The war is over and the Nightingale no longer needed, leaving Alexis on half-pay and stuck on her home planet - until a message from her least favourite Foreign Office employee reaches her with the suggestion of a plan that would put her back in command of a ship. Not under the command of the Navy, however - this time, she'll be setting out as a privateer captain, chasing pirates and the fleeting hope of finding out what has become of her lover, Delaine.
While entertaining enough, this was admittedly my least favourite book in the series so far... can't really put my finger on why. Unlike the previous books, it leaves off on a cliffhanger, so it's a good thing I didn't discover this series before book six came out.
While entertaining enough, this was admittedly my least favourite book in the series so far... can't really put my finger on why. Unlike the previous books, it leaves off on a cliffhanger, so it's a good thing I didn't discover this series before book six came out.
September 18, 2018
rating: 3.7 --- I would never reread this even on audio book.
Not my favorite book. It isn't badly written. It isn't bad but it's not that good. It felt like it was going in circles. I'm not in love with her love interest. I am not in love with the side love interest that he might be setting up. I kinda wish they were F buddies who she cares about deeply and maybe it turns into more than that. Right now this love plot chasing him all over the deep to find him has me dry gagging. Also, this overly mary sue stuff has me gagging. I liked Carew cos she always went for it. Went for it but also cared about her crew and her people. This Carew just feels out of touch with the core of what I liked about her. The
Not my favorite book. It isn't badly written. It isn't bad but it's not that good. It felt like it was going in circles. I'm not in love with her love interest. I am not in love with the side love interest that he might be setting up. I kinda wish they were F buddies who she cares about deeply and maybe it turns into more than that. Right now this love plot chasing him all over the deep to find him has me dry gagging. Also, this overly mary sue stuff has me gagging. I liked Carew cos she always went for it. Went for it but also cared about her crew and her people. This Carew just feels out of touch with the core of what I liked about her. The
November 4, 2019
Having really enjoyed the first four books in this series, I find myself really quite disappointed by this one. I flew through the others, but had to force myself to keep picking this one up and finally finish it. Then when I had finished it, I found myself infuriated by the complete lack of an ending. All of the other books here had a full narrative arc, this doesn't; instead it just stops halfway and expects you to buy the next book to get the finale. This is a pet peeve of mine as it displays lazy writing.
It doesn't help that I found much of this to be rather boring and it is definitely bloated and long winded. Not a lot happens in brutal honesty and whilst there are a few great scenes, they are surrounded by waffle and fluff. Without having read the final installment, I can't be certain but I strongly suspect these two should really be one book and have been heavily padded both for an additional revenue opportunity. That's certainly how this one felt to me, which is a shame as it puts me off picking up the last book.
Many of the issues with the pacing and interest levels come I suspect from the fact that the war is over and the Navy aspects are side lined. This means the entire pace is dependant on Alexis and her band of non Navy merry crew finding pirates and slavers in a band of space that has never been mentioned before. She is essentially a licensed pirate and therefore there is no pull or structure to what is going on. The fact that she is effectively acting Captain to a huge crew at nineteen also stands out now; the plucky young lieutenant as a rising star yet always somehow in the middle of trouble worked. This doesn't gel anywhere near as well.
Other issues are clear throughout the entire series; an influx of new characters that you never have a chance to truly engage with. A few old hands have followed Alexis, but most of the characters are yet again new faces with new names and by this point I'm struggling to care. I'd much rather see a return of Navy characters from the first two books who I really connected with. Several of the characters are really just names with two dimensional personalities, one just serves as a boring info dump always followed by the remark 'well, you did ask...', and Alexis never gained that same rapport with the crew, which means you don't either.
As I have come to expect from this author, this is well written in many ways but unfortunately I have been left disappointed. It's a pity because I was really enjoying the series - I am not however certain if I will continue on to the final novel though.
It doesn't help that I found much of this to be rather boring and it is definitely bloated and long winded. Not a lot happens in brutal honesty and whilst there are a few great scenes, they are surrounded by waffle and fluff. Without having read the final installment, I can't be certain but I strongly suspect these two should really be one book and have been heavily padded both for an additional revenue opportunity. That's certainly how this one felt to me, which is a shame as it puts me off picking up the last book.
Many of the issues with the pacing and interest levels come I suspect from the fact that the war is over and the Navy aspects are side lined. This means the entire pace is dependant on Alexis and her band of non Navy merry crew finding pirates and slavers in a band of space that has never been mentioned before. She is essentially a licensed pirate and therefore there is no pull or structure to what is going on. The fact that she is effectively acting Captain to a huge crew at nineteen also stands out now; the plucky young lieutenant as a rising star yet always somehow in the middle of trouble worked. This doesn't gel anywhere near as well.
Other issues are clear throughout the entire series; an influx of new characters that you never have a chance to truly engage with. A few old hands have followed Alexis, but most of the characters are yet again new faces with new names and by this point I'm struggling to care. I'd much rather see a return of Navy characters from the first two books who I really connected with. Several of the characters are really just names with two dimensional personalities, one just serves as a boring info dump always followed by the remark 'well, you did ask...', and Alexis never gained that same rapport with the crew, which means you don't either.
As I have come to expect from this author, this is well written in many ways but unfortunately I have been left disappointed. It's a pity because I was really enjoying the series - I am not however certain if I will continue on to the final novel though.
January 24, 2019
With a new ship, a new ragtag crew, a new “uniform”, and the same old “vile creature”, we join Alexis in her next colorful adventure!
Back in-atmosphere and on half-pay from the Royal Navy, Alexis is bored. She realizes her true calling may not be that of managing her family lands after all. She yearns for the action of space and command. In this, the fifth book in the series, Alexis ventures into an all new role - Privateer.
I enjoyed Alexis’ new-found freedom from strict Naval rules. A natural leader, she builds a loyal crew from a bunch of misfits and takes on her new role with flair. With banter, scuffles with rival crews, duels, and shanties, Alexis and her lads take us on a lively, swashbuckling adventure that once again, captured my attention from start to finish - a cliff-hanging finish! The author apologizes to those who hate that sort of thing but explains it just had to be done because her story was too big for one volume. That suits me fine! I love knowing more is coming in this series!
Back in-atmosphere and on half-pay from the Royal Navy, Alexis is bored. She realizes her true calling may not be that of managing her family lands after all. She yearns for the action of space and command. In this, the fifth book in the series, Alexis ventures into an all new role - Privateer.
I enjoyed Alexis’ new-found freedom from strict Naval rules. A natural leader, she builds a loyal crew from a bunch of misfits and takes on her new role with flair. With banter, scuffles with rival crews, duels, and shanties, Alexis and her lads take us on a lively, swashbuckling adventure that once again, captured my attention from start to finish - a cliff-hanging finish! The author apologizes to those who hate that sort of thing but explains it just had to be done because her story was too big for one volume. That suits me fine! I love knowing more is coming in this series!
January 19, 2018
I didn't like this book as much as the previous ones in this series. The war is over, at least temporarily, and Alexis Carew is back home with her grandfather. This isn't enough excitement so when she gets a chance to go off-world as a privateer (and maybe find her missing lover) she jumps at it. So, this teenage adrenaline junkie is now in charge of her own ship with an entire ship full of adults following her into misadventure. Alexis was doing much better when she had superiors to keep her on an even keel (so to speak); on her own, she is way too impulsive. I will also mention that the book is a cliffhanger; presumably part 2 of this will be published at some point.
November 2, 2017
Honestly first 3 books were good last two not so much.
First three books are good, but last two not so much between going around in circles and Alexis being drunk in one book and still not knowing what she is doing in the next.
Ok overall, but too many times I had to pause in the book and go really...
Anyways...still recommend the first three, but the last two no.
First three books are good, but last two not so much between going around in circles and Alexis being drunk in one book and still not knowing what she is doing in the next.
Ok overall, but too many times I had to pause in the book and go really...
Anyways...still recommend the first three, but the last two no.
January 10, 2018
Another great installment of the Alexis Carew Series!!!
I have really enjoyed meeting J.A. Sutherland's characters they have heart and adventure! It is also a refreshing series to be so original! I highly recommend it!!!
I have really enjoyed meeting J.A. Sutherland's characters they have heart and adventure! It is also a refreshing series to be so original! I highly recommend it!!!
November 7, 2017
Ok
Starts off great, tends to bog down heading into the second half. Really slow towards the end. Would be a cliff hanger if there were any tension in the ending. Good enough to want to read the next one, but worried that the series is feeling its age.
Starts off great, tends to bog down heading into the second half. Really slow towards the end. Would be a cliff hanger if there were any tension in the ending. Good enough to want to read the next one, but worried that the series is feeling its age.
March 25, 2018
Good but overly predictable. Further a hateful cliff hanger ending. Sorry, no happy cigar
January 2, 2018
I think ... I'm going to go with 4 stars on this one.
Mostly, that's because this one ends on a cliffhanger, so ... really this is part one of a two part story and feels a bit incomplete as a result. Perhaps when the followup book is presented I'll feel the two part combination is worthy of more stars overall.
In this book we see Alexis on-the-beach, at half pay due to a cessation of the hostilities. Facing the idea of life as a civilian, she jumps at a chance to command a ship (and search for her missing French officer) when it is offered to her by the mysterious Foreign Office spymaster .
Once again J.A. Sutherland continues his foray into the bizarrely accurate Hornblower-in-space life of Alexis Carew. I've said this before, but I still have trouble wrapping my mind around the idea. He goes to huge (huge!) lengths to recreate the Age-of-Sail in outer space. He justifies, he invents, he iterates, he's really, really good at figuring out how to twist his chosen sub-genre into a space opera yarn.
So on the one hand, I remain bemused at the lengths J.A. Sutherland goes to to and yet on the other hand, I'm endlessly impressed at the results.
Pretty much no other contemporary writer working today really seems to grasp C. S. Forester works. There are lots of books out there that claim to be, or are reported as Hornblower-in-space. (The Honor Harrington series and the Kris Longknife series both come to mind). Yet none of them recreate the feel (of the Hornblower books) as well as Sutherland has.
Only Sutherland seems to grasp the intricate web of politics that underlay the Hornblower books. Hornblower's life and career were constantly churned and thrown off course by politics. Only Sutherland seems to grasp the hostility of the very environment Hornblower sailed in. This is not to say that politics isn't an element of the other author's books, but J.A. Sutherland manages to convey the gravitas of it in a way that other authors seem to miss.
So ... over all, a solid entry into the series. Not quite as spectacular as pervious books, but it feels like a setup for the following book.
Highly recommended, with the caveats that it is the first in a two parter, and is part of a series and one should really read the earlier books first.
I paid retail price for the Kindle version of this book, my thoughts on it are my own. They were neither solicited by, nor compensated for, by either the author or the publisher.
Mostly, that's because this one ends on a cliffhanger, so ... really this is part one of a two part story and feels a bit incomplete as a result. Perhaps when the followup book is presented I'll feel the two part combination is worthy of more stars overall.
In this book we see Alexis on-the-beach, at half pay due to a cessation of the hostilities. Facing the idea of life as a civilian, she jumps at a chance to command a ship (and search for her missing French officer) when it is offered to her by the mysterious Foreign Office spymaster .
Once again J.A. Sutherland continues his foray into the bizarrely accurate Hornblower-in-space life of Alexis Carew. I've said this before, but I still have trouble wrapping my mind around the idea. He goes to huge (huge!) lengths to recreate the Age-of-Sail in outer space. He justifies, he invents, he iterates, he's really, really good at figuring out how to twist his chosen sub-genre into a space opera yarn.
So on the one hand, I remain bemused at the lengths J.A. Sutherland goes to to and yet on the other hand, I'm endlessly impressed at the results.
Pretty much no other contemporary writer working today really seems to grasp C. S. Forester works. There are lots of books out there that claim to be, or are reported as Hornblower-in-space. (The Honor Harrington series and the Kris Longknife series both come to mind). Yet none of them recreate the feel (of the Hornblower books) as well as Sutherland has.
Only Sutherland seems to grasp the intricate web of politics that underlay the Hornblower books. Hornblower's life and career were constantly churned and thrown off course by politics. Only Sutherland seems to grasp the hostility of the very environment Hornblower sailed in. This is not to say that politics isn't an element of the other author's books, but J.A. Sutherland manages to convey the gravitas of it in a way that other authors seem to miss.
So ... over all, a solid entry into the series. Not quite as spectacular as pervious books, but it feels like a setup for the following book.
Highly recommended, with the caveats that it is the first in a two parter, and is part of a series and one should really read the earlier books first.
I paid retail price for the Kindle version of this book, my thoughts on it are my own. They were neither solicited by, nor compensated for, by either the author or the publisher.
March 5, 2019
Horatio Hornblower. In space. And female.
I read books 1-6 in quick succession so this is a combined review of them all.
The author creates a believable universe in which FTL travel occurs in a manner that, through necessity, replicates the feel of the age of sail of the early 19th century. While this might seem contrived at first glance, this reality is so interwoven into the characters and the universe that you quickly just accept it as (fictional) fact and enjoy the story. The technology levels of developed worlds hits all of the expected high notes; it is really just the FTL travel that morphs into a different era.
The tale of Alexis Carew mirrors that of Horatio Hornblower to a great extent. Born into a star-spanning nation modeled politically and culturally on the British Empire of the early 19th century, Alexis joins the Navy as a midshipman and faces a series of trials and adventures that certainly pay homage to, and remind the reader of Hornblower's travails. Carew's tale includes more of her home life than Hornblowers, which adds to and deepens her journey, rather than distracting from it.
As one would expect, her gender is an area of conflict on multiple occasions, but is not overdone or used as a blunt instrument.
The books are PG-13, with occasional detailed violence, some allusions to sexual activity, and some language, though most of that uses 19th century terms. If you are proficient in German or French, the language does get more explicit. Overall, though, the reader is protected by a veneer of class that keeps the story from being overly gritty and is in keeping with a series that, at its core, starts with the journey of a 15 year old girl.
Overall, I highly recommend the series. At its core, it is a YA/NA series with a strong female lead, strong character growth and a plot that includes not only adventure, but intrigue and romance as well.
I read books 1-6 in quick succession so this is a combined review of them all.
The author creates a believable universe in which FTL travel occurs in a manner that, through necessity, replicates the feel of the age of sail of the early 19th century. While this might seem contrived at first glance, this reality is so interwoven into the characters and the universe that you quickly just accept it as (fictional) fact and enjoy the story. The technology levels of developed worlds hits all of the expected high notes; it is really just the FTL travel that morphs into a different era.
The tale of Alexis Carew mirrors that of Horatio Hornblower to a great extent. Born into a star-spanning nation modeled politically and culturally on the British Empire of the early 19th century, Alexis joins the Navy as a midshipman and faces a series of trials and adventures that certainly pay homage to, and remind the reader of Hornblower's travails. Carew's tale includes more of her home life than Hornblowers, which adds to and deepens her journey, rather than distracting from it.
As one would expect, her gender is an area of conflict on multiple occasions, but is not overdone or used as a blunt instrument.
The books are PG-13, with occasional detailed violence, some allusions to sexual activity, and some language, though most of that uses 19th century terms. If you are proficient in German or French, the language does get more explicit. Overall, though, the reader is protected by a veneer of class that keeps the story from being overly gritty and is in keeping with a series that, at its core, starts with the journey of a 15 year old girl.
Overall, I highly recommend the series. At its core, it is a YA/NA series with a strong female lead, strong character growth and a plot that includes not only adventure, but intrigue and romance as well.
November 5, 2017
Tha latest ALEXIS CAREW novel by J.A. Sutherland is something that I've been looking forward to for a long time. I love the series and consider it one of the best things to happen to both steampunk (space sailpunk) and space opera in a long time.
It's superficially similar to Honor Harrington but stars a teenage midshipwoman who has by this volume managed to get herself promoted to Lieutenant. Unfortunately, for Alexis, the war she was fighting is over and she's lost her very brief command to become just another half-pay officer.
The premise for PRIVATEER is, after finally getting the right to receive her estate, she finds herself offered a chance to run a Letter of Marquis endorsed Pirate Ship in the Barbary Region of space. Alexis has to be dragged kicking and screaming into this because she hates pirates due to the events of the first book. She's also left to look for her missing French boyfriend who has gone missing in the region.
So, is it any good? Well, I have to say this one didn't blow me away the same way other volumes of the series have. Alexis spends much of the book complaining about her situation and hunting defenseless commercial freighters doesn't have nearly the same level of interest as fighting the Hanover military.
There's some great moments in the book like whenever Alex is tormented by her pet mongoose as well as her crew coming up with a ridiculously over-the-top ad campaign for recruitment. However, it feels like the enemies are impersonal and not as interesting. I also felt a bit cheated we didn't get a reunion between Alexis and her beau.
In conclusion, I'm not at all going to drop the series but this does feel like half a novel as the author admits in his afterword. I hope the next volume will have a bit more oomph.
8/10
It's superficially similar to Honor Harrington but stars a teenage midshipwoman who has by this volume managed to get herself promoted to Lieutenant. Unfortunately, for Alexis, the war she was fighting is over and she's lost her very brief command to become just another half-pay officer.
The premise for PRIVATEER is, after finally getting the right to receive her estate, she finds herself offered a chance to run a Letter of Marquis endorsed Pirate Ship in the Barbary Region of space. Alexis has to be dragged kicking and screaming into this because she hates pirates due to the events of the first book. She's also left to look for her missing French boyfriend who has gone missing in the region.
So, is it any good? Well, I have to say this one didn't blow me away the same way other volumes of the series have. Alexis spends much of the book complaining about her situation and hunting defenseless commercial freighters doesn't have nearly the same level of interest as fighting the Hanover military.
There's some great moments in the book like whenever Alex is tormented by her pet mongoose as well as her crew coming up with a ridiculously over-the-top ad campaign for recruitment. However, it feels like the enemies are impersonal and not as interesting. I also felt a bit cheated we didn't get a reunion between Alexis and her beau.
In conclusion, I'm not at all going to drop the series but this does feel like half a novel as the author admits in his afterword. I hope the next volume will have a bit more oomph.
8/10
January 1, 2019
Being a young Lieutenant, Alexis is put in atmosphere and half-pay, but at least she is at her home planet of Dalthus. Some of her crew remain at Dalthus among them Isom and the 'vile creature'. Fortunately she is there for the conclave and speaks to it of changing the inheritance law. To her and her grandfather's (and a lot of others) surprise the now head of the family they have long been at odds with not only supports her but adds an amendment further loosening the law. However, she is then torn between resigning her commission and staying on Dalthus as her grandfather's heir or go back into space a a privateer. The title of the book gives away her choice. It is an exciting book and an interesting episode occurs with a frigate's young Lieutenant hits on her. The one down-side is it ends on a cliff-hanger. I've already a good way through the next book which I hope doesn't end as a cliff-hanger though I really want more books about Alexis.
October 15, 2018
Book five
A word: I honestly don't understand what others are complaining about with this book. Some over her gambling, (I don't think those folks have ever gambled for real stakes.) Some saying the captain doesn't act like she has in other books. Folks grow and change. A good author does that with their characters.
Mistakes: I found only one.
Plot: Interesting, and if you are paying attention things are touched on, but not deeply about other aspects of the book.
Characters: the captain is still suffering from PTSD. Still drinking to much, and while she states she dislikes that vile little creature it she does admit to herself that the dreams aren't as bad when he sleeps on her chest.I
Didn't like where this book ended. 8/10
A word: I honestly don't understand what others are complaining about with this book. Some over her gambling, (I don't think those folks have ever gambled for real stakes.) Some saying the captain doesn't act like she has in other books. Folks grow and change. A good author does that with their characters.
Mistakes: I found only one.
Plot: Interesting, and if you are paying attention things are touched on, but not deeply about other aspects of the book.
Characters: the captain is still suffering from PTSD. Still drinking to much, and while she states she dislikes that vile little creature it she does admit to herself that the dreams aren't as bad when he sleeps on her chest.I
Didn't like where this book ended. 8/10
December 3, 2020
8/10: Excellent read, well written, fell right into the fictional world created.
Love turns one’s brains to mush, you know, and at your age the thing’s not fully baked to begin with.
Alexis is after the missing fleets and taking a stint as a privateer. On half-pay and put in-atmosphere from the Navy, our girl is a little lost until the Foreign Office comes calling.
This one was a little slow to start with, and I took a break partway through because of that, but when I came back to it, the pace picked up and we were off in darkspace with Carew and her crew again.
“Och, lass, are y’on a bluddy outing or is it real business yer aboot?”
The addition of Malcolmson was nice.
Love turns one’s brains to mush, you know, and at your age the thing’s not fully baked to begin with.
Alexis is after the missing fleets and taking a stint as a privateer. On half-pay and put in-atmosphere from the Navy, our girl is a little lost until the Foreign Office comes calling.
This one was a little slow to start with, and I took a break partway through because of that, but when I came back to it, the pace picked up and we were off in darkspace with Carew and her crew again.
“Och, lass, are y’on a bluddy outing or is it real business yer aboot?”
The addition of Malcolmson was nice.
December 4, 2020
8/10: Excellent read, well written, fell right into the fictional world created.
Love turns one’s brains to mush, you know, and at your age the thing’s not fully baked to begin with.
Alexis is after the missing fleets and taking a stint as a privateer. On half-pay and put in-atmosphere from the Navy, our girl is a little lost until the Foreign Office comes calling.
This one was a little slow to start with, and I took a break partway through because of that, but when I came back to it, the pace picked up and we were off in darkspace with Carew and her crew again.
“Och, lass, are y’on a bluddy outing or is it real business yer aboot?”
The addition of Malcolmson was nice.
Love turns one’s brains to mush, you know, and at your age the thing’s not fully baked to begin with.
Alexis is after the missing fleets and taking a stint as a privateer. On half-pay and put in-atmosphere from the Navy, our girl is a little lost until the Foreign Office comes calling.
This one was a little slow to start with, and I took a break partway through because of that, but when I came back to it, the pace picked up and we were off in darkspace with Carew and her crew again.
“Och, lass, are y’on a bluddy outing or is it real business yer aboot?”
The addition of Malcolmson was nice.
December 26, 2017
Alexis sails again
While Alexis suffers at home, beached on half pay due to peace, waiting for her birthright to be affirmed, she again is approached by the nefarious Mr. Dansby, representing Malcome Eades from the Foreign Office, offering a Letter of Marque to hunt pirates in the Barbary. Leaving Dalthus and her grandfather, she gets a ship and recruits a crew, a while learning that being a Privateer is not the Navy. Off she and her crew are for new adventures, with the problems you would expect.
It is a great read, and a bit of a cliffhanger. Enjoy.
While Alexis suffers at home, beached on half pay due to peace, waiting for her birthright to be affirmed, she again is approached by the nefarious Mr. Dansby, representing Malcome Eades from the Foreign Office, offering a Letter of Marque to hunt pirates in the Barbary. Leaving Dalthus and her grandfather, she gets a ship and recruits a crew, a while learning that being a Privateer is not the Navy. Off she and her crew are for new adventures, with the problems you would expect.
It is a great read, and a bit of a cliffhanger. Enjoy.
January 16, 2018
Good story. One of the problems I have with authors in general are cliff hangers!!. As much as I like a story, I do not approve of cliff hangers. It is a cheap tactic to get people interested in the next book. If you have doubts about the book you are writing, that is not the readers fault. I was going to give you 4 stars and now will not. I amended that with 3 stars for the cliff hanger ending. This book had plenty of time to not drag it's feet and move forward and have time too complete the story.
January 26, 2018
This fifth book in the Alexis Carew series captivated me as much as the other installments. When Alexis accepts authorization from the Crown as a privateer to hunt pirates and is given a ship, she leaves for the Barbary, an unsavory area of space where a battle in the war with Hanover might have left survivors. She’s searching for her lover who was lost among the crews. Were there survivors, and where might they be located? Her quest takes her from one dangerous locale to another. She’s willing to risk everything to find her handsome beau.
July 22, 2018
Great series
This is a review/comentary for all 5 books... i had the first one in my wish list for some time, but always found another thing to buy, then someday saw that it was free, so i picked up and read it... when finished the first book, went back and purchased the other 4. This is a good series, and i like a lot the character development of Alexis. The only negative thing i can say for now, is the cliffhanger at the end of book five... i hope next book will be released soon...
This is a review/comentary for all 5 books... i had the first one in my wish list for some time, but always found another thing to buy, then someday saw that it was free, so i picked up and read it... when finished the first book, went back and purchased the other 4. This is a good series, and i like a lot the character development of Alexis. The only negative thing i can say for now, is the cliffhanger at the end of book five... i hope next book will be released soon...
August 16, 2018
Standoff
Alexis is involved in political intrigue on her home planet to change the laws to allow women to inherit land. However, she would rather be in command of a ship. With the end of the war, her ship is mothballed. When Eades, the foreign service agent, shows up with an offer of a ship to command as a Privateer Captain, she reluctantly agrees. I like the action, humor, and strategy. I like that Alexis is a strong, compelling character. I look forward to next book.
Alexis is involved in political intrigue on her home planet to change the laws to allow women to inherit land. However, she would rather be in command of a ship. With the end of the war, her ship is mothballed. When Eades, the foreign service agent, shows up with an offer of a ship to command as a Privateer Captain, she reluctantly agrees. I like the action, humor, and strategy. I like that Alexis is a strong, compelling character. I look forward to next book.
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