Ship of Fire

by Michael Cadnum

In a stunning retelling based on actual events, Ship of Fire depicts Sir Francis Drake's most famous act of daring, the raid on the Spanish port of Cadiz. When Thomas Spyre, a seventeen-year-old surgeon's apprentice is offered the chance to sail on the Elizabeth Bonaventure, Sir Francis Drake's flagship, he never dreams that his master's death in a freak accident will leave him as the ship's only doctor. Thomas is determined to prove himself as a surgeon, but now he must also face battle, when Drake himself enlists him in combat.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Historical

208 pages, Hardcover

First published September 15, 2003

About the author

Michael Cadnum has had a number of jobs over the course of his life, including pick-and-shoveler for the York Archaeological Trust, in York, England, and substitute teacher in Oakland, California, but his true calling is writing. He is the author of thirty-five books, including the National Book Award finalist The Book of the Lion. His Calling Home and Breaking the Fall were both nominated for the Mystery Writers of America Edgar Allan Poe Award. He is a former Creative Writing Fellow of the National Endowment for the Arts. Also a poet, he has received several awards, including Poetry Northwest's Helen Bullis Prize and the Owl Creek Book Award. Michael lives in Albany, California, with his wife Sherina.

Reviews

[Silvestre Rodriguez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Have you ever read a book that is just so good that you have to go on to the next page, the. The next, and the next? If not then this is the book for you. This books genre is fiction. I really think this book is really good it's very interesting, it gets you very interested in this time of the world.

This book is about a boy named Thomas Spyre and his friend, master, and also the person that takes care of him. They are both surgeons and doctors, so one day a man comes into the tavern in witch they live but don't have enough money to pay rent because Thomas's master William Perrivale is addicted to wagering on bear fights and stuff like that. But like I said one day a man comes into the tavern and he is very sick so the landlord told them to go check him up. So they took him up and they checked him. Certainly he was sick. Then a man came into the tavern a man called captain Richard told the two surgeons that if they wanted to join along on a boat that would attack and attempt to weaken the Spanish fleet. Because Thomas wanted to be an adventurer he surely and fastly said of course. So they were on the boat and they saw that they were on a boat with Sir Francis Drake, in Cadiz the year is 1597 in France. So they treat patients who are hurt while everyone else fighting and destroying,causing chaos! Thomas and his master are having the time of there life, until tragedy hits and Thomas is now facing a very different future. The setting of this book is in France, 1797. I feel this is a good time period for the book because the French and Spanish don't like each other. And it was very early in our history. The type of conflict is person vs. person because when the Spanish and the French start going toe to toe it all turns for the worst. I think this book was awesome! I really think this should be the next book you check out.

My favorite part of the book was when captain Richard told Thomas and his master the opportunity to go on the ship. I feel this way because it was just really good to see people that help out get back something in return this way Tomas can feel like and adventurer like he always wanted to be! Also I understood why Thomas's master was addicted to wagering because you never know you can always hit the jackpot, but sometimes it can all go for the worst. The point of view of this book is first person because in the text it says," I suspected it was a sin to seek Christ Jesus's help in winning a wager". And this book uses words like I. I really liked how the author writes, he just uses lots of details to get you a picture in your head. In the text it says " my master lit the stub of a candle downstairs, where the fragrance of roasting cheese and toasted bread made my stomach grow."I can really picture that in my head.

Overall I give this book 4 out of five stars, it was an amazing book but it just wasn't my favorite. I recommend this book to all the people that really like this older time period because you will learn a lot about their lifestyle back then and how they were. So in conclusion this book it really great please make sure that this be the next book you check out from the library.

[Rosalee Flaherty · Rating 4 out of 5]

“I wished I could hang on to a rail, or hurry forward and fling my arms around the mainmast. Fear kept me where I was, alive to what was about to happen. I wanted only to stop the great wheel of days, and reverse every hour.” (Cadnum, 153). “Ship of Fire” by Michael Cadnum is a story that explores themes of resilience against adversity, courage, and survival. The story is based on a crew on a warship and the protagonist is one of the medics on said ship. The crew is not only faced with the physical challenges of the fire but also the physiological toll of their gruesome situation.

In the beginning of the story it is set in a tense situation of 2 medics on a warship for the first time and it is a hectic mess. “If you please, sirs, a seaman has squashed his finger.” (Cadnum, 59). This illustrates that even though they had only just got on the ship not too long ago they had to remove his finger. It describes that even though everything had been calm up to that moment anything could change at a second's notice.

In the middle of the story they are in the same setting where they are on a ship but now it is a lot more intense than in the beginning. As the battleship is being attacked and receiving similar blows the author states “The Barbara Grace vanished in the sudden burst of gun smoke, and shot screamed overhead.”(Cadnum, 110). This demonstrates that there was so much gun smoke that the enemy got away and could flee without being tracked. Not only was there so much smoke this shows that most of the sailors on the ship have the instinct to know when to stay and fight and when to leave.

At the end of the story, the ship catches fire leading to the reason for the name of the book but also they found themselves trapped by the fire not only physically but also emotionally and psychologically. “The smoke burned my eyes. It was too thick to breathe, a thick atmosphere of yellow and black fumes.” (Cadnum, 154). This demonstrates the physical reason why they were trapped on the ship and couldn’t escape. But also depicted that the black fog could be taken in a literal and figurative way as clearly you couldn’t see the black fog as a literal reason but also could be considered as something that is blocking the men from thinking clearly and as soon as they are out of it they no longer have this heavy pressure and pain on their shoulders.

In conclusion, I would recommend this book as it not only has emotional plot twists that take you on a rollercoaster but also gives you a good idea of what happened on those ships in the past. I believe this author did an amazing job writing this book and how it kept jerking me to continue reading. The characters are very well thought out and get you wondering about a couple of loose ends they only briefly talked about. The mood and time this was set in was a creative and brilliant way to turn such ideas into a wonderful story that I shall think of as an amazing story.

[Jaiden Rodriguez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ship of Fire, written by Michael Cadnum, is a historical fiction novel based on true events. This book is supposed to be a retelling of the raid on the Spanish port of Cadiz.

The novel takes place in the late 1500s, in London. It follows a seventeen year old, Thomas Spyre. Thomas is a surgeon's apprentice, who he obeys dearly. Thomas and his master are found in an unfortunate circumstance as his master spends all their money on a gamble. They go home with little to no money, and are trying to hide from their landlord to escape from paying rent. After they are caught by their landlord they are asked to help a sick doctor on the bottom floor of the building they are staying in. Multiple military men then show up and ask Thomas and his master to work in place of the sick doctor on a warship. This is where the story begins to pick up.

I thought this book was definitely interesting. The main character without a doubt goes through immense hardships on his journey, which made it fun to read. The author also uses a ton of imagery. It's almost like you can perfectly imagine the scene the author is trying to portray. The action in this book is also very enjoyable. However, the vocabulary used makes it a little harder to understand if you don't know exactly what the characters are referring to. Also the characters are a little confusing to understand why they would do certain actions.

All in all, I think if somebody is very interested in history and has the patience and ability to read through the novel I think they would enjoy this book very much.

[Phil Mathews · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the historical fiction novel “ship of Fire” by Michal Cadnum. Sir Francis Drake raids the Spanish port of Cadiz. A young surgeon apprentice named Thomas Spyre is given the opportunity to go on this adventure with his master. This chance came at the perfect time because Thomas’ master gambled away all their money. After his master has an accident that gets him killed, a terrified Thomas now realizes he is the only doctor on the ship even though he has never performed surgery. Now he finds himself at sea. Learning his job and how to fight as the crew invades new land.

The author uses a narrative perspective in the first person. This is meant for an older audience due to profanity. The book was challenging to read because it took too long for events to happen and lost my interest many times. However, someone who is interested in the Spanish war may find the book interesting.

[Bill Ibarra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Have you ever read a book that is so action packed that Bruce Willis should be the main character if not you should read Ship of Fire.The genre of this book has to be either fiction or historical because it has a little of both.I thought this book was good but not the best.
Thomas and his master were very wealthy until something bad happened.So now Thomas is on a voyage during the attack of 1587.The setting takes place in London,England the setting is significant to the story because things are done differently in England than in the U.S. back then.Thomas just wanted to live a happy healthy life but it all changed when his master made a terrible mistake so Thomas and his master are one of the poorest people in England then they are kicked out of their house because they don't have enough money to pay the monthly rent.The conflict for this book is person vs person because it has to deal with the attack of 1587.

I agree that Thomas was very unfortunate in this book.Like when he and his master lost all their money in a bet.Now they don't have money to buy food.I liked how the author made the story really action packed.Like when there was a battle vs a bear and a pack of dogs.

I couldn't understand why Thomas's master lost all their money.Now they don't have money to buy any food.The main character's problem now is that they are starving.They don't even have enough money to live in a home.

I would give this book four out of five stars because this was just a great book.I would recommend this book to anyone who likes lots of action.So if You like movies that Bruce Willis stars in read Ship of Fire.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very well-written tale of (fictional) young ship's surgeon fighting with Sir Francis Drake in Cadiz, Spain in 1597, in an attempt to weaken the Spanish fleet prior to the Armada. I would like to give it five stars, but hesitate because of the frequent and often nonchalant references to prostitutes in London's streets early in the book. Because this is teen literature, I don't feel comfortable recommending it to those young people who use my private library. Each family would need to decide. Rather sad, because the writing is very strong.

[Linnae · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wouldn't want to be dependent on old-time medicine, as practiced by young Thomas and his master. Leeches or lancets, anyone? The history was interesting, but the ending was unsatisfying. Several important loose ends were not tied up.

[Tucker.b. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ship of fire by Michael Cadnum is a good book. It has its ups and downs but it never really gets to a point where I cant stop reading. The book gets to a good point then just dies off. I also want a little more fighting in the book. Over all I liked the book but it could be better.

[Sojin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is wonderful of all ages.

[Alicia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some interesting info on the times, quite slow. Not much of an actual story.

[Laurie Williams · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good details of the time period, but the ending was a bit disappointing.