Kydd

Thomas Kydd #1

by Julian Stockwin

From internationally bestselling author Julian Stockwell comes a dramatic story closely based on real events following one man’s journey as he becomes a true sailor and defender of Britain.Europe is ablaze with war. The British prime minister is under pressure to intimidate the French and dispatches a Navy squadron to appear off the French coast. To man the ships, ordinary citizens must be press-ganged. Thomas Paine Kydd, a young wig-maker from Guildford, is seized and taken across the country to be part of the crew of the ninety-eight-gun line-of-battle ship Duke William. The ship sails immediately and Kydd has to learn the harsh realities of shipboard life fast. Despite all he goes through, amid dangers of tempest and battle, he comes to admire the skills and courage of his fellow seamen, taking up the challenge himself to become a true sailor and defender of Britain at war. Kydd launches a masterly writing talent and is the first installment of a thrilling new series. Based on dramatic real events, it is classic storytelling at its best, rich with action, exceptional characters, and a page-turning narrative.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical, Adventure, Nautical, War, Audiobook

272 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

Julian Stockwin was sent at the age of fourteen to Indefatigable, a tough sea-training school. He joined the Royal Navy at fifteen. He now lives in Devon with his wife Kathy. Julian has written 24 books to date in the Kydd series of historical adventure fiction, the story of one man's journey from pressed man to admiral in the age of fighting sail, and a non-fiction book, 'Stockwin's Maritime Miscellany.' His latest Kydd series title is THUNDERER. And, he's also published two historical standalone novels, THE SILK TREE, set in the time of Emperor Justinian and THE POWDER OF DEATH, about the quest for the secret of gunpowder.

Series:
* Thomas Kydd

Reviews

[Clemens Schoonderwoert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this book in 2005, and its the 1st volume of the wonderful "Thomas Kydd" series, from the author, Julian Stockwin.

The year is AD 1793, and England needs seamen to make the numbers on board the fighting ships, Thomas Kydd, a young wigmaker by trade from Guildford, finds himself press-ganged, and shortly afterwards member of the lower deck of the 98-gun ship-of-the-line, the "Royal William".

While on board this ship-on-the-line he will get to know a certain Nicholas Renzi, a man with a secret inheritance, and several others who will play a big part in this tale in teaching Kydd the way of life at sea, and most of those other persons will also feature in future books.

Though old and rotten in most places this Royal William will be Kydd's test to become an able seaman, with all its risks and courage that's needed when one wants and needs to succeed as a true sailor.

What is to follow is an astonishing naval story accompanied with authentic sea-language speaking on board this ship-of-the-line "Royal William", and where every action is wonderfully pictured and brought to life by the author in his own remarkable and knowledgeable fashion.

Highly recommended, for this is a fantastic opener of a great series, and that's why I like to call this first episode: "A Glorious Thomas Kydd Begin"!

[Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Having read Tyger as part of the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program and been impressed, I wanted to read the whole Kydd series. This one is the first novel concerning Thomas Kydd, press-ganged into the Royal Navy, which is fighting the French--how he gets his start, rises from ignorant landlubber to learning seamanship: to "hand, reef, and steer". He comes to love the seafaring life. Along the way, he has a mentor: Bowyer, who "shows him the ropes" [pun intended] and makes a friend of a member of the gentry, Nicholas. Bowyer was a good device to explain something of shipboard life in the 18th century--to me as well as to Kydd. The novel did not lack for exciting adventures.

I was somewhat overwhelmed by all the nautical jargon. This novel was not as good as the later one, but this novel gave me a taste of the nautical life among common seamen. But it is a promising start to the series. I know it will be as enjoyable as the Hornblower series. I wish there had been a labeled line drawing of the "Duke William", a Dramatis Personae of the men with their ranks, and a nautical and slang glossary. The mens' speech in dialect was easy to comprehend for the most part.

Recommended.

[Nente · Rating 2 out of 5]

So I wasn't looking for a second O'Brian; stupid to expect a "second" anyone, and this one doesn't invite comparison because it starts from a very different premise.

That premise - having a protagonist to be a forcibly-pressed seaman instead of an officer - was initially the most promising thing about this book. But it needed a really skilful treatment, and didn't get any. There's a good reason why most nautical adventures are focused on officers: they're the ones having the information, making the important decisions, and thinking about more than just one ship and more than the immediate future, so it's easier to build a coherent story around them.

And while looking at the ordinary life of an ordinary seaman can be intriguing, it would go stale with boredom as quick as their life probably did. Where to get the narrative flow and conflict? In this book, unfortunately, Stockwin doesn't even attempt that; he simply sticks together a bunch of happenings, often with the next one starting before the previous can be properly resolved. Characterization also suffers; I get it that Kydd needs to learn and rise, but we really aren't shown that - it's all "he suddenly felt an intuitive whatever" or "now he knew how to do smth else". It gets even worse on interactions, both friends and enemies spring out of a trap for no reason, just because.

In fact, 2 stars are only because it's not as egregiously bad as some other attempts at 1800's nautical adventure. I might have a look at book 5 or so, see if the author's found his style by then.

P.S. And for a "non-commanding" viewpoint, the best I've ever read is Cabo Trafalgar; though you know how that would end.

[Magdalena Kossakowska · Rating 4 out of 5]

Now I know every line, mast and deck on the ship-of-the-line:-)

[Simon Brading · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's not quite Hornblower, but it'll do! The Napoleonic wars at sea as seen from the lower decks.

[Duzzlebrarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is the first of the series, and therefore the clumsiest. They get better. Actually, they get very good.

Stockwin is the only good successor to O'Brian and Forester. The difference between his series and theirs is the fact that Kydd starts out as the lowest landlubber in the navy, so that as he learns his way around, so do you. The idea of Kydd and Renzi managing to stay in the same ship all the time is a little hard to believe, but it's a small quibble.

Also, incidentally, the cover art is spectacular in the whole series.

[DeLace Munger · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found the intensely authentic use of nautical terms to be a bit overwhelming in this novel. The action did pick up but it took a while to get there. I almost think the author would have been well served to include a diagram of the vessel and the various parts that have such strange and mysterious names.

I agree with others who say that the character progresses a bit too quickly and that things seem to go a bit too easily for him but he does experience some great unfairness as well and I would say that his eagerness to volunteer seems to aid him in his advancement. I'm sure there might have been an English wig-maker who was press ganged onto a naval vessel and hated it so much that he rejected everything, did the bare minimum to keep from being flogged too often and died an early and ignoble death as a result of his own stupidity, laziness or bad luck.

But who the heck wants to read about that guy?

I enjoyed the history and the setting of this novel and I may read more of the series later. I recommend it to anyone who likes a story set in the age of sail or might be an Anglophile or even just a rags-to-riches type of tale.

[Leigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this story and its ability to explain the pains that "pressed man" went through once pressed into the service. The journey from been everything been foreign to been able to understand and preform the duties of a Sailor was different to what I have read in the pasted and loved the idea. The only criticism is that some events in the story just finished and I felt need to go deeper. But all in all I loved it.

[Joseph Feldman-Peterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well here's the lore: when I was at a super famous old book store in Porto, Portugal, I eyed this book about a naval officer and was like: "yo that is right up my alley." I flipped it open and oops, it was the 24th book in this series or something. So I checked the first book out from the library, but ended up binging this and book 2 on audio format. Excellent stuff.

[S.E. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This naval adventure book is set in 1793, at the time of the French Revolution, when France declared war on Britain, Austria and some other countries [US was neutral in this case]. The first book in this series, it chronicles the sea adventures of 17-year-old Thomas Kydd, a wig-maker, who was press-ganged into service on the warship, Duke William. Although it did not keep me deeply engrossed throughout, I enjoyed it and the 2nd half of the book was more happening. You learn a lot about life as a sailor at that time - a tremendously hard and dangerous life, esp for the common seamen (non-officers). Men die all the time, not only from war, but also from accidents during daily chores (eg. manual setting of the sails high up at the masts) - hardly any leisure, the food always bad, stiff penalties for minor offences etc. The author kept as close to actual facts as he could (incl. the way they speak, which made it a little hard to follow the conversations). All the ships found in the book actually existed except the names of the ships were changed. There were some alterations to the actual events, of course, but apparently, he kept the changes to a minimum. Knowing that I was reading something very close to real history definitely made the book more interesting.

I was presented with some problems in the beginning, mainly in naval terminology. As the Kindle dictionary did not provide the definitions of every naval term I checked, I had to print out info from the internet showing the different parts of a ship to help me along. Now, I proudly declare that I know terms like mizzenmast, binnacle, bowsprit, fo'c's'le, orlop etc!! I am definitely tempted to move on to other books in this series as I am curious to see what Thomas Kydd makes of himself as a seaman

[Anthony Lavisher · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this adventure story. From the harsh and sometimes shocking reality of life aboard a naval ship, to the camaraderie that develops between Kydd and some of his fellow shipmates, I was totally hooked by Julian Stockwin's tale.
From the off, I was drawn into the story, fascinated by the insight the author gives the reader into what life must have been like aboard one of His Majesty's ships. Whilst the sea-faring talk took a couple of chapters for me to get to grips with, it only helped to add depth and flavour to the story, helping to set the scene for the future adventures of Thomas Kydd.
I, for one, shall certainly be setting sail on future adventures with Julian Stockwin.

[Dmitry · Rating 2 out of 5]

One more hope dashed - that of finding a historical novel that would be on par with the fantastic writing of Patrick O'Brian.

As opposed to Captain Aubrey, freshly promoted to Master and Commander in the beginning of the eponymous book, Kydd is a pressed man, and he comes by way of the foc'sle. The first novel was entertaining enough, although the melodrama is present already in spades, but by the end of this first book it was already clear, that no amount of historical accuracy or cockney accent with lots of apostrophe thrown into the mix could overweight cardboard characters and unsophisticated writing. Back to O'Brian then (*sigh*).

[Dawn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Set in 1793 during the Napoleonic War between England and France, there isn't alot about the war itself but it is an interesting look at life on board a british navy ship. Unlike other books of this type who look at the navy from an officers view, this one is from the view of a man 'pressed' into service.

I really could have used a schematic of the 98 gun ship featured in the book as, for the most part, the descriptions were lost on me but the detail and accuracy of the story is undeniable.

It may not be the best of the historic naval books but I enjoyed it nontheless.

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent series by Mr. Stockwin who literally learned his ropes at TS Indefatigable, a British seafaring school for boys. Fast moving tales. Well researched and right up there with CS Forester, Patrick O'Brian and Douglass Reeman, aka Alexander Kent.

[Andrew · Rating 2 out of 5]

Coxswain, Lee Lanyards, and Mizzenmast. Really cool words... and I have no idea what they mean!! Those are just a few small examples of a myriad of sailing terms that Julian Stockwin uses in his book "Kydd." The use of which clearly validates the author's knowledge and helps me, as the reader, to believe in the story that is being told. It's an essential characteristic of good story telling. You have to understand the subject matter and be able to write in a way that wins the trust of your readers. Very early on I was convinced that Julian knew what he was talking about. However, I found that it's entirely possible to overdo it. And unfortunately, "Kydd" is a perfect example of this.

I'm sure every reader is different, and some absolutely love the endless details. Not me. I need those details so that I can be convinced to believe in your story. I need details when they help move the plot along or to develop certain characters. However, I do not need details simply because they can be written and added as what appears to be, filler. I couldn't help but get frustrated as I would look back over 20-30 pages and realize that the story had only progressed a small amount. I was sifting through what seemed like an 18th century sailing manual and getting bored because I didn't know what the terms meant. I spent way too much time looking up the terms only to find that it didn't really matter. Knowing exactly what the difference is between the Mizzenmast and the Jiggermast didn't add to my reading experience or help me understand the story plot better. In the end, I determined that Mr. Stockwin has included these details because he is familiar with ships. From his bio it's clear that sailing is a huge part of his life and I have to believe that the endless details in his story are simply a product of one man's extreme interest in the subject. And again, I'm sure some readers love that. But for me, it simply slowed down the story and made each page an unbearable illustration of my lack of marine knowledge.

Lastly, the way that a character speaks is very important. Ever since reading The Black Cauldron I found an appreciation for the interesting dialogue of hard to understand characters (like Gurgi). Sometimes a character like that is really flavorful to a story. However, if ever single character in The Black Cauldron spoke like Gurgi, I would quickly lose interest. That type of dialogue takes a slower reading to fully understand the message and what is being said. Well, once again, I'm disappointed in the author's choice here. Every character's dialogue is written in broken sailor english. It makes reading the dialogue a real challenge. The truth is, when everyone is different, no one is different. So by making every character speak in a very broken and hard to read/understand tongue none of the characters are unique (at least not in the way they speak). If there had only been one or two of the sailors who spoke in an especially thick accent (and their dialogue was written that way) then it would be completely tolerable, even interesting. As it is, I found the dialogue another chore that was completely unfulfilling. I mean, good hell, what is the term "foc's'lman" even supposed to refer to? I would have much rather had the dialogue written in simple English and let me, the reader, add the unique sailor accent as I read.

In short, this book was slow. The characters were indiscernible from one another. And at halfway through the book the story has yet to materialize into anything threatening, exciting, different, or simply intriguing.

[James Rivett · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am a big fan of this genre and have been reading it alongside an abiding love for the sea for nearly 40 years. Although I was not overly thrilled by the actual story, I could not fault the detailed description of the sailing and specifically the mechanics of the sails and rigging. Stockwin does an incredible job bringing the ship to life in a way few other writers have managed.
Therefore, I would happily give the sailing handbook and the explanations of setting and trimming sails, steerage and navigation, etc, a five-star review, but sadly, a two dimensional story filled with clichéd characters let it down.
I am under the impression the series improves greatly over time, so I shall be giving Kydd a few more chances, even if only for his lessons in seamanship.

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wigmaker Thomas Kydd was pressed into service in the British Royal Navy during war with the French. He has a choice to either bemoan his undeserved fate or become a true sailor. Helped along by various mentors, he learns the ropes and sailing secrets until a betrayal pushes him over the edge. Kydd is a sympathetic character with a noble nature despite his humble origins. While I skimmed over some of the nautical details, I followed Kydd’s story with interest and am anxious to see what happens to him next. There’s a similarity to Horatio Hornblower but from the vantage point of a lowly crew member rather than a young officer. If you’ve enjoyed that series, you’ll like this one.

[Rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

Despite this theme being fairly common among sea adventures, this was an engaging and exciting book.
It offered a taste of realism as well as adventure and excitement, without the tedious focus on blood, bodily fluids and general nastiness that most authors striving to offer authenticity dwell upon.
In short, read better, but certainly read worse.

[DiscoSpacePanther · Rating 4 out of 5]

Most enjoyable naval adventure set aboard a late eighteenth century British ship of the line.
Not as scrupulously historical as the Aubrey & Maturin novels, but filled to the brim with colourful seamen, violently overbearing officers, and cowardly and vicious Frenchies.
One star knocked off for the strongly episodic structure to the narrative that felt oddly forced, and the very occasional jumps to a different POV character for a paragraph or two.
I am not averse to reading more of Kydd’s adventures in future.

[Jake Cooke · Rating 4 out of 5]

almost as good as Hornblower

[Elena · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have to say this for Stockwin, he keeps the pace up! There’s never a dull moment in this story, just adventure after adventure, none of which seem to have an awful lot of impact or consequences on each other. I really enjoyed this read and would read more of Kydd, in the hopes he and his mates develop more as characters. I really could have done with a cross section diagram of the Duke William and a glossary—the nautical jargon was exciting, but I was googling the terms every five minutes!

[Truls Ljungström · Rating 3 out of 5]

En hyllning till skömannaväsenet; som verkligen behandlas som ett väsen i denna text. Individer ja, men mer präglade av sitt skrå och sin omständighet än något annat. Mycket imponerande.

[Alice · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book!
I’ve resisted reading this series for years, because I’ve already survived the Napoleonic wars with my favourite seaman, Jack Aubrey.
It’s impossible not to compare the two series, but so far I’m enjoying being thrust back into the harsh world of the sailor, where comradery and villainy coexist, and friends and foes must cooperate to survive at sea.

[Nicole · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thomas Payne Kydd is seized and made part of the crew of the battle ship Duke William, an 18th century warship. Is the story of him becoming a sea man and how this is his new life on the sea. For me this book was just OK, though well written, it is a very descriptive story of the processes of sailing a ship such as this.

[Andrew Alox · Rating 3 out of 5]

Despite this book not being something I'd normally read, i found it very easy to get into and quickly became immersed in the story. However right at what I felt was the climax of the story we are hit with some dreaded skips that did not fit the pacing of the previous quarters. This ultimately made me feel uninterested and reluctant to find out what happens in the rest of the series.

[Brent Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

A thoroughly enjoyable read for we who enjoy _historical_ nautical novels. I was hoping for a sweeping sea adventure book, akin to the Aubrey/Maturin and Horatio Hornblower series. I wasn't disappointed. Stockwin cleverly sets lessons about the world of seamanship into the context of Kydd's learning rather than long dry bouts of exposition. The blend of dark and light is to my taste. I'm now reading the rest of the series.

The weak point is, as in all historical fiction, fitting real historical events into the life of a fictional protagonist; he must survive every situation, no matter how dire, so that the series can continue. But I love the fact that I can look up the events described and learn more about this period in history.

[Elise · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this book up from the library because I liked the cover art. I thought this book had a really great premise and was definitely a fun adventure story. I also felt like I was learning quite a bit of history about life in the Royal Navy. My main problem with the book was that it was always a little too easy for Kydd. How many pressed men who were formerly wig-makers would decide to embrace sailing and then just easily pick up all these specialized skills in such a short time? The author is pretty weak on any sort of emotional/physical struggle Kydd must have faced if he were a real person (in the afterword, the author explains Kydd is based on a few real men who rose through the ranks from initially being pressed into service. Truly amazing that such a thing could occur, and I'm sure not so easy as he makes it sound). My other problem was it is so typically male in its glorification of the horrors of war. Limbs a'flyin'! Bravery! More limbs! That bothers me and I don't think I will read the next in the series for those reasons.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

With the loss of Patrick O'Brian his fans were left wanting more adventure. Julian Stockwin has picked up the pen and is continuing the story of British sailors and their wooden ships of war. Stockwin is a new voice telling the story from a different perspective. It doesn't take long to get to know his characters and develop an interest in their activities. Critics of this first installment have pointed out that Thomas Kydd seems to be excelling a bit too rapidly. In the first book he goes from being a young wig maker who had never been to sea to a heroic able seaman. Still, it feels good to be back at sea again. I'm off to the library to pick up the next volume.

[Brenda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I discovered the Thomas Kydd books thanks to my spouse and reamed through the whole set one after the other. If you liked the rousing sea adventures of Patrick O'Brien, you will adore these. The author writes from the experience of service in the Royal Navy and has traveled to all the sites of his stories. The delightful thing about them is they are written from the point of view of Kydd, a young wig maker who is impressed into the Royal Navy in the glorious age of sail. This series is on-going and I can't wait to read the next one when it comes out next year. Wonderful historically accurate stories of the Napoleonic era. Highly recommended.

[Jeremiah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am gong to give the second book a chance because I love the subject matter, however, this book was difficult to read. I don't have a working knowledge of 18th century ship parts or term, so it was a bit much. The author obviously did his research and i apricate it. All of the foreign words and slang made this book slightly infuriating to read. I understood the French better then the English slang that was used.