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Adam Bolitho #3
Man of War
In 1817 every harbor and estuary in Antigua is filled with ghostly ships, superfluous in the aftermath of war. In this uneasy peace, Adam Bolitho is offered the 74-gun Athena, a notoriously "unlucky" ship, and as flag-captain to Vice-Admiral Sir Graham Bethune he once more follows his destiny to the Caribbean.
320 pages, Paperback
First published December 31, 2002
42 people are currently reading
256 people want to read
About the author
Alexander Kent
229 books199 followersA pseudonym used by Douglas Reeman.
Series:
* Richard Bolitho
* Adam Bolitho
Series:
* Richard Bolitho
* Adam Bolitho
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
May 29, 2023
fighting the slave drivers to death
At one time it was popular to demean Britain’s fight for abolition, saying it was too little too late. That the slave trade was already over. There was even a Marxist take on that which disparaged the 20 year struggle of the abolitionists.
(Incidentally the UK abolitionists were a mixed bag: some Church of England, some Methodist, some atheist, some agnostic .. but reformers like Hazlitt, heroes like Nelson, royalty like the King, and the majority of the religious like the C of E and Evangelical clergy were supportive of slavery and The Trade prior to 1807.)
In any case, the detractors were wrong. For years after abolition in 1807 it was evident The Trade was not over. Decades. The three largest slave nations - the US, Cuba, and Brazil - continued to pay high prices for men, women and children captured and manacled and brought to them to be sold, with great profit, by the slave drivers who caught them and threw them into ships’ holds in hellish conditions for the transatlantic crossing.
So, no the slave trade was far from over in 1807.
And this is a story of those who kept up the fight against The Trade by means of blood, steel and courage.
At one time it was popular to demean Britain’s fight for abolition, saying it was too little too late. That the slave trade was already over. There was even a Marxist take on that which disparaged the 20 year struggle of the abolitionists.
(Incidentally the UK abolitionists were a mixed bag: some Church of England, some Methodist, some atheist, some agnostic .. but reformers like Hazlitt, heroes like Nelson, royalty like the King, and the majority of the religious like the C of E and Evangelical clergy were supportive of slavery and The Trade prior to 1807.)
In any case, the detractors were wrong. For years after abolition in 1807 it was evident The Trade was not over. Decades. The three largest slave nations - the US, Cuba, and Brazil - continued to pay high prices for men, women and children captured and manacled and brought to them to be sold, with great profit, by the slave drivers who caught them and threw them into ships’ holds in hellish conditions for the transatlantic crossing.
So, no the slave trade was far from over in 1807.
And this is a story of those who kept up the fight against The Trade by means of blood, steel and courage.
November 9, 2019
The 3rd of 5 books concerning Adam Bolitho's naval adventures. I rated this a 4 rather than a 5 because they didn't even get to sea till around page 120. But at least Adam's love life has improved. Several loses of long time family and friend members occurs. Back in the West Indies fighting slave traders. Two more books left in the series.
July 5, 2018
Enjoyable but not as good as Hornblower.
November 16, 2024
One might think it a bit strange to read a book that is #26 of a series at random, but some times that happens when you get random stuff at library book sales. There's a method to my weirdness though.
Naval fiction has a certain flow to it, so it's not like one it totally lost, and you can get the feel of the style of the author still, to see if the series might be good.
Sure, the character bits probably would have been more impactful if one had read the previous books with the characters.. it seems this certain is almost generational, going back 30+ years to the first one with Sir Richard (this is apparently the 3rd book with his nephew Adam, who is the central character).
I few of the mentions of previous adventures (surely contained in the previous books) were a bit silly, but most sounded pretty good.
The 1st half of the book was all about the ship that had clearly been used in at least a few previous adventures getting put out to pasture and Adam awating (and of course getting) a new assignment, so that part definitely was not great as a reader with no rooting interest in any of the people.
The upside is the author spent alot of time with historical analysis... talking about then end of the great age of naval battles and its impact on England... and its not often you get a look at England's attempt to fight the slave trade.
I'll definitely pick up others in the series if I come across them.
Naval fiction has a certain flow to it, so it's not like one it totally lost, and you can get the feel of the style of the author still, to see if the series might be good.
Sure, the character bits probably would have been more impactful if one had read the previous books with the characters.. it seems this certain is almost generational, going back 30+ years to the first one with Sir Richard (this is apparently the 3rd book with his nephew Adam, who is the central character).
I few of the mentions of previous adventures (surely contained in the previous books) were a bit silly, but most sounded pretty good.
The 1st half of the book was all about the ship that had clearly been used in at least a few previous adventures getting put out to pasture and Adam awating (and of course getting) a new assignment, so that part definitely was not great as a reader with no rooting interest in any of the people.
The upside is the author spent alot of time with historical analysis... talking about then end of the great age of naval battles and its impact on England... and its not often you get a look at England's attempt to fight the slave trade.
I'll definitely pick up others in the series if I come across them.
May 31, 2017
My up to standard.
Perhaps, in my humble opinion, the worst of all the authors books. Too much introspection by too many character's who were marching too too many different drums. The essential pert of the story got lost in all the psycho babble. I struggle to read this book and came close to abandoning the effort to read it rather than the enjoyable experience I have come to expect from the author.
Perhaps, in my humble opinion, the worst of all the authors books. Too much introspection by too many character's who were marching too too many different drums. The essential pert of the story got lost in all the psycho babble. I struggle to read this book and came close to abandoning the effort to read it rather than the enjoyable experience I have come to expect from the author.
October 7, 2020
The enemies are slavers, who under false colors, destroyed a fellow ship asking for medical help. All the sailors are charged with anger when the only survivor dies. The chase is long, hard, and scary.
I ran out of the first Napoleonic naval series, went to soldier Sharpe, and now Bolitho. Something about the combination of smarts, and power, usually more than the hero.
I ran out of the first Napoleonic naval series, went to soldier Sharpe, and now Bolitho. Something about the combination of smarts, and power, usually more than the hero.
February 23, 2017
This book clears the fate of Thomas Herrick, Nancy Bolitho, Fergerson, Lady Catharine, John and Unis Alday. It also leaves untidy the fate of Adam and Lowenna as well as Admiral Bethune. All in all a good and riveting sailing yarn.
May 7, 2021
Not as big of a fan of the Adam books but I've read the first 25 so I'm go to read the last ones. In this one he heads to the Caribbean where they do some anti slavery patrols. Not a huge amount of action and their are also a lot of personal stuff including Lady Katherine are taken care of.
August 6, 2018
2.5 rating
July 22, 2020
300 pages of meandering for 20 pages of action. Kind of hard to follow what is going on at times. Catherine has finally faded into history...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 20, 2022
Excellent.
Read
March 30, 2023I have enjoyed every Bolitho novel up to now but this one was a disaster nothing happened until twenty pages from the end .Very disappointed.
August 12, 2025
Apart from the final few pages, describing in detail a naval engagement, this book is a love-story potboiler, hardly worth opening.
March 3, 2009
Kent shows a lack of ingenuity with this volume -- more character based and less action. More flashbacks to Sir Richard than new characters, and less of a story line than earlier novels in this series. I considered this one a disappointment.
June 3, 2017
a tedious and melancholy novel with constant navel gazing. Hornblower without the style and panache.
Read
September 30, 2020Typical of the series, which I love. Action at sea and romance on shore. An old favorite passes on, and a new one becomes a hero.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews