True Colours (the Third Book in the Fighting Sail Series) [Englisch] [Taschenbuch]

Alaric Bond's new novel, True Colours, the third in his Fighting Sail series, is a fascinating and exciting look at a most perilous moment in British history. The novel begins in 1797. Britain is at war with the French and her Dutch allies. A French invasion force, supported by the formidable Dutch Navy is massing across the channel when the unthinkable occurs. The British fleet at Spithead mutinies. Not long after, the fleet at the Nore follows their example. The frigate Pandora returns from convoy duty after an attempted mutiny onboard, and only narrowly escapes being drawn into the Nore mutiny, as well.

The Pandora is dispatched to the North Sea fleet under the command of Admiral Duncan. It is, however, a fleet in name only. The great mutiny has stripped him of most of ships and so Duncan must pretend that his handful of ships is but the vanguard of a much larger fleet just over the horizon. If he can make the charade work, he may be able to buy enough time to gather together a fleet capable of defeating the Dutch and preventing an invasion.

There appears to be two divergent views of the Georgian navy. Most writers of nautical fiction portray the officers and the crew as Nelson did before Trafalgar, as a "band of brothers." Other writers suggest that Royal Navy traditions are as Churchill suggested, "Rum, sodomy and the lash." (A fair case might be made for rum, anyway.)

What is intriguing about True Colours is that Bond demonstrates that the two views may be not necessarily be contradictory. The Royal Navy sailors were the best sailors and shipboard fighters in the world. They were also ill treated and taken advantage of by the Admiralty and the British Parliament. The demands of the mutineers were not unreasonable and a mutiny should never have been necessary. At the same time, a mutiny in time of war is supremely badly timed and the mutineers at the Nore did go too far. Overall, Bond give us a nicely balance portrayal of the participants on both sides of the conflict.

Bond's portray of Admiral Adam Duncan is also fascinating. An under-appreciated character in naval history, Duncan's tactic of breaking the Dutch line, in the battle which would later be known as Camperdown, at the climax of the book, precedes Nelson's much lauded tactics at Trafalgar, by a full eight years.

In addition to portraying intriguing history, the writing in True Colours is simply wonderful. As with the other two books of the series, Bond does not focus on the young captain or a single character, but shifts gracefully through the points of view of the officers and men (and in one case, a woman,) from the gun deck, to the cockpit, to the wardroom. In the hands of a writer of lesser skill, these shifts of perspective might feel mechanical or confusing, but in True Colours and his previous books, Bond manages to make these shifts feel completely natural and almost organic. His ensemble of characters individually and collectively convey the setting and action so much more effectively than if limited to the viewpoint of one or two characters.

With True Colours, Alaric Bond unquestionably ranks with the best writers of nautical fiction. Highly recommended.

Midshipman Barrows reporting, sirs, about my engagement with True Colours. It is with great trepitude that I have to report that I have been defeated.

I've seldom been sorrier to turn the last page of a book. In fact, I was looking forward to the next chapter when I reached the glossary!

This series is getting better with each installment. Mr. Bond is settling comfortably into this mode of storytelling (i.e., every character is a main character) - this one left me with no desire for a dramatis personae. These people were all very real to me: there was not a one that did not catch my interest. as well as make me beg for them to survive each encounter with the enemy ... and exult when they did!

Highlights for me included:
Camperdown: This had to be the best description of a major sea battle I have ever read! Most authors excel at ship-to-ship engagements (and Bond is no exception), but few have left me other than adrift when it cpmes to major multi-ship encounters (I am a landlubber after all). This was one of the few exceptions: I had no need to consult a map or a Wikipedia description of a battle to understand what was taking place. Very well done!

Frasier: Very interesting character - I look forward to what the author has in mind for him in future installments. I would love reading more about how he came to his convictions, so strong that they allowed him to defy a captain!

Manning: wonderful character who definitely captured my interest.

Katherine: again, I cannot wait to see what the author has in store for her. She had my favorite line: "Robert, do you honestly expect me me to wait that long?" Yes, I guess I'm a romantic at the core...

Banks: After some initial misgivings, I find myself falling under his spell, just as his crew does. A character that grows, matures, and changes: what more could one wish?

Flint: Damn, what a character! A whole novel could be devoted to him! Unfortunately, he is given somewhat short shrift here. Of course, the novel could have been twice the length, now couldn't it...

... and ... oh ... enough gushing! There had to be some quibbles, now, didn't there? Minor, but:

I wish there had been a few pages devoted to the denouement of the relationship between Banks and Katherine ...
I was somewhat surprised at Powell's reaction to Jameson's infirmity: of all the crewmen, he is the last I would have expected to be scornful.
... and ... well ... that's it! That's all I could come up with to criticize!

Again, well done Mr. Bond! When is the next one coming out?

In reading the first book of this series I found it a little confusing keeping up with the cast of characters. It is the cast of characters that make this series a good and exciting read. The viewpoints come from not one main character, but several, ranging from the captain to the newest landsmen on the ship in some cases.
If you are through reading all the Hornblower, Aubrey, Kydd, Ramage, Lewrie, and others this is a good series to start on the ground floor and discover a new author in Alaric Bonds. Good 5 star reading. The last paragraph in "The Kids" review of this book is more explanatory than I ever could be.