Featured Books
Fighting Temeraire by Sam Willis
Live Yankees: The Sewalls and Their Ships by W. H. Bunting
His Majesty's Ship by Alaric Bond
Galveston's the Elissa: The Tall Ship of Texas by Kurt Voss
My River Chronicles - Rediscovering the America on the Hudson by Jessica DuLong
The Frigate Surprise: The Complete Story of the Ship Made Famous in the Novels of Patrick O'Brian by by Geoff Hunt and Brian Lavery
James Nelson's George Washington's Secret Navy
Defying Empire:Trading with the Enemy in Colonial New York by Thomas Truxes
Deadly Shoals, a Wiki Coffin Mystery by Joan Druett
Star Crossedby Linda Collison
The Privateer's Revenge: A Kydd Sea Adventure (Kydd Sea Adventures)
Peter Wicked: A Matty Graves Novel (The Matty Graves Novels)
The Jackass Frigate byAlaric Bond
Steady As She Goesby John Molloy
Voyages, the Age of Sail: Documents in American Maritime History, Volume I, 1492-1865
Expedition Whydah: The Story of the World's First Excavation of a Pirate Treasure Ship and the Man Who Found Her
Jewish Pirates of the Caribbean: How a Generation of Swashbuckling Jews Carved Out an Empire in the New World in Their Quest for Treasure, Religious Freedom--and Revenge
The Illustrated Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time
Alaric Bond’s “His Majesty’s Ship” – A Review
Whereas most nautical adventure fiction follows the same general format – tracking the exploits of a young ship’s officer, Alaric Bond takes a refreshingly different tack. His latest novel, His Majesty’s Ship does not focus on a single hero but follows multiple officers and crew of the 64 gun HMS Vigilant. His range of characters and his use of multiple points of view makes the novel feel fresh, original, and competely authentic. It makes for a very fun read.
Bond’s use of multiple points of view solves several inherent problems in writing about the Georgian Navy. One of my complaints with several of the authors currently writing, (though not yet reviewed on this blog,) is that their novels tend to be highly episodic. There is the need to find something interesting for the protagonist to do to hold the reader’s interest. In Bond’s His Majesty’s Ship, the officers, crew and to a large extent the ship itself provide the action. The shifting points of view capture the constant bustle of life aboard the HMS Vigilant; from Matthew, the young volunteer, who is literally learning the ropes; to the friction in the wardroom between Lt. Rogers, a mediocre officer born of wealth and influence, and his less affluent fellow officers; to the challenges faced by Captain Shepard, who must mold his highly mixed crew into some sort of coherent team capable of surviving Atlantic storms as well as the French.
What is remarkable is that Bond pulls this off so gracefully. His characters start as vivid cameos who grow into well rounded individuals as the book progresses. These multiple points of view allow Bond to to develop a nuanced portrait of the complex social and political order aboard ship. Writers have often portrayed ships in the age of sail as one of two stereotypes. Jack Aubrey’s ships are invariably a “band of brothers” while Melville’s Whitejacket leans more toward “sodomy, rum, and the lash.” Bond’s HMS Vigilant is a wonderful mix from across the spectrum.
There are indeed Jolly Jack Tars, happy to be sailors; right alongside pressed men, angry with their fate; as well as Irishmen, caught by the press, who would be more than happy to bring their own rebellion against the crown in action aboard ship. Ambitious young lieutenants rub elbows with wizened petty officers. We see desertion, flogging, and attempted murder, as well as loyalty, courage, valor and wit. Rather than a single perspective, Bond’s HMS Vigilant is a tapestry of both the competing and cooperative aspirations of the various and varied officers and crew.
Bond’s writing flows easily. It is well crafted and stylish without calling undue attention to itself. I felt completely drawn into the book, into the ship itself, from the cramped and airless gundeck to dizzying heights of the cross-trees. I found myself reading slowly, because I was so enjoying the language, the characters and the real sense of being aboard Bond’s Vigilant.
I highly recommend Alaric Bond’s His Majesty’s Ship.
Related posts: An Interview with Alaric Bond
Alaric Bond’s Jackass Frigate – a Review
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