The Gun Ketch

The Gun Ketch

From Library JournalThis fifth book in a series of 18th-century sea thrillers (following The King's Privateer , Donald I. Fine, 1992) continues the adventures of Royal Navy Officer Alan Lewrie. Posted to command the two-masted, ten-gun Alacrity with its new crew and officers, Lewrie is to sail to the Bahamas to protect trade and suppress piracy. Before leaving England, he takes a wife, whose presence aboard the Alacrity serves to curb his previous hell-raising lifestyle. Patrols in the Bahamas provide the focus of a story involving piracy, corruption in high places, and naval action at sea. Finally, Lewrie is able to bring the notorious pirate "Calico Jack" Finney to justice. Lambdin's work is comparable to that of masters such as C.S. Forester in its technical detail, but it is distinguished by the interesting use of bawdy humor and the fact that the author is an American. Recommended for public libraries.- Harold N. Boyer, Marple P.L., Broomall, Pa.Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.In the Bahamas to protect British merchants from pirates, Alan Lewrie becomes embroiled in a campaign to bring "Calico Jack" Finney to justice.From Publishers WeeklyAlthough we're accustomed to more rollicking tales about the Royal Navy's Lt. Alan Lewrie than Lambdin offers here--in the first scene our hero is being married, "quaking but not completely in terror of his bachelorhood's demise"--this followup to The King's Privateer is still a grand, satisfying yarn. Newlyweds Alan and Caroline set sail in 1786 for the Bahamas, where he'll captain HMS Alacrity to enforce the Navigation Acts. The handsome young Lewries are rapturously, carnally happy and Alan's occasional sea tours only hone their appetites for each other. But there are snakes in Eden. Alan finds himself in trouble with authority when he tries to fight smugglers honorably, and simultaneously to suppress jealousy about Caroline. Lambdin throws in a lot of ripping sea and land battles, a slew of vicious pirates and smugglers, a couple of nasty nemeses and one very dangerous corrupt official. Alan's triumph is only one of many things to cheer about--series fans as well as newcomers will relish Lambdin's unerring depiction of Navy politicking, the niceties of Nassau society (including the hierarchy of color among natives) and, in fact, all the rich details of late-18th-century life at sea and shore.Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.From Kirkus ReviewsAlan Lewrie, the amiable rakehell who sailed through The King's Coat, the King's Commission, and The King's Privateer, is back with his own command, a lovely ketch, and--what's this?--a wife. Married? Alan Lewrie? George III's handsome young naval officer, the sailor no woman can resist? It's true. Lewrie's fans will not be surprised to know that the lucky woman is plucky, colonial Caroline Chiswick. Miss Chiswick, whose loyalist family Alan rescued from the collapsing Carolinas during the American insurrection, has been living in rural Surrey on the sour generosity of her uncle, a grasping farmer who would like to see her married to the odious son of his wealthy, titled neighbor. Fortunately, Alan drops in on his way to Portsmouth, where he will take command of the ketch Alacrity. Caroline, who has been angling for Lewrie since she first saw him, reels him in. It wasn't hard. She's uncommonly pretty, smart as a whip, and every bit as randy as he is. Alan takes his bride on Alacrity's shakedown cruise across the Atlantic to the Bahamas, where he and the ship will be stationed for the next three years. Caroline gets dreadfully seasick, and Alan learns that he has a dashed fine first officer in young Lt. Ballard. Once in Nassau the newlyweds set up housekeeping and have adventures. The Bahamian adventures have to do with a rotten commodore, a villainous Irish merchant, a terrifying assault on the new Mrs. Lewrie, fatherhood, and a seemingly endless supply of pirates. Shipshape. Oh, and