Whereas the 'Corvette' started slow and ended fast; this starts off on page one with a panic situation in a gale off the Lizard, forcing Nat to club-haul the ship out of danger... This is so well-described you can almost feel the ship straining beneath your feet as the anchor wrenches the bows 12 points through the wind onto the other tack and safety.

The threat of now-Emperor Napoleon's invasion requires Nat's constant vigilance over the French ports, destroying any likely transports and incidentally aiding the spy network in their subversive attempts to overthrow the 'little corporal'. During this routine blockading, the intransigent midshipman Lord Walmsley pushes his status too far and ends up over a cannon wearing a check shirt, then a transfer out of Nat's hair - but who turns up in the future, like a bad penny.

Despite the blockade, the Frogs break out and, in company with the Dons, apparently head to the W.Indies, leaving Nat to wait for Nelson appearing from the Med. Nat gets a transfer to a 74, but in a turn of events he is captured by the Spaniards and flung into prison with his officers. The loathsome Santhonax appears again to quiz Nat and do more dirty deeds as the book closes.

Trafalgar forms the high point of the story, with Nat only able to view the carnage from the orlop of the French 'Bucentaure' 80, where he was transferred as prisoner with little Gillespy.

We see more of the character of Mr.Q, Mr. Frey & Lt.Rogers in this book as well as more of the strategy of the defence of Britain, as Nat becomes more accepted by those in command. A small reference in a letter from his wife, tells us that Nat has fostered poor little Billy Cue Maxted, the Mid whose legs were blown off in the action with 'Requin' off Greenland (in the previous volume 'Corvette'). This touching generosity, the tenderness he shows to little Mr. Gillespy and his encouragement of Mr.Frey reveals a different side to the cool, collected tactician we normally see.
Mr.Woodman's writing gets better and better with each story - more fluid and confident, yet providing another level of suspense under the surface; meanings are implicit rather than voiced; inferences made by subtle suggestion rather than bald statement, which makes this a real pleasure to read.
As good as the best in the genre. *****

This is book No. 6 in the Nathaniel Drinkwater series. In this story, Drinkwater is in command of the frigate Antigone on blockade duty in the English Channel, the Bay of Biscay, and along the Spanish coast. It covers a time period from March 1804 to April 1806, and involves Drinkwater in Calder's action and in the Battle at Cape Trafalgar, although aboard a French ship in the latter action! The book is well researched and covers details not found in run-of-the-mill history books. It is highly recommended to readers studying this particular segment of history. While the main plot can stand alone by itself, the book carries forward various characters from previous books, so it is helpful to have read the Drinkwater series in chronological order (I have been unable to find books 4 and 5 in the series from any source, but hopefully they will be reprinted).

1805 is the sixth entry in the Nathaniel Drinkwater series. The first six books of the series were copyrighted within 4 years and the next six took ten years to come out. Woodman wrote the first books rapidly. The result is a high level of intensity and some unevenness but the series is of very high quality for the genre. The series has tackled a number of serious themes while incorporating dramatic naval action and 1805 is no exception.

1805 starts in 1804 with Napoleon threatening to invade England. Drinkwater, now a captain, must patrol the English Channel to ensure that the French cannot bring a huge army across and subdue the stubborn English. With the powerful Royal Navy besting the French at every tack, was an invasion of England ever a real threat? Woodman makes a strong case that the answer is yes. Woodman, through letters from Drinkwater's wife, conveys the tension that was felt by English people at the time. Whether the threat was real or not, the reader is convinced that it was.

The reader also gets a sense of the loneliness felt by sailors with months or years of separation from their families. Drinkwater becomes a father figure to Midshipman Gillespy. Woodman presents the irony of Drinkwater being a father to a boy who is not his own while his own son is fatherless at home. The loss of fathers for indefinite periods of time or permanently is one of war's great tragedies and Woodman portrays it with some understatement.

Modern readers also know that 1805 culminated in the Battle of Trafalgar, which was Britain's greatest naval victory and perhaps the most decisive naval battle in history. Drinkwater has a unique perspective on the battle. Woodman's description of the battle through Drinkwater's eyes is a vision of hell, a vision that rings very true. Even though the reader sees the battle from the English perspective and the battle is a victory, Woodman emphasizes the tragedy.

1805 is a little uneven but Woodman more than makes up for this by his description of the events leading up to the Battle of Trafalgar and the description of the battle itself from Drinkwater's vantage point. 1805 is a powerful novel that has probably not received the recognition that it should. Without Trafalgar this is just another naval novel but with Trafalgar it's a masterstroke. It's every man's duty to read this one!

This account of one of the most fascinating eras and places in Old West history thrills the reader more than fiction could possibly do. I read this book as a kid and it remains one of my all time favorites. (Studying the Old West is my hobby, and I teach high school history.) The characters Mr. Langford presents from his own observations are more colorful than any invented by Zane Gray, for example. I'm surprised that no feature film has be made on Henry Plummer. His duel role as sheriff and bad man has been depicted several times stereotypically in Western movies, but no actual account of his life in the early gold-rush towns of western Montana has yet been done. Dimsdale's "The Vigilantes of Montana" is the most well-known primary source of vigilante action in Montana, but his was written much later after the fact. Mr. Langford's book came fresh from his memory of his own participation in the dealings of vigilante justice to "clean up" the commonplace violence in old Virginia City and Bannock, Montana.

If you want to read about the rise and demise Henry Plummer and his band of cutthroats, this is the best book I can recommend to you. Langford was the executive secretary of the Virginia City MT vigilence committee and he "tells it like it was". This book's dust jacket says in effect the book's victorian prose is worth wading through to hear a stirring first person account of the MT vigilante's activity - and that comment is nonsense. Langford's tale may ramble on occasion and his prose may be stilted on occasion. However, you will probably feel your sphincter tighten as the good guys start kicking dry goods boxes out from under cutthroats who, unlike today's criminals, knew justice was being served with dispatch. It's history, but a moving story told like no one else could.

Set in 1814 after Napoleon has abdicated as Emperor of the French, Richard Woodman's, The Shadow Of The Eagle, is a superbly written historical novel filled with intrigue and ruthless politics , from the Russian Tsar's delusions of grandeur to the naval forces of Great Britain pressing relentless war against America. A single man, Captain Nathaniel Drinkwater attending King Louis, learns of a deadly threat to peace that he must personally risk life and limb to combat. The Shadow Of The Eagle is a very compelling, entertaining, action/adventure read from first page to last.

Marking the coming-of-professional-age of Drinkwater, this book better than any other describes the sheer drudgery of blockade and small-ship work in the Age of Sail. Undoubtedly be best of the lot.

A King's Cutter has its biggest disappointment in its opening: ten years have passed since the first Nathaniel Drinkwater novel, An Eye of the Fleet. I couldn't help but be disappointed that Woodman had squandered ten years of possible adventures for Drinkwater. Given the time scale of the novels, that amounts to 4-5 novels that could have been written and won't be. A King's Cutter finds Drinkwater no further ahead than he was at the end of the first novel. He has married but has not advanced in the Royal Navy. However, a bloody war is not far off and Drinkwater has some apparently minor opportunities.

A King's Cutter features some of the same characters from An Eye of the Fleet, most notably Lieutenant Devaux and seaman Tregembo. The vile sodomite Morris is missing although it was implied that he would be back. Drinkwater has a new nemesis in Edouard Santhonax, an enemy who Drinkwater will face in subsequent episodes. The novel covers a period that begins just before war with Revolutionary France, includes the mutiny at Spithead and culminates with the Battle of Camperdown. Intrigue and subterfuge are as much a part of A King's Cutter as broadsides and boarding parties.

Like its predecessor, A King's Cutter has gothic elements. There are mysterious forces at work, which are neither fully understood nor explained. Even Drinkwater, who is as decent a human being as any in the RN, has a dark side to him. While graphically violent scenes are not present as in its predecessor, it is clear that life at the time is nasty, brutish and short and that warfare is not a sport of gentlemen.

Woodman has carved out a different niche from other writers of the genre; one that is unique, appealing and an interesting contrast to earlier series.

This may be one of the better books in the Nathaniel Drinkwater series, dealing with the hazards and slow promotion of a young officer in the Royal Navy. It covers his duties as an acting lieutenant, then sailing master, of the cutter Kestral from 1792 - 1797. The book was well researched by the author, and fits in well for that historical period, giving details of the mutiny within the Channel Fleet, the events leading to the Battle of Camperdown, etc.

This is book five in the Drinkwater series, and was a bit of a disappointment after some of the earlier books. Once again, the author skips forward. Book four, "The Bomb Vessel," ended in July 1801 after the First Battle of Copenhagen. This book covers a relatively brief period from May to November 1803, falling into the tendency that Patrick O'Brien had in some of his later novels of putting a little too much action into too short a period of time (sometimes moving ships about the ocean at fantastic rates of speed).

At the beginning of this story, we find Drinkwater on the beach, recovering from a wound received between novels. Admiral Jervis (now Earl St. Vincent and First Lord of the Admiralty) was known for promoting officers based on ability rather than interest, and he gives Drinkwater (now a commander) temporary command of the twenty-gun sloop Melusine after the ship's captain in incapacitated and resigns (why this would only be a temporary command is not entirely clear - Jervis had the authority to promote officers).

Action finds Drinkwater guarding a whaling fleet in the Greenland Sea, dealing with French privateers and English renegades, and seeking a French base. There is considerable detail about the operation of the whaling fleet and the hazards involved in arctic whaling. John Nicol, in his autobiography, gave a brief description of a voyage on a whaling ship to the Greenland Sea, and noted his resolution not to make another.

Like other novels in the series, characters in this novel carry over into the next.

The book is in three parts, in the first of which Acting Captain Drinkwater must establish his leadership in a new command and lead a convoy of hard-bitten and angry whalers onto the Greenland whaling grounds. The second concerns the hunt for whales and, despite its misfortunes, how Drinkwater slips into a yacht cruise mentality. The third part returns us to the fact they are all at war with the French, who are rumored to have sent out corsairs during the false peace of 1802 to lay in wait and cripple the British economy when the world war resumed.

I found this one of the most interesting in the series. For all the Napoleonic era novels out there, this contains the first discussion of whaling in the North Atlantic I recall (and only a few other series include the more familiar Pacific whalers). Also, Drinkwater essays humor on occasion, despite his author's rather grim prose and concern with political machinations. Drinkwater often struggles with scepticism and faith, God, and duty to the navy, abetted here by a pastor/surgeon who is philosophically inclined and by a righteously subversive whaling captain. Woodman describes the arctic well, but only occasionally does he evoke its beauty and terror. Pay very close attention to the beginning chapters for there are clues to anticipating a final mystery. If you understand sailing commands and constantly track the state of the wind through the story then all the ship maneuvers make sense; otherwise ignore them as nautical "period atmosphere" and be poorer for it.

We get to hear more sail commands than usual, thanks to an insecure but punctilious 3rd lieutenant, and also learn in great detail the meaning of "jury-rigged." What strange names some fictional captains have: Drinkwater, Hornblower-and quite the opposite of their true characters.

Nat is now elevated to Master & Commander and given Job-Captain cy in charge of a corvette as escort to a group of whalers bound for Greenland. As well as the usual excellent sail evolutions, there is wonderful description of below-decks life here, as well as incidental details (some qory) of whaling boats and the hunt.

Several plots run together in this story; the threat of privateers; the differing agendas of the whalers; insubordination in the officers; and a pastor with a past. All are handled by a Captain who has matured as much as his author, in a way that has neither the bluffness of Jack Aubrey, nor the asperity of Hornblower.
Excellent reading; but why can I not find Mr. Woodman on the average bookstore's shelves? *****

This is the place to start this series, with Nathaniel Drinkwater as one lowly midshipman (where DO these naval authors get their strange names: Hornblower? Easy? Ramage?). I'm enjoying the stories even though I've skipped about depending on what was available. Now they are all being reprinted in a very good trade edition from Sheridan House (just to prove McBooks doesn't have a lock on the genre). This is also one of the few in the series that takes place in American waters, here while that very claim was being first disputed, 1780. Drinkwater is learning his sea-faring trade in a series of episodes where he increases in maturity and responsibility, through a smashing battle, a fight for rank in the mess, and capture and mutiny. The author constructs a very authentic feel in the details of ship-board life and the cruelties of hazing the youngest members, without indulging in long feats of sailsmanship. Woodman doesn't give Drinkwater the enthusiasms (or arcane language) of O'Brian's Capt. Aubrey, nor the self-doubt of Forester's Hornblower. Drinkwater finds a dear chaste love that stands in great contrast to the amorous adventures of Alan Lewrie in the parallel books by Dewey Lambdin. The cover illustration is pretty useless but authentically captures the somber tone of the series. As ever, keep an eye on the wind, and fair sailing!

Brilliant stuff! As first novels, these are almost as subtle and enigmatic as P.O'B's later works, but just as gripping as his early stuff; similarly based on historical fact, they are definitely a cut above the rest. Excellent descriptions of below-decks and battle actions take you right inside the ship; an acquaintance with nautical terminology helps, but is not vital, to understand the gist of the action or the day- to-day management of the ship - e.g. the handling of sails is particularly well-described, far better than any other book I've read. and succinct descriptions of wind, weather and tide preface each event; the stage is already set - action soon follows.

The hard life below decks is brought horrifically home in the first few pages - the impotence of the younger gentlemen in the face of overbearing bullying is brought sharply into focus, as is the rough justice of the foremast jacks - stark reality is served up in healthy measure here, with a side salad of intrigue and a dressing of young love.
None of the incidents or fortunate strokes of luck seem contrived, rather they develop naturally as Nat matures from innocence into almost cynical youth.

Read the following books - they get better with each tale. *****

This is the first book in a wonderful series. The Nathaniel Drinkwater books are comparable in quality to those of Forester and Patrick O'Brian. Woodman's plots are typically tighter and more focused than O'Brian's (the books are shorter), and possibly less literate and a little "dark" as one reviewer described them. Although the books in some cases have less naval warfare action than Forester's and Alexander Kent's books, they do not lack for excitement or interest. Woodman's plots seem to be based on the conflict of a competent man against evil forces, which lends power to the narrative.

Here is a list of the Nathaniel Drinkwater novels in chronological order: An Eye of the Fleet, A King's Cutter, A Brig of War, The Bomb Vessel, The Corvette, 1805, Baltic Mission, In Distant Waters, A Private Revenge, Under False Colors, The Flying Squadron, Beneath the Aurora, The Shadow of the Eagle, Ebb Tide.

Few books cause me to search out those extra few minutes of reading time so that I can get on with the story, but these books fall into that catagory.

There is realistic conniving, boredom, and petty squabbling aboard Lt. Drinkwater's aging bomb (mortar-firing) vessel (unlike what you'd expect in Dudley Pope's swashbuckling Ramage series). Yet Drinkwater feels that Virago is his last chance to make the step to commander. Then comes an exciting flurry of action under the impetuous Admiral Lord Nelson facing the ferocious guns of Copenhagen. Besides nautical matters this fourth story in the series contains two romantic angles, murder, family loyalty, and a bit of conspiracy with Drinkwater's former spymaster, Lord Dungarth (see An Eye of the Fleet). This book includes very helpful maps, something more sea tales should include ...

Describes the circumstances surrounding the action at Copenhagen in 1801 (not the lesser-known debacle in 1807, told in Mr. Cornwell's 'Sharpe's Prey'). I say 'action' but there is remarkably little of it for the bulk of the book, more delaying and prevaricating, despite the presence of Lord Nelson. A personal undercurrent pre-occupies Nat, who uses his previous clandestine life as a cover - the on-board speculation is handled very nicely.
Having said there is no action is misleading; the very lack of progress to action causes unrest in the ranks (and higher command), showing how lack of purpose and conviction, or unfitness for the task can severely jeopardise an operation, causing unnecessary loss of surprise, ships, and men. This is well-told, without losing one's interest as the various strings of the plot are drawn together, culminating in the final bloody action.
Altogether a gripping thriller topped by a detailed factual description of a complex naval battle.*****

Having returned from the Red Sea (see "A Brig of War"), Drinkwater finds himself on the beach, suspecting that an enemy is using petticoat influence against him. However, some patronage gets him the command of the bomb vessel, Virago, although still a lieutenant. The early part of the story deals with the problems of manning and supplying the vessel, and getting ready for sea. A last minute, unexpected addition to his crew is his brother, on the run from troubles.

The Virago joins the fleet bound for Copenhagen, and Drinkwater has the opportunity to distinguish himself at the first Battle of Copenhagen in April 1801. On the personal side, he must deal with the problem of his brother who he has concealed among the crew under a false name, and a problem with his purser. Drinkwater does eventually receive some unexpected petticoat influence in his favor.

The Battle of Copenhagen and the related politics are described in some detail. Woodman provides useful maps and, as in other novels of the series, provides time periods at the top of each chapter. This novel covers the time period from September 1800 to July 1801, a relatively brief period compared to earlier novels in the series.

This book covers the period from February 1798 to January 1800. We follow 1st Lt Nathaniel Drinkwater as he sells on the War brig hawthorne to the Red Sea. I have not read any other book in the series and found this enjoyable. I actually felt like I was on the ship. This is a true action book. And the author must really know his seamanship and history of the period to develop his world. A fun read.

I did not feel that this third book in the Nathaniel Drinkwater series was as good as the second (A King's Cutter), but it is a good Royal Navy adventure with lots of action as Drinkwater's ship is sent to the Red Sea. It provides an interesting story set in one of the far off areas of the war, not usually covered by other authors. As in his other books, Richard Woodman provides a time period with each chapter heading. This book covers the period from February 1798 to January 1800. It is desirable to read the books in chronological order as this book reintroduces characters from both books 1 and 2 in the series. It gives a good account of the struggle for promotion and notes the effects of bedroom politics (an officer whose sister is the mistress of someone with connections can gain promotion through his sister's influence). The story provides an accurate picture of natural hazards when sailing, hazards of warfare, and hazards to health a in tropical climate. Enemies aboard ship continue to be a problem, almost deadly in Drinkwater's case.

As first novels, these are almost as subtle and enigmatic as P.O'B's later works, but just as gripping as his early stuff; similarly based on historical fact, they are definitely a cut above the rest and should be read in order, to get the best enjoyment.

Excellent descriptions of below-decks and battle actions take you right inside the ship; an acquaintance with nautical terminology helps, but is not vital, to understand the gist of the action or the day-to-day management of the ship - e.g. the handling of sails is particularly well-described, far better than any other book I've read. and succinct descriptions of wind, weather and tide preface each event; the stage is already set - action soon follows.

Book 3 'A Brig of War' sees Nat dashing round to the Red Sea to subvert Napoleon's suspected attack on India. A tense sea-chase ensues, brilliantly described, there are some on-board intrigues which keep one guessing, an old enemy returns to haunt Nat, plus the minutiae of running a ship make this immensely enjoyable reading. We see more details of Nat's long-time colleagues, in particular the misanthrope Appleby, whose didactic prolix is an undercurrent of humour which endears him to both Nat and his ailing Captain.

I read the first 3 books in a weekend - good job I'd already bought the follow-on, because this is addictive reading.

Richard Woodman's Nathaniel Drinkwater series has always had a dark Gothic air about it. The darkest entry was undoubtedly Under False Colours' predecessor A Private Revenge. Series readers will be happy to know that this entry is nowhere near as dark and tragic as A Private Revenge. It is perhaps more similar and related to the earlier Baltic Mission. It's like Baltic Mission in that it is more cloak and dagger than sea story.

However, Under False Colours is not a rewrite of Baltic Mission in a different location. Much has happened to Nathaniel Drinkwater since Baltic Mission and Under False Colours is the conclusion of events that were initiated in Baltic Mission and which propelled the action through In Distant Waters and A Private Revenge. A Private Revenge left Drinkwater a deeply psychologically scarred man. In Under False Colours Drinkwater begins to heal the deep wounds left from the horrors of the earlier novel.

This entry begins with an attempt to deceive the French by getting them to believe that Britain is supplying military aid to the Czar in defiance of Napoleon's Continental System and his treaty with the Czar. Things go awry and Drinkwater leads a trading mission into Hamburg and as is typical of this series, twists and turns fall more twists and turns. The climax occurs at sea following a tense build up and chase.

Under False Colours does not have the same level of blood letting that some of the earlier entries in the series had and all Bolitho novels have. Instead it gradually builds up tension while exploring the conditions in Napoleonic Europe. What I found particularly interesting was the role of Jewish merchants in Hamburg and London. The Jews of Drinkwater's Europe have an underground communication system that acts as a conduit to and from the continent. Woodman nicely underplays Drinkwater's surprise at being treated so well by Jewish merchants. The kindness of the Jews would have come as a very pleasant surprise to a Christian of Drinkwater's era, not because we wouldn't expect them to be kind but because the Christians of that era wouldn't. One can see barriers beginning to fall, as paradigms are broken.

Under False Colours is an entertaining novel with some nice surprises in contrast to the nasty ones of A Private Revenge. It's a worthy entry in the series but not one of the best. I suspect that it is a bit of a respite from desperate action to follow in the last three years of the war as Woodman brings it home for the reader.

This is the replay from Sheridan regarding the publishing orders:

=== It was a question of US Rights becoming available - a slow and difficult process. Next spring we will do the first three and the rest will follow in chronological order.

Sheridan House ====

Richard Woodman has spent most of his life at sea, is an eminent Naval historian and the author of several books on Naval history, plus many fictional books. This background and a superb command of the English language make his books a joy to read. His intimate knowledge of square-riggers takes you inside the ship - you are THERE with the crew, battling the elements or the enemy, feeling each blow.

This book expands on the theme of the struggle against Napoleon - Nathaniel Drinkwater, now Captain, is increasingly involved in espionage and subversion as the Secret Service draws on his special talents to undermine Napoleon's empire-building.

Following orders from Lord Dungarth, head of the Secret Service, Capt. Nathaniel Drinkwater adopts the disguise of a dissipated merchant mariner (almost too successfully) to sow the seeds of a threat to Napoleon's Russian alliance. It all turns sour and plans are wrought afresh, landing Nat in French custody and meeting an old female adversary. Not much in the way of action, but the tension and intrigue more than make up for that.

As usual, excellent descriptions and tension-building make the pages fly by - and the author's notes fill in the facts behind the tale. A series to read, savour and re-read.*****

Following on BALTIC MISSION, Woodman again shows us British-Russian enmities, but here far, far from the European scene of the previous seven novels. Now 1808, Capt. Drinkwater's frigate rounds the cape and heads to the Northern Pacific, experiencing a long slide of morale among his crew of sailors too long without shore leave. For once he is not on a spy mission. He encounters a dishonorable Spanish captain and perfidy, intrigues his way through Spanish San Francisco with the help of a beautiful woman, runs afoul of bad luck and helpless defeat, and is bested by a Yankee mountain man. The book climaxes in a series of violent encounters with the Russians, who are moving on (British) Oregon from Alaska in alliance with Spain. This is an unusual but true setting for one of the more remote encounters of the Napoleonic Wars, the world's first true World War of global empires.

These are well-crafted and authentic sounding stories, but without the infectious humor of a Forester or O'Brian, or the gusto of Lambdin. Woodman writes in a style that is a little too serious and grim to evoke my empathy or wonder, and skips too quickly through the battle scenes. He doesn't quite seem to love the sea and those who sail upon it. IMHO, the better sailing-navy authors I've read would rank as: O'Brian and Forester, Lambdin and the new Stockwin, Woodman, with real Capt. Murryat and Adm. Mack below the line. (Sheridan House omits three of the early books from its Drinkwater republication list, but is printed on better stock than the earlier, execrable but much cheaper, Time Warner pb edition.)

Here we see Nat in command of Patrician, a cut-down 64 (Antigone having been too badly damaged in the previous battle); neither he nor his men were allowed leave for reasons of national security and his first task is to hang a deserter - not an auspicious start to a trip round the Horn.
Mother Russia is in evidence again and there are hints of desertion that become all too real after landing on a deserted island; the little freedom the crew are given is curtailed as they sight, then sink a prize; more desertions as they repatriate the prisoners, then sabotage almost completes the felony. To say more would reveal too much, but there is more than enough intrigue and action to hold the attention.

Slightly different from the previous 7 in the series, it appears stilted and chopped into seemingly disparate paragraphs, which throws one initially, but ultimately works very well as the hints and threads of the plots are drawn together. As usual, the spare, accurate descriptions leave one in no doubt as to the relative positions of the protagonists in each action, making it enjoyably easy to follow the sequence.
Again, this is based on fact, the surprising thing is how many of the characters really existed.
An exceptionally fine read *****

I became addicted to the Nathaniel Drinkwater series with the first installment. In my opinion the Drinkwater series is greatly underrated in the genre. Woodman has managed to create a niche between the lyricism of Patrick O'Brian and the furious action of Alexander Kent. Woodman writes well but sparingly and creates realistic characters with depth. Drinkwater, his prime creation, is the most realistic of any protagonist in the genre. He is a decent man who makes mistakes and doesn't always have control of the situation. He doesn't have the personal magnetism of a Bolitho or Ramage nor does he have the brilliance of a Hornblower. He does his duty to the best of his ability and ultimately is successful.

In Distant Waters starts out ominously where Baltic Mission left off. Having brought sensitive intelligence back to England Drinkwater and his crew are immediately dispatched halfway round the world more for security reasons than from necessity it appears. Drinkwater must begin by hanging a deserter who in his own mind shouldn't be hanged under the circumstances. The demands of duty outweigh all other demands. The hanging casts a pall over the entire novel and is undoubtedly a motivator for some of the later problems.

The route, the date and to some extent the mission are similar to The Happy Return, a trip round the Horn in 1808 to play havoc with the Spanish. Readers of the genre will know what neither Drinkwater nor Hornblower knew, that the Spanish will change sides. Like Hornblower in The Happy Return Drinkwater will not find out about the switch in time and must pursue subsequent plans accordingly. At this point the similarities end. While Hornblower was in firm command of his ship, Drinkwater's leadership and crew loyalty are tenuous. Drinkwater has the added complication of needing to deal with the Russians without complete orders.

In Distant Waters proceeds from bad to worse and if the reader didn't know this was a series would wonder if things could ever work out. Drinkwater must deal with a crew that quite rightly believes that it has been mistreated (not by Drinkwater's hand), limited information, perfidious and dishonourable enemies, and an overall sense of gloom. The Drinkwater series is gothic in nature and In Distant Waters is one of the most gothic in the series. Fortunately for Drinkwater he has his wits about him, his faithful Tregembo and the redoubtable Mr. Q.

The novel features only one major sea battle in its climax. However, there are a number of minor engagements plus a steady progression of action that builds suspense to a thunderous climax. When the climactic battle occurs, it is a release from the tension and gloom that have built up throughout the novel.

The Nathaniel Drinkwater series is excellent and In Distant Waters is a strong entry worthy of inclusion. If you haven't read the earlier novels read them. If you have read In Distant Waters then proceed immediately to A Private Revenge.