Another great Age of Sail novel by S. Thomas Russell. The change of scenery to the Caribbean allows for some new story elements, and some interesting plot twists and events make for an engaging adventure. Only criticism would be some unoriginal (but well-handled) plot elements, and a feeling that some of the descriptions of engagements were rushed and not as detailed. However, the description of the position of ships in battle -- an important element -- was as good or better than ever in terms of clarity generally. The rousing and exciting concluding chapters -- I could hardly put it down near the end -- make up for any criticisms.

I rate Russell second only to C.S. Forester's Horatio Hornblower series (of which I have read all), and better than what I have read of Alexander Kent's Bolitho (one book read) and O'Brian (gave up partway through the second book). Will await the next outing anxiously! ( )

Captain Charles Hayden commands H.M.S. Themis, a frigate patrolling Caribbean waters in 1794, during the French Revolutionary Wars. He serves immediately under Sir William Jones, a captain senior to him, known for bravery and impeccable seamanship but a greed for glory that plunges him into foolish risks, for which others pay with their lives. Hayden must follow Sir William’s lead or be disciplined, and it should be noted that Sir William boasts of friends in high places. But the junior captain is a very different sort of commander, and therein hangs a tale.

First of all, when Hayden takes a risk, as he does all the time, he carefully weighs the cost against the likely gain, as any prudent captain would. But Hayden goes further, considering what he’d do in his opponent’s place, taking motives, resources, and sensibilities into account.

Even more remarkably, he grants his adversary abilities and conviction equal to his own, typical of his outlook. For similar reasons, he consults his junior officers, to teach them tactics and leadership as well as benefit from what they have to say. Hayden’s therefore a rare commander in any military organization, especially the Royal Navy, which never met a new idea it liked.

But open-mindedness runs up against probabilities and experience, and the Themis quickly tests its captain’s character. Against all odds, the ship picks up two survivors from the open ocean, a pair of Spanish aristocrats, hence nationals of a British ally. However, their story seems so far-fetched that Hayden has to wonder whether these men are whom they claim to be, perhaps spies or criminals.

One officer suspects that the younger survivor is effeminate, a dangerous secret, given that the Articles of War punish homosexuality with hanging, though presumably a foreign civilian wouldn’t be subject to the rule. What’s more, this young man gives Hayden advice to heal his injured heart; the captain recently lost the love of his life to another.

So Hayden can hardly be a neutral observer when the gunroom mess discusses the ways men and women differ in their thinking, the first of several moral or ethical questions to enter the narrative. Others include slavery; what’s permissible in war (especially for personal advantage); at what point does an enemy in extremis become a victim to be rescued; and what a commander owes his men, over whom he has the power of life and death.

Grappling with these questions is one pleasure that separates Until the Sea from lesser novels of the genre. True to form, there’s plenty of action, but you never feel it’s just there to keep the narrative rolling. Russell derives tension from several sources, whether Hayden’s misgivings about his orders, the identity of the Spanish gentlemen, or the presence of a crippled slave ship. I also enjoy the dialog, especially the witticisms of a Mr. Hawthorne, lieutenant of marines.

On the downside, I wish Russell plied a more vivid pen. He knows seamanship, and he takes you inside the chess game of naval maneuvers, a pleasure. But he doesn’t reveal the ship itself, whether the cramped quarters, the complex parts, or the visual space in which the characters move and speak. Similarly, it’s a rare passage where the author troubles to portray the sky, the sea, or a port of call.

I don’t want to sound harsh, because I like this book, and Russell’s a good storyteller. But his prose is serviceable at best, and so are the characterizations. Hayden’s a sympathetic chap, but too much so, as if his liberality and troubled conscience shine like stars in the Caribbean firmament. And too often, Russell tells the reader what Hayden’s like, rather than show him. This is where I have trouble with the ecstatic blurbs on the jacket, which liken Russell to Patrick O’Brian.

I know; I know. The poor man didn’t ask for that, and I can’t blame him for not being somebody else. Nevertheless, I can ask why Russell chose to make Hayden a paragon, when O’Brian isn’t afraid to have his hero, Jack Aubrey, behave at times like a lout or a bigot or a lush. I understand the author’s instinct to protect a protagonist–you want to like him, and you want your readers to do the same. But it’s a better novel when you don’t get in the way. ( )

Lots of intrigue and a smashing ending with ships blown up and a large enough " butcher's bill" to satisfy Winston Churchill. A very interesting character is introduced and sadly leaves us. A minor plot about stolen Spanish silver, privateers and treachery consumes the latter part of the book while the French invasion fleet languishes in harbor. An excellent series continues and Charles is still quite young so hopefully, the author will move to the next level. ( )

Swashbuckling. I read this book before I read any of the others in the series, and although it would have been nice to get some sort of reference year to when this is going on, it isn't really needed. The united states are referred to as the united states and not the colonies so sometime after US independence, I guess. The african slave trade is in full swing, Britian, spain and france are very much involved in the Caribbean at the time.

I had a very hard time putting this book down.
( )

Master and Commander Charles Hayden has received fresh orders that take him and the HMS Themis to the Caribbean, with instructions to meddle with French shipping to the colonies. While en route, they rescue two Spanish castaways who beg for help fleeing from a vengeful family situation—Hayden agrees to do what he can, though it's soon clear his two new guests aren't exactly what they seem.

Arriving in the lawless Caribbean seas, Hayden and Themis find themselves torn between the forces of reckless English captains, conflicts between royalist and revolutionary Frenchmen, and Spanish ships that are enemies to both England and France. And when someone very dear to him is kidnapped, Hayden may sacrifice everything in a reckless pursuit to save her. . . .