A Battle Won

June 28, 2010
This overlong sequel to Russell's 18th-century naval adventure, Under Enemy Colors, begins with British officer Charles Hayden being named temporary captain of the ill-starred frigate Themis, which this time is plagued by both an influenza outbreak and dissension from a trouble-making clergyman. Arriving in the Mediterranean, Hayden attempts to redeem himself by embarking on a dangerous mission to liberate Corsica, but upon returning to England, he makes an untoward discovery. Russell's melodramatic plotting often gets in the way of the action, but readers who relish the sting of salt spray and the tang of gunpowder will enjoy every page.

July 1, 2010

A young British lieutenant sails further toward his destiny in this thrilling story of nautical warfare.

A prolific author of genre literature, Russell (Under Enemy Colors, 2007, etc.) finally hit his stride and achieved mainstream triumph with his first novel about struggling Master and Commander Charles Hayden. With his second novel about the divided hero of the Napoleonic Wars, the author proves his success was no fluke, as Hayden and his motley crew become even more complex and dynamic characters in their grand play. At the end of Under Enemy Colors, Hayden outplayed his dysfunctional superior, Captain Josiah Hart, and reluctantly but irrevocably quelled a mutiny aboard the HMS Themis. Just weeks later, Hayden is looking forward to captaining his first true command, a small guard ship in the British fleet. But with no one eager to escort the poisoned Themis to its new home, Hayden is pressed into service to shepherd his infamous frigate to Corsica. To his credit, Russell shows remarkable restraint in letting his hero develop into the man he must become, while throwing every conceivable hurdle into the man's way. To start, Hayden is saddled with an Anglican minister, one who is deeply offended by the captain's mixed French-British heritage and spreads vicious rumors among a superstitious crew that their leader is a sympathetic Catholic. In the midst of this shipboard drama, Hayden must disobey orders and intervene during an ill-advised ambush on a French frigate by the commander of his convoy. On top of it all, Hayden soon learns from his eccentric advisor Dr. Griffiths that there may be a plague loose on the ship, affecting the sailors. Despite it all, courage and humor persist. "Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays we fight the French," Hayden boasts. "Sunday, rest and prayer. Mondays make and mend, and then Tuesdays it is the French again. Predictability is a virtue."

A bracing tale that modernizes the seafaring classicism of Patrick O'Brian for a new generation.

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