“I recently retired after 40 years in the book industry but I volunteer at our local library. As I was working a project recently, I came across In the King’s Name, Alexander Kent’s most recent book (#28) in his Bolitho naval saga. To say I was surprised is an understatement. I had read #27 FIVE years ago and had thought the series was done. #28 was published in 2011 in hardcover, now in paperback. I heartily recommend this series.
Alexander Kent is a pen name for Douglas Reeman. Reeman served in the British Navy in WWII and under that name he writes about the Royal Marines and the more modern Navy. I had read all previous 27 Bolitho stories. They follow the lives and adventures of Sir Richard Bolitho and his nephew Captain Adam Bolitho from the 1780’s to 1819 (in the latest edition). Captain Adam Bolitho is sent on a mission to West Africa to investigate pirates and slavers. There he meets up with an old friend, Captain James Tyacke.
If you like the Horatio Hornblower series, Patrick O’Brien’s naval series or Dudley Pope’s nautical books, you will find Kent/Reeman’s books extraordinarily readable. There’s action to satisfy your violent nature. There’s a little romance for your softer side. There are terrific characters who you will fall in love with (tears will form when they die in spite of your best efforts to restrain them).
Go. Buy. Read.”—Jim Harris
