So I wrote up reviews for two of Argon's Anthony Carter stories, only to discover reviews are turned off. So I'm posting them here by way of promoting the tales. (Some repetition because they were meant to be read separately. Deal.)
The Return of Thomas Grey
If your response to "Napoleonic seafaring yarns spiced with romance?" is "Please!" then this is for you. Especially if you like your sea-yarns closer to C.S. Forester than Patrick O'Brian.
The titular Thomas goes to sea as a midshipman in 1806, and we watch his rise through the ranks through several sea-faring adventures until the Peace of 1814. (A sequel story, "Thomas Grey and the Hundred Days" takes us through Waterloo, plus "Thomas Grey and the Year Without Summer" covers the next couple years, much of it on land.) Excellent characterization and pacing make this a perfect sink-into-it read.
This is a late installment in a loosely connected series and, honestly, it's my favorite, especially in conjunction with the direct sequels. The earliest ones (especially the strictly naval yarns) feel like, well, retold Hornblower spiced with internet!porn, while in this (and other later-written ones), the author has developed his own voice for the era. There's still plenty of spicy sex, but it's better integrated and the tales better told.
Great fun. Strongly recommended.
9 / N/A / 10
Sea Fencibles
If your response to "Napoleonic seafaring yarns spiced with romance?" is "Please!" then this is for you. Though that said, this doesn't go out to sea. The Sea Fencibles were the Coast Guard of the era, with a focus on warding against sea attacks and foiling smuggling.
Wounded captain Jeremiah Anson has, for disability employment, been posted to the Fencibles on the coast of Devonshire. It's not serving the king on board a ship, but it's service and it pays. It's not a sinecure, either, as there's a lot of cleanup work to be done plus a few plots to unravel. The best part of the story, however, is the slow-burn romance with a squire's daughter who's also disabled, and how both of them heal.
Part of a series, but while it's chronologically second, it was written later and it shows. Argon had by this one developed his own voice for the era (earliest installments read like Hornblower spiced with internet!porn). Excellent characters, good plotting, and carefully controlled pacing make this a good read. Recommended.
9 / N/A / 9
