The Complete Midshipman Bolitho Paperback – November 1, 2006

WARNING: SPOILER TEXT BELOWI have read these books since the mid 1980s. They are some of the best sea books you can find.For those that have never read anything of the British navy during this period it is a good "from the ground up" introduction of the process of their officers coming into the service and advancing through it's ranks.Bolitho is a very "human" type of commander, something I am wondering how much really was true of this period when two mutinies split the ranks of the navy and threatened its very existence. I somehow doubt that any British officer of this period was ever really THIS compassionate towards his men, the story I think being more for those of OUR generation who look for this kind of thing to emerge within a system that frankly would not see a more compassionate commander emerge until the 1860s and later. Most of the commanders were interested in their plunder and station in life. They gave little thought to the average life of the seaman, being more interested in the law and order of the ship life.That said the stories are mainly from a humane nature and about bungling by officers in both high and low ranks. Of missed opportunities, of shadowy figures influencing Bolitho's life. What the series will NOT give you is unrealistic Hollywood character types which was a relief. While there is some corny dialogue in the books I found for the most part these novels are a great picture into the everyday life of the British seaman and officer alike. The call to change sails in the middle of the night, climbing up into the rigging during a pitching sea. It is all there.The personality of the books evolves from Bolitho the midshipman into Bolitho the junior officer, captain and later commodore and so on up into high command. The flavor of the books changes as well. There never is really much "joy" in the life of these men other than their grim humor. Bolitho's own life is filled with love interests but also sadness in the family. And there is a phantom figure that later manifests himself in the later novels.The final novels to me were not as good as those in the early to mid series. For me it got to be the same kind of story for each novel. I believe that if I were to read through them again I would stop somewhere mid-series ... I think that Kent should have developed something else into the books - some sort of international intrigue with Bolitho having a minor but informative role.The final books have a kind of fatalism about them as well which I can understand about the lot of a sea officer but which colors the later novels a bit much. I find it hard to believe that the author could not have introduced something into the books to make them have a bit less dark color. For instance: Bolitho seems to withdraw from public life due to his past decisions. I would that the author had introduced a stem of the family or good friend that would have hosted him away from his home more often. A home away from home so to speak. I think that it would have given the later novels some warmth rather than leave Bolitho such a tragic figure and .... well I will not say anything more about the ending of the books. All of them have elements of style that I believe formed a gallant yet tragic figure.Kent is at the top of his genre even if there were times in his novels that I could not understand what he was eluding to ... (there are scenes where you must read into the wording quite a bit - it will help if you keep a short journal of the characters and incidents so as to follow these in later novels of the series - figures from the past reappear or past incidents are called to mind quite a bit).

This is the first of the series, chronologically, though it was not written first. I read it first, enjoyed it, and thought it not too much inferior to some of Patrick O'Brian's wonderful Aubrey/Maturin series. However, over time I read the whole Bolitho series, and found that most of the other novels are not as good as Midshipman Bolitho, which has the freshness of a bildungsroman--the story of a young man's first venture into what will become his life. Alexander Kent (pen name) does set up wonderful suspense, so when I read one book I had to read the next to see what happened to one character or another, but, after I learned that, I had little interest in reading most of the books a second time.EXCEPTIONS: Some of the middle novels that deal with Richard Bolitho's descovery of and relationship with his illegitimate nephew are very exciting and touching. I'm sorry I can't remember the titles, but I have to say that Alexander Kent's titles deserve a prize for being boring and indistinguishable.If you like novels you can read again and again, Bolitho is not for you, but if you are a one-time reader, start with Richard as a midshipman. The fact that these novels are plot-driven rather than character-driven makes it important to begin at the beginning.WARNING: In the later books some of the same themes and images are repeated over and over. Also, when Lady Catherine begins to dominate the series, you may be as repelled as I was by some scenes that manage to be both mawkish and mildly offensive, with women who have been sexually abused overcoming their fears of sex in strange and unfortunate ways.See my brief reviews of Heart of Oak and In the King's Name (See what I mean about titles?)

The attention to detail as Alexander Kent writes about these amazing times aboard tall ships and their encounters at sea in the late 1700’s is so enjoyable to sit back and read. This is the first book that starts the nautical life aboard ship of young Midshipman Bolitho. Told with detail and great knowledge of these many types of tall sailing ships. I highly recommend this series of books by Alexander Kent.

Although 18th century British Navy novels have become almost an industry niche, the best remain, as always, Forester, O'Brian and Kent. When Douglas Reeman left his familiar WWII grounds to enter an earlier age as Alexander Kent, Hornblower got a companion in Richard Bolitho, who storms along from Midshipman to Admiral in a long series of novels. "To Glory We Steer" was Kent's first shot at the period novel, but after a couple of sequels, he began the task of chronicling Bolitho's entire career in a short piece dealing with the Midshipman days. This edition adds Kent's later stories to include the full story of young Bolitho's first adventures. It is a highly satisfying read, more reminiscent of Forester's Hornblower than the period exactitude of O'Brian's Aubrey and Maturin. Nevertheless, the characters and events ring true and show Kent/Reeman's personal familiarity with Naval service as well as the unique challenges of sailing and fighting wind-driven ships armed with smooth bore cannon, muskets, pikes and cutlasses. Beware, the 29-volume series--written between 1968 and 2011--is longer than O'Brian's and correspondingly expensive and time-consuming.