Alaric Bond - The Jackass Frigate

I've ordered a copy of this one so should be able to post a review shortly

Not posting much at the moment as I'm engrossed in reading this novel. Excellent so far, review soon.

Finished this one now. An excellent novel which deserves to be better known. Has a lot of well developed characters which gives good insight at all levels of the ships company and contains probably the best description of the Battle of Cape St. Vincent I've read in a fiction novel. Also seems to be a well developed back story for the characters as you get hints of their past on the 'Proteus' which leaves you wanting to know more. If you haven't read it, I recommend it and I'm looking forward to the sequel.

(Purchase from Amazon)

Thanks - I will definitely look for this in the library.

With The Jackass Frigate (2008), Alaric Bond has stepped into the first rank of writers of historic naval fiction. The story follows the fortunes of the officers and crew of the frigate HMS Pandora, newly built and commissioned, but smaller and more lightly armed than most. After an exciting bit of detached service, the Pandora joins the Mediterranean Fleet under Jervis in time for the Battle of Cape St. Vincent. Bond shows a deceptively easy mastery of the mainstays of Historic Naval Fiction narrative – ship handling, seamanship, shipboard life (both before the mast and in ‘officer country”), gunnery, surgery, and above all, flawless descriptions of both fictional and historic battles. It is, however, the loving and thorough treatment of the principal characters aboard the Pandora that make The Jackass Frigate transcend mere adventure fiction. Many of the Pandora’s people resemble the “stock” characters that, in the hands of lesser writers, stand as cardboard figures that serve only to carry the narrative forward: the sadistic first lieutenant, the rich young captain buoyed by “interest,” the newly-made junior lieutenant, the japing-but-good-hearted midshipman, the drunken surgeon, the up-through-the-hawsehole master’s mate and the heart-of-oak yeoman sailors. Under Bond’s pen, however, each of these men – among others – takes on a real life. The reader comes to see each as a unique individual, to understand his feelings and motivations, and finally to care very much about him. Bond achieves this through the risky technique of frequently-changing points of view. The reader sees in turn through the eyes of most of the important shipboard characters – from the simple boy who tends the manger to the captain, and even Sir John Jervis and Horatio Nelson (well, eye, singular, in his case.) Shifting POV often makes me grind my teeth and sigh in exasperation, but Bond makes it seem sweet and natural. The charming narrative quirks, like the trope that brings us aboard Nelson’s flagship in time for the battle, are worthy of Patrick O’Brian; moreover, they flow naturally from a well-established understanding of the characters involved. Bond’s prose is clear and writerly with none of the awkward little lapses that pull the reader’s attention away from the story. Alaric Bond has laid the groundwork for a great series of Age of Fighting Sail novels and I can only hope that the next one comes soon. I am mystified and disappointed that this book is not available in a handsome hardcover edition and marketed by a major publishing house. Editors take note – somebody has missed the boat on this one!

I very much enjoyed Jackass Frigate as well. Bond's use of multiple points of view and perspectives is original and very well done.

I recently posted a review on the Old Salt Blog if anyone is interested.

Rick Spilman
Old Salt Blog

The new Fireship Press edition of this novel, which has been slightly amended to bring it into the Fighting Sail series has now been released. The main change is that name of the previous ship of the main characters ship was changed from HMS Proteus to HMS Vigilant when he wrote His Majesty's Ship and this has been updated.

You can obtain a copy from amazon.co.uk and amazon.com

I've just finished reading this and I heartily agree with the previous reviews: a very excellent read which I will not hesitate to read again at some point in the future.

However, there are a few minor things that bothered me while reading it, and I would like to discuss them:

Spoiler:

King's failure to report the use of his pistol to the captain seemed to be very out-of-character, given this is the man who braved Pigot's displeasure to report the sighting of the enemy fleet. King's subsequent actions on handling the prize, etc. paint a picture of a mature leader ... so why does he act like a frightened boy when it comes to the discovery that his pistol had been misused? It just did not ring true to me.

I could never figure out why Caulfield had such faith/trust in King. I think showing more of the interaction between the two would have gone some way to explaining this.

Caulfield's failure to report the pistol's misuse to the captain displayed what I thought was a severe lack of trust in the man he supposedly admired. Again, this seemed to be out of character to me.

The resolution of the inquiry was somewhat "pat", but somehow, I did believe it.

Banks's failure to express any displeasure, or even disappointment at the failure of his subordinates to report pertinent information greatly perplexes me. At the very least, his confidence in King should have been shaken, I would think ... and in Caulfield as well. The lack of reaction during the inquiry when this information was revealed was very surprising to me.

Again, none of the above detracted from my enjoyment of the novel and I have no problems with recommending this series to other readers.