Persephone

Julian has informed us that next in the Kydd series will be titled Persephone.

Thanks for the heads up

Julian has also mentioned that there will be 'two books' in the Kydd series released in 2017, but I believe that a title for the 2nd book is yet TBD.

great to here love Julian stockwins kydd series. thanks for keeping all the crew informed admiral.

Just a 'reminder' for shipmates waiting for Persephome, it becomes available in Kindle and audio on 18 May 2017 (hardback isn't scheduled for US release (Amazon) until 23 Sept 2017). Not sure when the 'limited UK edition' will be posted.

its 18th of may in the uk. thanks for the heads up admiral.

I recently finished the audiobook version of Persephone and find it something of a departure from my definition of 'classic HNF'.

The great majority of this story is 'land based' and much into the social and political norms and experiences of the period (1807). This is given as the background for Sir Thomas Kydd's foray into 'matters of the heart'.

Sadly, not my 'cup of tea'.

I look forward to Julian's 2nd book of 2017 and due out this November; Baltic Prize to get this series 'back to sea'.

I just read it and I must say, I hated it.

While I found the last one (Inferno) only boring as hell, this one is where I consider quitting the series.


Spoiler alert!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!








We start with a bit in Portugal, frankly is a bit uninteresting, but okay, this is just the setup to meet his old love interest Persephone. But then it derails.

I know the Kydd randomly meeting his friends somewhere in the world in some random port where service gets him to be is quite overdone, previously it was always his friend Renzi, but this one tops it. He meets his ex in a port on Portugal, they later go their seperate ways through some misunderstanding and then meet again weeks later  BY CHANCE in another port, in another country in so extremely unlikely a destination that it just makes me cringe. ARGH.... I was about to fling my ebook reader into the next corner!!!!!!!!!

The next problem it's more of a collection of items that Stockwin always wanted to do with his character than a book with a coherent plot and somewhat believable events.

The woman from his lowly past who tries to blackmail the hero with an illegitimate child. Which cases a tangle with his fiance.

A duel with the rival for the girl. The rival turns out is of course a total asshole the girl needs to be saving from.

Kydd's introduction into high society. He gets to meet the king's navy captain brother, they sing a few shanties and in 3.5 seconds they are best buddies, Kydd's lowly birth forgotten by everybody, no class prejudices by anyone, everyone, including the royal family fanboying over the protagonist because he is a successful frigate captain (hey, England had more of those!!).

The royal yacht, Kydd saves the day why? Because everyone else acts just so f--ing incompetent. BORING!!!!!!!!!

And then this Kydd wants to go into politics, erm WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Why would he do that???????????? Totally out of character and out of nowhere!!!!!!!!!!!! And in the meantime the Tyger swings about her anchor and a precious frigate is allowed to just sit and wait until her now politician captain deems the time right to return to his service??????? Erm, WHAT?????????



Then the parallel to the Dewey Lambdin`s A Fine Retribution. Captain after long life as a single marries a female artist. I don't know how this came to pass, I do know that art (painting, writing etc) was almost the only way a woman of gentle birth could earn money without disgracing herself. Lambdin did it so much better and having to read an artist chick marries sea captain plot a second time within months is just not so entertaining.


Kydd's Lieutennants and the other important figures aboard his ships get hardly a mention when one of the things I enjoy most about sea stories is the dynamic of the relationships of those characters. The ship as an emotional pressure cooker for those sailing on her. Since Kydd has become a frigate captain that part is totally missing. Midshipmen are introduced in one book only to never again hear about them and to be replaced with others in the next book. A Lieutenant introduced as very taciturn and apparently hiding something and that fact is not picked up for several books, until getting some rather puzzling explanation in this book. Another Lieutenant introduced as the robust type who is driving the men hard but there is never any need for Kydd to corretc him, not do they clash in their views of how to run the crew. Everyone in the navy must know that Kydd originates from the lower deck but nowhere in the navy does he run into any social prejudice against him. I find it a bit hard to believe this is realistic for the time and it's such a missed chance for the books.

The time it takes for news to get from A to B seems generally sometimes very off in the Kydd series.


And the author is clearly fanboying over his main character and has turned him into a complete Gary Stu (a writing term for a character that just exists for wish fulfilment for the author, a phenomenon mainly found in bad fan fiction but not unknown in original writing). This has been apparent since Victory where he wrote Nelson and Kydd's relationship with him very much from his own overawed Nelson fanboy perspective, not from the character's. This problem popped up again here and there in the last couple of books. And in this one that problem goes into overdrive again, even worse than in Victory!


So there you have it.

Yes, Stockwin pushed my suspension of disbelief to the limits with this one.

Just done reading this book. I hate to say, but I agree with some of the less than stellar reviews. I've really enjoyed this series and I'm kind of disappointed in the directions its taken. I'll read the Baltic Prize, but not sure how much longer this series will hold my attention.