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Type of bind: Mass Market Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN num: 9780449224519
ISBN number: 0449224511
Label: Fawcett
Manufacturer: Fawcett
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 368
Printing Date: June 30, 1996
Publishing house: Fawcett
Release Date: June 30, 1996
Sale Popularity Level: 162615
Studio: Fawcett
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1783: His Majesty's secret agent
Fresh from war in the Americas, young navy veteran Alan Lewrie finds London pure pleasure. Then, at Plymouth he boards the trading ship Telesto, to find out why merchantmen are disappearing in the East Indies. Between the pungent shores of Calcutta and teaming Canton, Lewrie--reunited with his scoundrel father--discovers a young French captain, backed by an armada of Mindanaon pirates, on a plundering rampage. While treaties tie the navy's hands, a King's privateer is free to plunge into the fire and blood of a dirty little war on the high South China Sea.
Ladies' man, officer, and rogue, Alan Lewrie is the ultimate man of adventure. In the worthy tradition of Hornblower, Aubrey, and Maturin, his exploits echo with the sounds of crowded ports and the crash of naval warfare.
Praise for the Naval Adventures of Alan Lewrie
'The best naval series since C. S. Forrester . . . Recommended.'
--Library Journal
'Plenty of action . . . Fast-paced, graphically descriptive, and well plotted.'
--The Virginian-Pilot & The Ledger-Star
'
Fast-moving . . . A hugely likable hero, a huge cast of sharply drawn supporting characters: there's nothing missing. Wonderful stuff.'
--Kirkus Reviews
User popularity level:
Rated by buyers 
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Captain Aubrey meets Flashman. Lots of interesting, accurate detail and great storytelling. Read 'em all!
Rated by buyers 
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This fourth novel in the "Alan Lewrie" series is something of a departure, its heavily political (rather than simply naval) plot dictated by the end of the American Revolution in 1783. Lewrie finds himself back in London on a lieutenant's half-pay, subsisting comfortably (as long as he watches his expenses) and indulging his taste for sex with as many women as he can, of any age or marital status. But he's caught 'en flagrante' by an elderly husband -- once his patron, but no longer -- who wants his blood. Just as he's packing for his escape from the city, timely orders arrive from the Admiralty to report immediately to Plymouth, . . . and he's off on another adventure, this time as junior officer on a semi-secret mission to India and Canton, fighting Malay pirates who are in league with a French-backed privateer. The political leader of the mission, Mr. Twigg, is as bloody-minded a secret agent as you will find, perfectly willing to torture and murder surrendered prisoners to get the information he wants. Definitely not a nice person. And in India, Lewrie meets up again with his father, who had stolen from him, set him up with his supposed half-sister, had him essentially shanghaied into the navy, and then decamped to escape his creditors. But now we get the other side of his father's story and, while Sir Hugo retains nearly all his faults, he certainly becomes a more rounded character. Captain Choundas, on the other hand, is vicious, sexually perverted, and one-hundred-percent evil -- and since he survives the final fight with Lewrie, I would be very surprised if he did not return in future installments, probably as an agent of the French revolutionary government. Not as successful as the previous book, but I'll certainly keep reading -- though I hope the author will reduce his use of exclamation points!!!
Rated by buyers -
It's 1783 and Britain is in the depression 'between wars' and like an actress between jobs is hard-up and desperate to improve her lot.
Enter young Alan Lewrie, gulled into a commision on an East Indiaman with a hidden agenda of retribution against French privateers.
Alan, like most young men, keeps his brain in his groin and finds no shortage of willing bed-partners; but this lascivity leads to problems, the least of which is a pregnant maid. On the run, even 4th luff on the Indiaman looks an attractive prospect, with the chance to make money and a name for himself, but as they arrive in Calcutta, the past catches up with him.
He is thus privy to news that the rest of the young officers are denied, causing jealousy and unrest in the gunroom.
Mr.Lambdin strives to convey accents with a quaint use of spelling and punctuation - it usually works, but sometimes is a trifle heavy going. Otherwise, apart from one or two slips, the plot rolls along very nicely. There is initially markedly little naval action - but there is plenty of intrigue and double-dealing to keep one guessing all the way through. However, when the action does start, the below-decks detail is extremely well described, educating the reader in the minutiae of the proceedings.
I am not fond of the detailed amorous interludes, which do nothing for the plot, only rubbing in the fact that Alan is human and prey to all the vices that the world has to offer, to my mind a subtle hint works better than a blow-by-blow description which easily turns salacious if not handled well.
Having read most of the other authors in this genre, I can say that Mr.Lambdin is definitely not near the bottom of the list - as I read more, he may rise alongside Richard Woodman, James Nelson & Patrick O'Brien in my estimation.
Rated by buyers 
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This was a drop in quality in the series so far. The very first three and H.M.S. Cockerel were better. In "Privateer", the story tends to wander from the focus that was a plus in the others. It isn't a bad book, none of the ones I've read in the series are. Lewrie is still an interesting character, and it's worth reading. It's just that it is a valley in a series of peaks to this point. I do look forward to reading the subsequent in the series.
Rated by buyers -
For sheer feel, this is the best of the Lewrie lot. Lewrie alternates between rage and panic and indecision, just like real people.
By going far afield the writer helps to highlight some of the less-known aspects of the interwar period 1783-1794.
This time we managed to avoid the pornographic blow-by-blows of Lewrie's rutting with non-white women, though the smut remains while he's in England.
Overall the series is a disappointment.
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