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Peter Wicked
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Set in the early 19th century amid the ships and seamen of a nascent United States Navy, Lieutenant Matty Graves is recovering from his ordeal during the slave rebellion in the French Caribbean colony of Saint-Dómingue when he is ordered to Washington to answer questions about the death of his former captain. On home soil he must deal with the mystery and shame surrounding his birth as well as the attractions of his best friend's sister. But when he is offered a command of his own, he seizes the opportunity to seek his fortune and make a name for himself, even if it means destroying those closest to him.
Azioni libro
Inizia a leggereInformazioni sul libro
Peter Wicked
Descrizione
Set in the early 19th century amid the ships and seamen of a nascent United States Navy, Lieutenant Matty Graves is recovering from his ordeal during the slave rebellion in the French Caribbean colony of Saint-Dómingue when he is ordered to Washington to answer questions about the death of his former captain. On home soil he must deal with the mystery and shame surrounding his birth as well as the attractions of his best friend's sister. But when he is offered a command of his own, he seizes the opportunity to seek his fortune and make a name for himself, even if it means destroying those closest to him.
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I had not heard of this series before but I was quite excited to get a copy of this book. I'm a fan of the serial military stories of the 18th and 19th centuries, particularly the naval ones such as the tales of Hornblower, Aubrey/Maturin or Bolitho, and I had high hopes of finding another...particularly one whose author was still producing new works. I cannot speak for the first two in the series, No Quarter and The War of Knives, as I've not read them. Perhaps, if I had, this book would have been slightly less of a disappointment. However, I cannot imagine that my reactions would have improved to the point of actually liking the book for, while I found very little else to recommend it, the book did manage to convey enough of the backstory to make sense and lack of familiarity was not the real objection.I'll start with the language of the book. Mr. Campbell goes out of his way to cultivate a distinctive dialect. I read one reviewer of a previous volume in the series likening it to "Huck Finn running away to sea" and shouted "Yes!" That was exactly my reaction while reading the book—I thought I was listening to Huck and Jim conversing the whole time. I'm not a linguist and would not venture an opinion as to whether the language was authentic or not, but I can definitely state that it became distracting. Quite frankly, it would have benefited greatly from a third-person approach rather than the first person. The dialog was one thing; when even the non-dialog portions read the same way, it was painful.Moving to the characters, I found them lacking in any depth. They seemed to move through the story, colliding with each other and then moving on without giving the reader any real sense of who they are or why they act the way they do. Matty's early interactions with Arabella or his later ones with Peter just seemed like two wooden marionettes pretending to be human. The drive to recover the Shearwater and then the sudden ceding of her to the Clytemnestra made no sense; Matty said, "I didn't know why I'd come." and the reader was left feeling the exact same thing. Even exercising great imagination to turn them three-dimensional, there's not a character in the book to actually like.Beyond that, I can only say the plot moves in fits and starts, abruptly changing directions...almost as if there are whole volumes of subplots going on under the surface that the author has no time to reveal to the reader, so he can only bring up a brief incident and then move on just as you begin to get interested. Was there anything I enjoyed? Yes, a few things. As I noted above, I like that the author provided just enough backstory to let a reader picking up here get through the book; I always appreciate when that is done. While there isn't a lot of action in the book, the fight between the Tomahawk and the La Flamme and Suffisant was enjoyable, as was Matty's interactions with Malloy later. I also enjoyed the innuendo from Mrs. Towson. This was an Early Reviewer copy, so I felt duty-bound to finish it. Had that not been the case, I would probably have abandoned it early, earning it only 1½ stars but, as it is, 2 stars for a book finished but not enjoyed.
Rating: 2I haven't read either of the first two books in the series, but I have liked other naval books like the Horatio Hornblower series, so I thought I'd give it a try. I found the vocabulary and language a little too much for my tastes, although there is a glossary in the back. I waded through the first portion of the book, but really found it too slow moving to really capture my interests. I'll probably give this book another shot later, but for now, I'm not really a fan.
Rating: 2Peter Wicked, the third of Broos Campbell’s Matty Graves novels, finds young Graves battered – physically and emotionally – from his involvement in the war in Haiti. Desperately in need of time to heal from his ordeal, he is sent back to the United States. His enemies in Washington, however, misrepresent events in Haiti and Matty finds himself stripped of his acting lieutenancy and on the beach. Back in Baltimore, he has time to come a little closer to understanding the mysteries surrounding his birth and the strained relations among his family members. Matty also visits his friend’s plantation on the Eastern Shore of Maryland and finds he can no longer muster any sympathy for fatuous landowners who treat their slaves with cold cruelty. Matty finally musters enough influence to be reinstated in the Navy where, in fact, he is given command of a small schooner and is sent back to Haiti. There he is charged with a delicate mission. He is to bring to heel a mysterious American pirate. Peter Wickett, far from being lost at sea, has absconded with his sloop of war and turned pirate. In an adventure abounding in false flags, fictitious identities and treason, Matty struggles to clear up the problem without compromising his honor, the good name of the US Navy or American political interests. As in the first two books, Matty has to discern truth from lies, friend from foe and help from betrayal. Since he also has to protect American shipping, fight the French and avoid open conflict with the increasingly hostile British, there is plenty of opportunity for action, and Campbell does not disappoint. As ever, Campbell’s ear for dialogue, his attention to language and his limpid prose make for pleasurable reading. It’s especially fun to get the story through Matty’s occasionally disingenuous aw-shucks persona. Matty the narrator is quick to share his opinions, observations and feelings, but he keeps his conclusions to himself. He has flashes of insight as he moves closer to the center of both Peter Wickett’s and his own mysteries, but the reader must be attentive lest they go by unremarked. No bells and whistles, no fireworks, just an oblique question or remark, followed by a thoughtful silence. While it is possible to read the first three Matty Graves novels as stand-alones, I don’t recommend it. The three books form a single narrative and are best enjoyed and appreciated if read together and in order. I can only hope that Broos Campbell is not content to let the Matty Graves saga end with this trilogy.
Rating: 4In this third book in the series, U.S. Navy Lt. Matty graves is recovering from a brain fever on Saint-Domingue in the aftermath of Toussaint's slave rebellion. He's called back to the newly-built Washington when politics have led to inquiries about certain past events and finds himself landed, no longer a lieutenant and vying for the heart of the sister of his friend and shipmate, Dick Towson. Finally, he's back at sea with a mission to discretely deal with a U.S. Navy officer who has turned pirate.The dialogue and language give a strong sense of the period, as do the descriptions--particularly of the nascent Washington. It was interesting to see the dearth of any berths or positions during times between wars, and the workings of influence. Back on the sea there is plenty of action, as well as out-thinking and out-maneuvering, and the complications of questioning personal ethics and loyalty.I jumped into this series with this book, and it is possible to read this as a stand-alone, although I think it all might have more impact if a reader begins with the first book and reads them in order.
Rating: 4Having read the Hornblower and Aubrey–Maturin series several times it looked like this would be a good match for me. I have not read the first two books in the series but I was able to pick up and get into the flow of this book quickly. The book moves along with a few slow parts, but nothing too bad that made me want to put it down. I did have a little trouble getting into the flow with the dialog in “dialect” but as I got in tune with it, things were not that bad.I enjoyed it enough that if I see the other too books at a good price I probably would pick them up.
Rating: 4