Signal—Close Action!
4/5
()
About this ebook
The year is 1798. Napoleon's naval forces are amassing in the Mediterranean, preparing to annex Egypt, and it is there the newly-promoted Commodore Richard Bolitho is sent with a small squadron of ships under his command.
Read more from Alexander Kent
Young Nelsons: Boy sailors during the Napoleonic Wars Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Related to Signal—Close Action!
Titles in the series (26)
The Complete Midshipman Bolitho Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsIn Gallant Company Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5With All Despatch Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsStand Into Danger Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5To Glory We Steer Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Command a King's Ship Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Passage to Mutiny Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Flag Captain Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSuccess to the Brave Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Inshore Squadron Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsColours Aloft! Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Signal—Close Action! Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Form Line of Battle! Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsEnemy in Sight! Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5For My Country's Freedom Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBeyond the Reef Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Honour This Day Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Darkening Sea Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCross of St George Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Only Victor Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSword of Honour Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSecond to None Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Man of War Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHeart of Oak Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsIn the King's Name Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRelentless Pursuit Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related ebooks
Form Line of Battle! Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Inshore Squadron Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBeyond the Reef Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Passage to Mutiny Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Command a King's Ship Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Colours Aloft! Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Flag Captain Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Darkening Sea Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRelentless Pursuit Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Only Victor Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWith All Despatch Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHonour This Day Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Cross of St George Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsIn the King's Name Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTo Glory We Steer Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Enemy in Sight! Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Sword of Honour Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFor My Country's Freedom Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMan of War Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGovernor Ramage R. N. Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRamage's Diamond Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ramage & the Guillotine Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Second to None Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Ramage Touch Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Ramage & the Renegades Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5In Gallant Company Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ramage & the Saracens Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Success to the Brave Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Ramage's Signal Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Stand Into Danger Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
War & Military Fiction For You
The Rose Code: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Diamond Eye: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5All Quiet on the Western Front Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Mash: A Novel About Three Army Doctors Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Johnny Got His Gun Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Book of Lost Names Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Last Kingdom Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Grapes of Wrath Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Titans Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Good Shepherd Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The End of the Affair Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5All Quiet on the Western Front Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Visitors Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Cold Mountain: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Things They Carried Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Huntress: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Room on Rue Amelie Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5For Whom the Bell Tolls: The Hemingway Library Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Farewell to Arms Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Paris Daughter Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The War of the Worlds Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5When I Come Home Again: 'A page-turning literary gem' THE TIMES, BEST BOOKS OF 2020 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Memory Keeper of Kyiv: A powerful, important historical novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Three Fates Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Like the Appearance of Horses Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Forest of Vanishing Stars: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Soldier of the Great War Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Winemaker's Wife Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Naked and the Dead: 50th Anniversary Edition, With a New Introduction by the Author Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for Signal—Close Action!
1 rating1 review
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Not a review, really; just a few comments.
In this book, Richard Bolitho is Commodore commanding a small squadron in the Mediterranean Sea in 1798, tasked with figuring out what the French fleet is up to and making recommendations. The squadron consists of three 74s, a frigate, and a sloop; most are commanded by folks we've encountered in earlier books. Thomas Herrick's the flag captain, George Probyn and Charles Farquhar command the other line-of-battle ships, and Francis Inch has the sloop. All in all the assignment's a frustrating experience; while they know there's an enemy fleet in the Med, they can't pin down its location. (I'm leaving out a lot of detail, here, as the story's largely about personality conflicts between the characters I've just mentioned.)
The alert reader will have recognized this plot is a small-scale version of Horatio Nelson's 1798; indeed, Bolitho's well aware of Nelson's efforts, but circumstances--not to mention the frustration of an apparently-failed search effort--prevent the two from actually meeting. Francis Inch manages to ferry messages between the fleets, to his delight, but they're inconsequential.
Bolitho eventually manages to communicate his belief (not quite knowledge) that the French fleet is at Aboukir Bay, so Nel can chase Admiral Brueys (and Napoleon) down and win the Battle of the Nile. Bolitho's ships have an encounter with the French just before the main battle and are therefor too damaged to actively participate in the victory.
Incidentally, this is the novel where Herrick's wife-to-be, Dulcie, first appears.
This review has also been published on a dabbler's journal.