A Battle Won

Another voyage for Charles Hayden, this time in command of the ill-fated HMS Themis. There are plenty of stirring battle scenes on land and sea and it's a joy to meet up with the crew of that ship. There are new characters too as well as some nods towards Nelson and Bonaparte who it's to be hoped will feature in future books.

Hayden is still dogged by his lack of influential friends and his enemies are convincingly drawn. In this respect, it is more assured than the first book, Under Enemy Colours and it is also better balanced with just the right mixture of action and reflection. A lot is packed in but there is still time for brief interludes on land, where Hayden's love life takes an interesting turn. But the majority of the book is set around life at sea which is where I for one want it to be.

The narration is perfectly done, the cast of characters coming wonderfully to life. There are some comic moments too which are acted out superbly.

I would recommend this and Under Enemy Colours very highly.

I got this book for my husband but started listening by mistake. Glad I did, exciting descriptive stuff. Felt I was there looking over the Captain's shoulder. From Plymouth to the Med if trouble was to be had the ship found and dealt with it. All the time, will he won't he be given the command? We are left hanging at the end, so many unanswered questions. When is the next book coming out? Will we get the answers? I cannot wait.

I liked this audiobook, despite its problems. The good guys in this book are ever so good and the baddies do their job to perfection, so there is an element of predictability. One scene [a game of golf] is stretched out beyond the pain barrier, while the number of historical inaccuracies that have crept in in many places do not disturb very much. In general the book it quite well written, the story flows at a good pace and the reader does a good job bringing the characters to life. The ending is a nice cliff-hanger with a lot of hints to the next book that made me want to continue listening. I was pleasantly entertained without the need to think too much while listening to it.

I gave four stars and I guess that was possibly a little generous, a more critical person might have given only three.

A Battle Won by Sean Russell is a great read set in the pre Napoleon French Revolutionary Era when Britain was invited to occupy Toulon by the Royalist forces there. The story covers the return of the revolutionary French who see the Navy off but are not able to control the Mediterrean due to the presence of Hood's fleet. A book you won't want to stop once you begin listening to it.

Found it very entertaining, in spite of the boring golf.