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The Lion at Sea

Captain Kelly Maguire Trilogy, Book 1

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About this listen

A young recruit; a cataclysmic war; a baptism by fire.... A gritty adventure full of danger, blood and guts, perfect for fans of Alan Evans and Alexander Fullerton.

Confident and strong willed, Kelly Maguire knew from a young age that he could accomplish great things. A constant and abiding love of the ocean would prove to be the making of him. When the call of war is heard in the early 1910s, Kelly knows that he must answer it. Enlisting in the Royal Navy, he hopes to win both the war and personal glory. But from the barbarous battles of Gallipoli to the nightmarish action at Antwerp, Kelly, along with his young shipmates, begins to learn the trials a sailor must face, trials that will forge him from a boy into a man. As the epic battle of Jutland approaches, everything is at stake.

©2019 Max Hennessy (P)2020 W. F. Howes Ltd 20th Century Genre Fiction Historical Historical Fiction Military Suspense Thriller & Suspense War & Military World War I Fiction War Royal Navy
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The story is enjoyable and covers the career of a young officer in WW1, very reminiscent of a young Lt Hornblower. However the narrator has some excruciating pronunciation of simple phrases. With a naval storyline one could expect parts of a ship to be known I.e. forecastle is not two words, as for the place names I've never heard of anywhere called E_Sher as opposed to Esher (Eesher !) And as for Har_witch, what a great shame no proof listen was done prior to publication.

Story fine narration awfully poor

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involved me in a period of history I knew little want to read this auther again

detail authentic

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Good story, characters being developed nicely and the historical aspects link in well to this. Narration is a let down which is a real shame. Annoying lack of research by the narrator in pronunciation makes it a jarring listen if you are familiar with Naval locations and phrases. eg. Rosyth is pronounced Ross-ith, Harwich becomes Haar-witch?? Annoying aberrations which distract from the story.
That aside it’s an enjoyable listen and looking forward to the series continuing.

Engaging and interesting

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Really enjoyable story of one young mans rise through the Royal Navy during WW1. Only one thing made me cringe every time the word was uttered by Christopher Weeks, his horrible pronunciation of Rosyth. ( It came out as "Risiff", 😂 terrible!). As far as I can tell there are another two novels in the series, cant wait to listen to the next one.

Great Story.

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Mr Hennessy certainly knows the navy of the period, and his technical knowledge is likewise excellent. The description of Jutland is superb.
Well-read, too, apart from the pronunciation of Harwich and Rosyth, but that is a minor issue.

Great Story!

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