The Maddest Idea

by James L. Nelson

Book Overview

From Simon & Schuster, The Maddest Idea is James L. Nelson's Book Two is a powerful saga of the American Revolution and a stirring dramatic maritime adventure.

When gunpowder reserves dwindle to dangerously low levels in 1775, General George Washington sends Captain Isaac Biddlecomb on a treacherous mission to capture British gunpowder in Bermuda.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0671519255
• ISBN13: 9780671519254
• Release Date: February 1997
• Publisher: Atria Books
• Length: 432 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 5.0" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

A wild ride on land and sea.

This is two parts action/adventure to one part historical fiction, but the action is so breathless, constant and unrelenting on shore and sea, you don't really care but just go along for a ride both wild and fun. There are more hairbreath escapes, crashes, and other sudden if improbable plot twists than a Dukes of Hazard rerun. This is intelligent escapist literature. The comparison should not be to the unique O'Brian, but to Richard Woodman's nautical series(and how both authors love to potray that great stereotype, the naval sadist). This one was indeed better than the first and I look forward to cracking open the next three (so far) adventures of Biddlecomb and Rumstick. And more of Fitzgerald, please! Keep scribbling Mr. Nelson, I'm having as much fun as you are.

A truly Revolutionary Idea

A truly Revolutionary Idea - ditch the BritsIsaac Biddlecomb returns with panache and gunsmoke. We finally have the flushing out of his character (and others) lacking in the previous book. Tracing the development of the U.S. Navy from it's tentative nascent beginnings as a rag-tag fleet of fishing vessels through the point of view of a merchant-turned man of war captain, you get the same thrilling chase, wind-in-your hair, reek of gunsmoke as any other series of nautical fiction. You just get it from the Yanks' point of view. Finally, the Royal Navy is the 'bad guy'. (The RN isn't painted as as evil, they're just the enemy.)Thankfully, we Yanks finally have a delightful read of our own history, rather than being subjected to a solely British-based view of 18th C. sailing (admittedly, since Britainia then Ruled the Waves, they now rule the pages of literature). I love Forrester, Marrayat, Lambdin, Pope, et al., but I am thrilled to finally find my own nation's history on the pages of nautical fiction as the focal point, rather than a side bar.Run, do not walk, to the closest bookstore to get this, and the others.

Even better than By Force of Arms

It's interesting to compare Nelson with Patrick O'Brian. Nelson doesn't have quite the sophistication of style or flair of characterization that O'Brian does, but his books are much faster-paced, and more historically interesting. The Maddest Idea was even better than By Force of Arms. I hope Nelson expands this past a trilogy.

More Nautical Adventure from Nelson!

Nelson has brought nautical fiction to the other side of the Atlantic in his second book set in the American revolution. His stories are well written around strong characters and unique facets of the time. Virtually all American commerce was borne by water, including the materials of war. Those of us who enjoy this genre all know that water was a medium the British were particularly well represented in (as they are in nautical fiction). Nelson writings have a pace that reflect the desperate situation of American revolutionaries. The reader is constantly wondering how Captain Biddlecomb will survive the actions of an overpowering enemy and the environmental challenges faced by those who go to sea. It is a rare writer who can create an exciting story line around history and adventure. Enjoy Nelson, because he is definitely one of them.

Huzzah for James Nelson!

James Nelson has hit his stride in this, the second book in his (to date) trilogy. Nelson's prose drives the reader like smoke and oakum through the opening months of the war, tapping well known heroes and lesser known knaves as characters in this marvelously constructed adventure while never losing track of his main characters, Isaac Biddlecomb, Rumstick, and the beautiful Virginia Stanton. It's fantastic to have, finally, a cast of Americans to cheer for. I sincerely hope Nelson deigns to stick around and turn the trilogy into a many volume series I can sail with for years to come.