The Only Victor

by Alexander Kent

Book Overview

February 1806. Vice-Admiral Sir Richard Bolitho carries the news of Trafalgar to southern Africa, where he is to aid the ground forces in any way he can to retake Cape Town.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0935526749
• ISBN13: 9780935526745
• Release Date: April 2000
• Publisher: McBooks Press
• Length: 384 Pages
• Weight: 0.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.5" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Kent does it again!

I had not heard of Alexander Kent until I complained at a book store that they had no copies of Patrick O'Brian's books. The owner said, "Have you read any of Alexander Kent?" I had not, and that began a wonderful new adventure. Kent writes naval stories about the same historical time period as O'Brian, but Kent often has more action scenes, which I thoroughly enjoy. If you like O'Brian, you will love Kent. Prentice Kinser III, D.Min., Author of:Limitless Living, A Guide to Unconventional Spiritual Exploration and Growth

NAVAL WARFARE IN THE AGE OF NELSON

The story takes place four months after the battle of Trafalgar and the death of Lord Nelson. The main character is Vice Admiral Richard Bolitho, an aristocrat and one of the rising stars in the British navy. Bolitho is a complicated and compelling figure; with a heart as big as one of his ships of the line, he is also a ruthless and calculating warrior/officer ,seemingly capable of any action that will accomplish the mission. Bolitho is in society's disfavor because of his open liason with a married woman,( an obvious parallel with Nelson's obsession with Lady Hamilton) he is protected by his superior officers , at least professionally, because he gets results. This is the inner tension of the story and Kent handles the love interest with taste and flair. The supporting characters are fleshed out with the same detail as Bolitho, and are never predictable. Like most military leaders of that age, Bolitho leads by the strength of his personality, and no one is neutral in their feelings about him: they love him and will follow him into the worst hell or they will hate and envy him. Bolitho for his part is portrayed as almost the ideal of a best friend, you know he will literally die for you if neccessary. Having said this, Bolitho is also aware of his effect on others and is human enough to manipulate them if that will bring success to the mission. The battle scenes describing the almost point blank range these ships fought at are some of the best ever written (however, both O'brian and Kent are outdistanced by Forrester's single word picture of Hornblower frantically "striking" his colors after a battle in which 75% of his crew is killed; thats tops) and Kent's historical accuracy goes along way to put you there. The author is a member of the British upper class and the precision with which he speaks to us (even across the social spectrum from Vice Admiral to the most common "tar" ) has the other two main competitors O'brian and Forrester beat. The audio version of this title read by Michael Jayston is the perfect union of author and narrator. Jayston has that George Sanders type of inflection to his accent (slightly sinister ?) that transports you to Feb.1806. Most of these titles were written in the sixties and have been long out of print. Resurected with new interest, many are available through " MCBOOKS" in an elegant but expensive format. If your budgit allows it, these are fine produtions and easy to read (when I read all these books in the sixties and seventies I did not need glasses!). 5 stars for the book. 6 stars for the Audio version with Michael Jayston.....happy reading Cal Caligiuri