Passage to Mutiny
By Alexander Kent
ISIS Large Print, (2004)
ISBN: 0-7531-7199-6
Genre: Adventure, Historical Fiction
Reviewed by Sheldon Ztvordokov - March 8, 2005
Passage to Mutiny is the eighth book in Alexander Kent's thrilling series about the British seaman, Richard Bolitho. In this installment, we find Bolitho serving as Captain of His Majesty's ship, the Tempest. The Tempest is a rather new ship. It is a 36-gun frigate that is only four years old. Built in India of Malabar teak, this is a remarkably strong ship. Sailing from Madras, the Tempest has been posted to New South Wales. The year is 1789. Captain Bolitho is loathed to sail the South Seas, being eager to return to England where his chances of advancement would be greatly improved. He is to be sorely disappointed.
Rather than going home, Captain Bolitho is destined to face a series of challenges from fighting pirates, disease, dealing with fierce islanders, and the threat of mutiny. Worst of all, Bolitho must face a lost love, who arrives in Sydney in the company of her husband who is a government advisor. This woman, Viola Raymond, still casts a spell over Bolitho and he finds that despite the passage of time since they last met, his feelings for her are as strong as ever. At the time of Captain Bolitho's arrival in Sydney, New South Wales is a primitive penal colony that will eventually grow to become the country of Australia. Backing Bolitho up, as usual, is his coxswain and friend, John Allday.
From beginning to end, Passage to Mutiny is a fast paced adventure story that shows Bolitho's true spirit and strength of character. This is more of a swashbuckler than most of the other Bolitho novels. It is also full of gun battles, and strategic engagements between Bolitho and the Pirate Tuke, who is so skilled and wiley that he is almost the undoing of Bolitho. From beginning to end, Passage to Mutiny is an astonishing epic of the great sailing ships and the men who crewed them. Kent's writing it historically accurate, the plot complex and engrossing, and Bolitho is a hero that compels the reader to root for him unconditionally. Highly recommended.
Passage to Mutiny can be purchased directly from Ulverscroft, the parent company of ISIS Large Print.
Related Reviews:
In Gallant Company, by Alexander Kent.
The fourth installment (chronologically) in the famed, Richard Bolitho series of sea adventures that follow Bolitho as he rises through the ranks of the British Navy. (Large Print)
Form Line of Battle!, by Alexander Kent.
The tenth installment in the Richard Bolitho series finds the able Captain in command of the Hyperion. Stationed off the coast of Gibraltar, the gallant men of the Hyperion must do battle against the French in this thrilling adventure story set in 1793.
(Large Print)
