At last we have an American character the equivalent of Hornblower or Aubrey.
Macomber is the O'Brian of the Caribbean.
Macomber is today's foremost practitioner of a fascinating subgenre--historical fiction of the nautical variety. Building his series on the imagined autobiography of Peter Wake, he's given readers a vivid, multi-dimensional hero. Macomber makes the remarkable times he portrays glow. . . . History comes alive.
My advice is to sign on early and set sail with Peter Wake for both solid historical context and exciting sea stories!
Peter Wake continues to emerge as an American hero worthy of his counterparts in naval fiction.
Robert Macomber writes well and inspiringly so--giving voice to the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps and its officers and enlisted men (ratings) now lost to memory. . . . Does Wake work? Yes, in many ways he captures the essential--which is, no doubt, why he has so many followers on both sides of the Pacific and Atlantic.
The seventh novel in the Honor Series, which traces the career of Peter Wake, a nineteenth-century American naval seaman, is so vividly written that it's easy to forget Wake is a made-up character. The book purports to be Wake's first-person account of his mission to Indochina, in which a seemingly simple assignment (deliver a presidential message to the king of Cambodia) becomes a months-long odyssey in which our hero is set upon by pirates, gangsters, and even a nasty typhoon. The author introduces this volume (the first in the series narrated in the first person) by explaining how a manuscript, chronicling Wake's adventures in Indochina, was found in a trunk in the attic of a recently deceased elderly woman; he also includes chapter endotes, elaborating on some of the historical elements of Wake's account. Fans of the Honor Series will enjoy the shift in narrative point of view: Wake has a strong voice, and it is fascinating to see his world and his time through his own eyes. Readers unfamiliar with the series may want to start with an earlier volume, to get a better sense of the author's writing style, but no doubt they'll wind up reading the entire series, including this volume, in due course. Highly recommended for fans of naval fiction, especially Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin series, C. S. Forester's Hornblower novels, or anything by Bernard Cornwell.
The Peter Wake novels are more than just gripping stories about life at sea--they offer a carefully rendered, historically accurate imagining of America's naval history in the second half of the 19th century.
You'll never look at the Vietnam War the same after reading The Honored Dead. A "must read" book for anyone who appreciates history, intelligence, and great story-telling by a master of the art of historical fiction. An action-packed thriller! --Rear Admiral Tony Cothron, USN (Ret.), 62nd Director of Naval Intelligence
