HMS Nightingale (Alexis Carew #4)

Alexis, rattled and frankly scarred by the cost of her prior successes, gets her own legit command. And, of course, it’s a mess; what else would the admiralty do with someone like her? At first, and thru a fair amount of the book, I found it harder to love the story and stay engaged. Alexis, our protag, is in a kind of darker phase, and frankly isn’t at her best. I didn’t love that…until the end, and the epilogue. Stay with it, the wrap up makes it very worth while. The prose is more polished, but there’s more recap, and (as noted) it’s less “fluffy fun” than prior novels. But, in the end, it’s very rewarding. The epilogue is perfect; I wouldn’t change a word or omit it; it is an important part of the story (long ago, plays had prologues and sometimes epilogues…seldom this succinct, I think). There’s a lot less time wasted on the (gratuitous?) mapping of Napoleonic era practice to space age (which, ok, was very thorough, but really it’s…well, I’ll let you pick your own adjective). I really do think that, despite it being somewhat less enjoyable and approachable thru much of it, it’s actually better written; you just have to stay with it for the full effect. It’s a transitional novel in a sense, but an important bit of Alexis’ character development, and a far more meaningful treatment of the issues implied in the earlier volumes. I think this book transitioned the series from fun fluff to memorable and meaningful stories; I very much look forward to the next bit. I hope it doesn’t get any darker, but the increased empathy and wisdom are very positive signs for the future of this series.

I read books 1-6 in quick succession so this is a combined review of them all.

The author creates a believable universe in which FTL travel occurs in a manner that, through necessity, replicates the feel of the age of sail of the early 19th century. While this might seem contrived at first glance, this reality is so interwoven into the characters and the universe that you quickly just accept it as (fictional) fact and enjoy the story. The technology levels of developed worlds hits all of the expected high notes; it is really just the FTL travel that morphs into a different era.

The tale of Alexis Carew mirrors that of Horatio Hornblower to a great extent. Born into a star-spanning nation modeled politically and culturally on the British Empire of the early 19th century, Alexis joins the Navy as a midshipman and faces a series of trials and adventures that certainly pay homage to, and remind the reader of Hornblower’s travails. Carew’s tale includes more of her home life than Hornblowers, which adds to and deepens her journey, rather than distracting from it.

As one would expect, her gender is an area of conflict on multiple occasions, but is not overdone or used as a blunt instrument.

The books are PG-13, with occasional detailed violence, some allusions to sexual activity, and some language, though most of that uses 19th century terms. If you are proficient in German or French, the language does get more explicit. Overall, though, the reader is protected by a veneer of class that keeps the story from being overly gritty and is in keeping with a series that, at its core, starts with the journey of a 15 year old girl.

Overall, I highly recommend the series. At its core, it is a YA/NA series with a strong female lead, strong character growth and a plot that includes not only adventure, but intrigue and romance as well.

The Alexis Carew books are a favorite of mine and my go-to books for space opera of a decidedly Age of Sail-esque bent. I absolutely loved the first three books and was very eager to get into the fourth. I will say, unfortunately, this one didn’t appeal to me nearly as much as the others for a variety of reasons. It’s still an excellent novel but I’m going to say that I hope the author returns to his more traditional style for future ones. I will, however, give him credit for a truly hilarious subplot and also the attempt to handle Alexis Carew’s PTSD in a mature dignified manner.

The premise is Lieutenant Alexis Carew has been given her own small patrol boat and is now given the job of patrolling the area around her own home world. This proves to be more of a problem than she expected as the territory around it is full of radical religious groups, misogynists, and her old family rivals. Alexis is also suffering PTSD and refuses to seek any treatment for it, lest she be perceived as weak. After a massacre of several ships, Alexis decides to track down the parties responsible and put an end to them. Also, there’s a subplot where her first mate has determined the girl he loves is actually in a romance with Alexis due to them sharing a bed thanks to lack of space
on the ship.

The good parts of the book are the story bits about Alexis struggling to get a hold of her mind after the horrible battle with the Hanover frigate when it tried to commit war crimes against fleeing refugees. J.A. Sutherland weaves a sympathetic take on the condition and does not demean the condition or it’s aftermath. Alexis also doesn’t magically get better but will have to deal with it for, probably, the rest of her life. Too often books make our heroes look like serial killers who can just shrug off traumatic situations and I’m pleased with this one for averting that.

I also am fond of the Nightingale crew and think they’re probably the most interesting of the characters she’s had to serve with. I’m especially fond of Midshipman Villar and hope he continues to be a character in the series. While mildly sexist and a bit of a dunderhead, he tries very hard to be a model officer. The fact he’s so terribly bad at it doesn’t make him a bad person, though, and I like seeing how his casual manner plays against the more straight-laced Lieutenant Carew. I also found his ill-fated romance with Marie to be hilarious, especially as Alexis is completely confounded by his assumptions about her.

Unfortunately, I do have a complaint and that’s the book’s handling of the religious colonies in this setting. Despite being the Age of Sail in space, religion seems to be a somewhat isolated thing to the colonies with Alexis, herself, being atheist. Fine, that’s just how the author has created the character but I was more confounded by the fact the only religious characters in the novel are ten pounds of crazy in a five pound bag. In addition a colony of what appears to be Wahhabi Muslims who are refreshingly not a group of terrorists, a group of Space Amish who believe space is heaven, and a bunch of psychotic zealots. This is mostly notable lack of contrast to anyone who isn’t nuts. There’s also the fact the word “terrorist” has apparently exited the lexicon of humanity for some reason. Has political extremist disappeared so thoroughly that language has changed? It seems at odds with the retrograde universe which is at times the 17th century and other times the far future while this handling of humanity seems at odds with either.

Despite my trouble with the story, I still think the book has quite a few merits and will be enjoyable for fans of the series. I’m just a bit confused by the world-building choices and they brought me out of the story.

7/10

Rather fortunately for me I had only finished reading the other books in this series recently so was able to leap into this one with everything still fresh in my mind. For those that don’t know this is an ongoing series so reading of the first three books is required before reading this one.

1.

Into the Dark

2.

Mutineer

3.

The Little Ships

Onto the actual review. HMS Nightingale follows lieutenant Alexis Carew as she is given command of her first ship, it’s only a small custom boat but shows the Navy’s faith in her ability to command a vessel at her age and limited experience in her current rank. Her first command is not what she expects however with a crew far from the Navy’s best, conflicting orders and planets and merchants that resent her help.

I have loved this series so far and HMS Nightingale is a great edition. The book does feel a little like a stepping stone towards more interesting plots for the whole series but that isn’t really a bad thing. It explores Alexis’s growth as she learns what it is to be a commander, she makes mistakes and still has trauma from battles she has survived so far to deal with as she learns. The events of the book are interesting, well written and addictive as I blasted through it in two days after starting.

All in all if you have enjoyed the previous books in the series I believe you will enjoy this one just as much. Recommended.

+ Alexis’s character continues to grow.
+ Well written and easy to read.
+ Hard to put down.

In this volume, of the excellent Alexis Carew space-going series, the author demonstrates he can create his own drama, without reworking historical events from battles past re-envisioned to fit into his innovative Sci-fi universe. If you like C.S. Forrester’s classic Hornblower novels, or David Weber’s Honor Harrington series -especially the early books- you’ll love this!
The old style language and space ‘sailing’ methods take a little getting used to but are well worth the effort. It’s great to have a different perspective on what a space going future could look like. The characters are endearing, their adventures exciting and draw vivid pictures in the imagination. This book is slightly less intense than the previous volumes, but nevertheless it is a rattling good yarn and I would encourage you to indulge yourself in the series instanter!

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