Product Description

In Malta, 1941, most people see the HMS Saracen as an ugly, obsolete ship. But to Captain Richad Chesnaye, she brings back memories - of World War I, when they went through the Gallipoli campaign together. As the war enters a new phase, Chesnaye sees a fresh, significant role for them both.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #265370 in Books
• Published on: 1976-03-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 320 pages

About the Author
Douglas Reeman did convoy duty in the navy in the Atlantic, the Arctic, and the North Sea. He has written over thirty novels under his own name and more than twenty bestselling historical novels featuring Richard Bolitho under the pseudonym Alexander Kent.

Customer Reviews

One ship, one man, two wars
Other reviewers have noticed the allegedly formulaic nature of many Reeman novels. This title, the first Reeman story I ever read, is an entertaining departure from many of the elements Reeman fans have come to expect. Along with 'A Prayer for the Ship,' this is one of my favorite Reeman books.

HMS Saracen is a monitor, a type of ship already obsolete when it was launched and now almost entirely forgotten. Nevertheless, Saracen is Richard Chesnaye's first ship, and it is aboard her that he makes a name for himself during the Gallipoli campaign. Twenty-five years later, both the ship and the man are recalled to active service during Hitler's war. And while few people are willing to say anything good about the ugly old ship, Chesnaye sees an opportunity to prove the old girl still has one more heroic act left.

Reeman's picture of the fighting at Gallipoli is dramatic and affecting, plainting in Our Hero the seeds that drive him onward during the second war. The author resists the common flaw of making his hero too messianic: Chesnaye is sympathetic, but we can see his flaws.

All in all, a highly enjoyable, read, with all the author's usual skill in depicting the horror and the glory of war at sea.