Sea of Grey

by Dewey Lambdin

Book Overview

Captain Alan Lewrie returns in Dewey Lambdin's tenth roaring adventure on the high seas.

This time, it's off to a failing British intervention on the ultra-rich French colony of Saint Domingue, wracked by an utterly cruel and bloodthirsty slave rebellion led by Toussaint L'Ouverture, the future father of Haitian independence. Beset and distracted though he might be, it will take all of Lewrie's pluck, daring, skill, and his usual...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312320167
• ISBN13: 9780312320164
• Release Date: December 2003
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
• Length: 891 Pages
• Weight: 0.91 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 5.5" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

Troubles Come Home to Roost and Lewrie's Off to the Caribbean

Captain Alan Lewrie of the HMS Proteus has distinguished himself at Camperdown and has been awarded a medal for it, but his private life has pretty much gone down the tubes, as the trouble that had been threatening comes to fruition and his wife comes to believe the reports being sent by an anonymous "friend" who is obviously all too conversant in every one of Lewrie's weaker moments with women who were not his wife, and is more than willing to reveal all. This has a bad effect on Lewrie's naval career, but he can't do anything better than return to the relative safety of the sea. This time he's sent to the Caribbean--not usually associated with being grey at all, but things are definitely not looking all that bright for Lewrie--or for England, for that matter. For one thing, there is the British attempt to keep the slave revolt from wreaking havoc in Haiti, a cause that is looking all too much like going the way of what happened in Toulon. And there are unfriendly superior officers and the changing alliances of various powers, making even patrols in the Caribbean seem grim and hazardous. And of course there is the fear of Yellow Jack and other deadly tropical fevers. This is the tenth Alan Lewrie Naval Adventure and I am still hugely enjoying this series, even though they are dark days for Our Hero.

A Wonderful Read!

I love these books! Okay, the guy is quite the rake-hell--not your standard hero. That's part of the charm. He is self-serving but decent. He's beset with all kinds of difficulties and has an uncanny knack for turning trouble into luck. His character flaws make him all the more believable and engaging. Lewry's reflections are a hoot. Lambdin's nautical information and sailing descriptions are to my mind, peerless in the nautical adventure series world. Lambdin does his homework. The series is a most unpretentious romp, full of great information on the era and nautical information. I look forward to the next installment!

Another informative and interesting read.

Contrary to some reviewers' comments, I found this a solid and enjoyable addition to the unfolding Lewrie adventures. Granted, it didn't have cannons blasting on every other page, but the story moved the main characters forward on occasionally surprising, though utterly believable paths. Moreover, it did what I expect of all readable historical novels; i.e., it provided solid information about an aspect of history of which I knew little--in this case the on-going slave rebellions in the West Indies--while keeping me interested in the overall story line and characters. I've read all the Hornblower books, as well as the entire O'Brian collection, and although I enjoyed them enormously, I find the Lewrie books the most enjoyable of the lot. The main character is clearly the most interesting to be found in these three series, resembling the roguish Flashman in George MacDonald Fraser's terrific series. If you're looking for the print equivalent of a John Woo movie, with massive explosions on every other page, I'd recommend going to a John Woo movie or reading a comic book, rather than this novel. But if you enjoy seeing a character develop believably, beset by an interesting and plausible set of non-stop difficulties against the backdrop of fascinating history--and would like to stay plugged in to the undoubtedly interesting things to come in this rascal's career--I'd highly recommend reading this and all the other books in Lambdin's Alan Lewrie series.