The Reaper

by Michael Aye

Book Overview

Captain Gilbert Anthony has a lot on his mind. He has just been decorated for extraordinary bravery under fire, been given command of the fourth-rate Drakkar, learned from his father's deathbed that... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0972630341
• ISBN13: 9780972630344
• Release Date: January 2005
• Publisher: Pisgah Review
• Length: 200 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.0" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

An Unusual Start

Most people who start a series of naval fiction in the age of sail take as their protagonist a young midshipman or lieutenant. Then, over the course of the development of the series, we see the protagonist develop into a better officer and rise in the ranks. Michael Aye has done something different. His character starts as a post captain fresh from a major victory. There would seem to be little room for upward mobility with a start like that but the book is worth reading. Captain Anthony is assigned to suppress piracy in the Caribbean. He does so at a time when the stage is being set for the American Revolution. Tensions are running high but conflict has not yet broken out. The pirates are everyone's enemies and the captain proves to be an effective suppressor of their trade. The book is extremely fast paced and enjoyable to read. Some to the situation and solutions seem to reek too much of coincidence but it is a fun read. I look forward to more.

1700s brought back to life

Reviewed by Ellen Hogan for Reader Views (3/06) Captain Gilbert Anthony gets word that his father is very ill. When he goes to see him, Gil learns that he has a grown half brother. Their father asks Gil to teach Gabe how to be a good seaman. Meanwhile a pirate ship called The Reaper is preying on any ship that comes in its path. The Drakkar, captained by Gil is sent out to find and take care of The Reaper. The story is full of battles with pirates, a damsel in distress, salty sailors, and the new relationship between Gil and Gabe. Captain Anthony and his crew are able to capture The Reaper after a fierce battle. Gil is then promoted to the rank of rear Admiral, while Gabe, having reached the rank of Lieutenant, gets his own command. The characters are very believable and very colorful. Dagan the gypsy, Lady Deborah the damsel and Silas and Bart the servants of Captain Anthony all have their place and fill it well. This is not the type of book that I usually read, but it was very enjoyable and I did not want it to end. Anyone with a love of history, pirates and good triumphing over evil will want to read this book. The Reaper brings adventures of the 1700's to life.

Reading is FUNdamental

During my high school years, among my favorite reads were Don Pendleton's The Executioner series and all of those yellow-spined sci-fi/fantasy novels published by DAW. The two things all of those novels had in common were that they rarely topped two-hundred pages, and they were fun. In the breadth of a weekend of reading, Mack Bolan could clean the Mafia out of Memphis or Elric of Melnibone could recover the runesword Stormbringer. As time went on, it seemed like the likes of Tom Clancy ousted Pendleton and Elric's throne was usurped by Robert Jordan megabooks. However, much to my delight, the short adventure novel isn't dead. One fine example that reminded me of when reading was fun is The Reaper, the first book of the Fighting Anthonys series by Michael Aye. It is the tale of British naval officer Gilbert Anthony and his war against West Indian piracy just prior to the American Revolution. Along with the assistance of his loyal crew, including his half-brother Gabriel and the mysterious Dagan, Anthony cleans out the Caribbean. Published by Broadsides Press, the book has been likened to "if Louis L'Amour had written an Age of Sail novel." While the genre lies within the straits of Patrick O'Brian and C. S. Forester, the author's style reminds me of Glen Cook with an occassional squall of Flashmanesque humor and a gust of supernatural thrown in for good measure. If you're the type of person who thinks Talk-Like-A-Pirate Day should be a year round event, The Reaper should definitely be on your reading list.

First-Rate Sailing Adventure

This is a rip roaring, sea going adventure yarn that takes place just prior to the revolutionary war. I was captured by Captain Gilbert Anthony on the first page and stayed with him and the book for a whole day, reveling in another time, another place. The books starts out in England. Captain Anthony's father is dying. He tells his son he has a half brother, puts Anthony in charge of seeing to the young lad's future in the Navy. Anthony inherits the old man's title when he passes and he accepts willingly the charge his father had given him. Lord Anthony is given command of the Drakkar and ordered to the Caribbean to fight pirates. His young half-brother is under his command. So to is a cruel lieutenant, who is overly abusive to Anthony's brother, knowing the captain cannot interfere. However, Anthony's help isn't needed, because somehow this hard headed lieutenant falls overboard and is lost at sea. Anthony arrives in the Caribbean, but not before engaging pirates and rescuing a bountiful lass, who later becomes his mistress. But all is not going to be roses for Captain Anthony in the sunny Caribbean for there is a daring and daunting pirate frigate called the Reaper which is busy raiding and pillaging. It's up to Anthony to find it and stop it. Will he be up to the challenge? This book is written in a straight forward, easy to understand way that seems to gradually make you a part of the life in the Caribbean three centuries ago. I must say I enjoyed it immensely and I think you will too. Reviewed by Stephanie Sane

Better than Pope or Kent

This is a bang up job as far as the beginning of a naval series is concerned. It isn't weighed down with a ton of sail handling detail and digressions about nature like O'Brian (not that he isn't great). I put it more in the Hornblower, Bolitho, Ramage school of sea fiction. This is the first in a projected series about two brothers, one an admiral, the other a midshipman, in the Royal Navy in 1775. They fight pirates, meet beautiful women, and blow folks to kingdom come. You know the drill. Anyway, if you like swashbuckling stuff this should suit you.