Alexander Kent: Signal – Close Action!

It is now 1798. Napoleon is concentrating forces in the Mediterranean. He is preparing to annex Egypt. And now the newly promoted Commodore Richard Bolitho is sent to the Mediterranean with a small squadron of ships: three seventy-fours, a thirty-two gun frigate, and a sloop of war. Since the majority of the British fleet is tied up on blockade duty in the Atlantic, his squadron is the sole projection of British naval might on this side of Gibraltar. His responsibility is massive and his powers fairly wide.

Commodore Bolitho knows that his own future is at stake, but also that the future of England hinges on his decisions and that, as he places his squadron between the Nile and the power of France, he must accept the price of the challenge.

In Signal Close Action, Bolitho must weather illness, conflict with his old friend Herrick, betrayal and a ferocious battle with a French squadron in the Corfu Channel before he can lay his ship alongside the enemy in the climactic Battle of the Nile.

Signal Close Action is among my favorites in the Bolitho series. Kent displays great familiarity with the historical context as well as with naval life and naval battle. The story telling is wonderful as well. There is a lot of attention to detail, superb phrasing, and good character descriptions and development. The naval action in this book is second to none. Signal Close Action is historical fiction at its best.

See many more reviews of nautical fiction books at leserglede.com: Horatio Hornblower, Richar Delancey, Thomas Kydd, Alan Lewrie and other series!

Links to Alexander Kent’s books at amazon US, amazon UK, and amazon CAN.

Tagged as: age of sail, Alexander Kent, Book review, historical fiction, Richard Bolitho, Signal - Close Action