Kit Faulkner series

Looks like Woodman is starting a new series based around naval activities during the English Civil War starting in 1618. The first book A Ship for the King is now available for pre-order in hardcover. It will be released in the UK on 28 July 2011 and in the US on 1 November 2011.

More on the web site

Good to see someone tackling a period older than Nelson. Looking forward to it.

Richard has been kind enough to share some thoughts on the series with me. You can read the article on the website

Interesting ... and his histories of Trinity House & the Merchant Navy look like essential reading too.

The next book in the series, For King or Commonwealth, is now available for pre-order

As I mentioned in the "they are here" thread, I received my copy of Woodman's A Ship for the King yesterday and cracked it late last night. I wasn't far into it before thinking............this sounds like the start of another great Woodman series. The foundations for our lead character are well set in the 1st chapter and it's well placed in the historical perspective.

And now I learn there's a 2nd novel on the way... coming out in next month.
Contact Amazon and reserve another shelf.....Shazaam !!

Update In considering pre-ordering this book from Amazon, I find that it will not be released until August 2012 in the U.S., but can be pre-ordered from AmazonUK where it will be released in April 2012. The price will be 17.99 pounds plus 7 pounds for shipping to the U.S. if ordered from AmazonUK.

Brief, interim comment on A Ship for the King ..... I was surprised on how little time was spent on getting our main character from landsman to Lieutenant. While this evolution can, and has taken "several books" in most series, here it takes but one chapter.

I've no doubt that Woodman knows where he's taking us, but I'm "taken aback" by how quickly we seem to be getting there.......could this be a short series? He's written them before.......and they were good (Captain of the Caryatid and The Cruise of the Commissioner).

Full thoughts and comments to come.

80 Winters wrote:Brief, interim comment on A Ship for the King ..... I was surprised on how little time was spent on getting our main character from landsman to Lieutenant. While this evolution can, and has taken "several books" in most series, here it takes but one chapter.

For this period it is important not to apply Nelsonian expectations. This is the period when the modern navy started to find it's way but things were very different. In earlier periods up to about Drake and cannon a ship was just a base for effectively a 'land' battle between opposing troops. The Master and crew sailed the ship to where it was needed. The Captain & his lieutenants were Gentleman, often with no sea experience, in command of troops who would do the fighting. By the period of this book the troops had gone as the ships fought with their cannon but the officers were often still just noblemen with no sea experience, appointed by the court, and the sailing was still down to the master. As such any suitable person could become a lieutenant at the drop of a hat with no thought as to experience. Some thought, in isolated cases, was starting to be given to the idea that it might be good for the officers to know something about the sailing of the ship which would eventually evolve into the examination for lieutenant in place during Nelson's time. Hence the idea of Mainwaring bringing on Faulkner who was actually a seaman.

A clear example of the Gentleman officer still in place is the first Anglo/Dutch War a few years later where the best 'Admiral' we had (he wasn't even called that but General-at-sea) was Blake, a land officer just sent off to sea with the ships.

To quote the author in his interview with me (which is here if you haven't found it) "This is not intended as a lengthy series" but that said I expect the various battles of the First/Anglo Dutch war, when that period is reached, will give better scope for novels covering a shorter time span.

I just finished the book and have added my review to the site

Ah, The "stranger in a foreign land" syndrome has shown itself. So much time spent in the Age of Fighting Sail, has limited my scope and understanding of "what came before and how we got here".

Will endeavor to learn more of the background of the period as I was not formally schooled in European history, but I'm picking it up as I go. Nearing the mid-point now and I'm beginning to see that Prince Royal was more a stage than a ship, at least up to this point.

HNF in a totally different age (1620-44) when the English navy wasn't much of a navy at all, if you're using the yardstick of the later Age of Fighting Sail. This story is more historical facts than fiction and if you're not strong on European history of this period, as I wasn't, then get out your old history book or as I did, get on your computer and start "Googling". With A Ship for the King in one hand and the computer in the other, I gained knowledge, understanding, and entertainment all together.

If you haven't read HNF in this period, this is as good a place to start as any. Woodman didn't disappoint me and the 2nd part of this story comes next month with For King and Commonwealth (in the UK) and August 2012 in the former colonies.

For any interested in the primary background character of the the above HFN, Henry Mainwaring, who was undeniably a significant force in the emerging Royal Navy of this period, I offer the following links:

The archive served by the Vitoria University of Toronto
http://www.archive.org/stream/henrymainwaring02manwuoft/henrywainwaring02manwuoft/_djvu.txt

The Maritime History Virtual Archives
http://www.bruzelius.info/Nautica/Nautica.html

This virtual archive holds much of Mainwaring's dictionary text split into and indexed under different categories (eg, rigging, ship building, ect). There is also much info on ships/pirates/budding navies of the period.

Another good read from Woodman, and somewhat different from the normal HNF fare. With the years rolling past so quickly, at times it reads like a history book, and indeed is very illuminating about this earlier period. Highly recommended.

I've been "working" my way through Woodman's 2nd book in the Kit Faulkner series For King or Commonwealth since yesterday (taking it in small bites of one or two chapters at a time). SInce I read the 1st book A Ship for the King only last month, the story, up to this point, was still fresh in my mind. I'm now at the halfway point, so these are only initial impressions........while part 1 (The Exile) didn't start off with "cannons blazing", it could have started off doing something (anything) that would have better held my interest than the realities of the political, pecuniary, and military situation Charles (the younger) faced in exile. I know it's history (sort of ) but I find it "not entertaining" and I paid my L22 to be entertained. But not to worry, by the final chapters of Part 1 things were picking up and I'm enjoying Part 2 (The Prisoner) as the characters seem to have more of a story to work with and I'm reading the Woodman that I recognize and I'm liking it more than I did after the first 60 pages. But then, this book is only 215 pages long.

Having just finished For King or Commonwealth about an hour ago, here are my thoughts:

Having read Woodman's interview concerning this series (on the website) I better understand why this book reminds me more of a "historical reference book" than a novel. There are glimpses of a novel in there, but, at least to my mind, this is a chronologically written synopsis of historical facts with the focus on correct names, places, dates, and events.......and not a story that, through the eyes and actions of the main character(s) carries you along with them in an adventure. The closest the author comes to achieving this is in Part 2 (The Prisoner).

I've wondered if Richard Woodman shouldn't have written the story of Henry Mainwaring, who by known accounts had a story to be told of both his early years and his service to James and Charles, rather than invent Christopher Falkner whose military career, or as much as we're told of it, could be considered "better than average" by some and "checkered" by others.

To sum it up, I feel that Richard Woodman has written better books (and series).......much better. And I haven't changed my mind that he's still my favorite author of HNF in the AOS.....and just plain HNF anytime. And I'll be standing in line to purchase A Light Upon the Waters when it comes out in 2014.

The Kit Falkner series is in my library.

The next book in the series, The King's Chameleon, is now available for pre-order