HMS Expedient

The 1st book in the series of Captain William Rennie and Lt James Hayter, both on the beach without a command, when they are unexpectedly assigned to HMS Expedient 36 guns.However, Expedient is shrouded in mystery, not yet commissioned and seemingly not recognised by the Admiralty; similarly with their task - the shadowy Sir Robert Greer (with the authority of who-knows-what?) has given them a mission which is not to be fully explained until they enter the Pacific.Rennie has misgivings, compounded when their surgeon turns out to be unqualified and a dwarf, only to be replaced by an incompetent ailing bigot; a 'scientist' is attached to the ship to prove the efficacy of an incomprehensible wind machine; and they are to test out a new gunpowder formula on new-styled cannon.All this points to their mission being scientific - how wrong!The mystery deepens when Expedient is dogged by another vessel, which defies all attempts at contact; the new guns and powder are disastrous; and the second set of secret instructions completely overturn the premise of the mission. Rennie realises that he has been duped and ill-used by Greer, kept in the dark nevertheless still not trusted to carry out the task unsupervised.The characters are complex and take time to be completely defined, I suspect they will continue to be refined in the ensuing books, however I was thoroughly and convincingly drawn into the plot and empathised strongly with the characters. The naval terminology is accurate, as is the handling of the ship, and the language has an authentic feel to it. Conversations are punctuated by one or two well-chosen words which convey the feelings and tensions of the moment.This is a promising start to a new series in the tradition of Aubrey/Maturin and Kydd/Renzi. ****

Having read all of Peter Smalley's book I bought this book, along with others, for my Son who also has an interest in this era of sail. At the risk of ruffling many other peoples feathers I prefer Smalley to O'Brien, I find Smalley's books faster paced & the characters within them better described. If you haven't read any of Peter Smalley's book you are missing out on some terrifc yarns.

This was an OK story, even if the captain deserved to have his neck wrung, but I wonder how much the author knows about the Pacific islands. Frankly, parts of the story were unbelievable. That said, I'll be buying the next volume in the series - but cautiously.

Really lke it a good read

Good condition.

HMS Expedient Liked the use of speech idioms of the period.Well researched with regard to ship handling and gunnery.Followers of Ramage, Hornblower etc may well be able to add "another shot to their locker"!

I have had this book on the shelf for ages. Long forgotten until I recently sorted my books. I love naval faction. Having enjoyed Hornblower so much, other authors sometimes are a disappointment by comparison. Mr Smalley has written an impressive first novel. There is little development of the characters amongst the crew. Part way through you wonder who is the lead role, Rennie or Hayter. If Rennie, this is a hero, but who swears, is moody, difficult to fathom and makes mistakes, that waste lives. But then, are not real naval hero's just like that. On reflection, I like all Rennie's attributes, and forgive him his faults. Hornblower make their lead characters too good. Smalley has written a very good read, which I would warmly recommend to others. I must get the other adventures as soon as poss!

Firmly in the tradition of o'brien and forester - but a bit lightweight by comparison with either. The characters are rather one-dimensional sterotypes - oddball but brilliant captain, dashing and empathetic lieutenant, adventures that mix implausible coincidence with rather contrived intrigue. The first few chapters are positively Mills & Boon in their scene setting with sentimental placeholder relationship thrown in, presumably for the endless series of forthcoming sequels. However,you could make the similar criticism of the opening of the O'brien sequence which with its faux-Austen on-shore activities never really got going until they were far from home. Smalley has a good narrative voice, albeit one that never generates the same feeling of effortless authenticity one gets with Obrien - the action is perhaps too breathless and lacks the sense of pending terror and personal revelation that colours the day-to-day tedium of a long voyage with Aubrey and Maturin. But it's all good fun and worth perservering with to see how things develop