Hey-Ho and Up She Rises...

I have a small addiction and I do not know how I got it. When I am not reading cookbooks, stuff-for-work, and news items, I have been known to read novels about the English Navy in the Napoleonic War. I don't sail. I am not a soldier. However, I love these things as much as pistachio nuts. As with pistachios, you can't eat just one.

So, in the interest of helping others with their summer reading, here are my recommended authors in the category of "ripping yarns":

CS Forester: This guy is the granddaddy, the big cheese. All others are compared to him. Countless works in this surprisingly large genre sport on the back some testimonial to them being "better than Forester". Of course, it means as much as fantasy novels being described as "tolkienesque". Which is to say, almost nothing. What he does well is characters. Our hero, Horatio Hornblower, is one strange guy but you like him, dear reader, you really do. The supporting characters are interesting as well but, as they are observed primarily through the lense of Horatio, one gets the sense their lives may be a bit different if they were telling the story.

Patrick O'Brian: OK, this guy is pretty good, too. I mentioned him a couple of days ago in reference to his ability to take various dialects and place them convincingly on the page. His novels are ones that you hear as much as read. Of course, his main characters, "Lucky Jack" Aubrey and Dr. Stephen Maturin are little bundles of strangeness, too...

You read these guys for the people and the words. They piece a story together well. They frolic in the English language, taking an mere adventure story and creating a work of art. For this reason, I suggest that preachers, in particular, get themselves a copy of Master and Commander (the book, not the movie) by O' Brian and start cracking. It is good practice to spend time with some good (and more entertaining that Moltmann!) words. If we did it more often, maybe folks would find our sermons to be less dull...

One thing that should be noted is that the main plots in all these books have a great deal in common with each other. There are lot's of ships "closing for action". "Midshipman Butterball" is always getting killed by a cannonball, grape shot, wood splinters or the sword of that dastardly privateer. It is sad, but just remember that he will be resurrected under another name for the next big fight. The same goes for all the "Able Seamen" who fall out of the rigging. Also, you can expect one important secondary character to "pass on" per book. I encountered a few truly surpriseing plot twists and truly tragic death scenes. However, almost all of them were written by Forester...

Finally, there is Alexander Kent (Not his real name) when you cannot get anything else. His books are exciting in the naval-battle kind of way, but I have to tell you, I have read 16 of his Bolitho novels (yes, 16) and I still don't really identify with anyone except the midshipmen-who-are-about-to-die (he telegraphs this well, by the way, by pretty much slapping a post-it note on their backs when they first appear).

Ah..well... we are talking about summer reading and his work is good for a nice day at the beach...

I think I will go a buy another...