FIRE ON THE WATERS

Name: FIRE ON THE WATERS
Author: David Poyer
ISBN: 0-684-87133-5

by David Poyer ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 5, 2001

Poyer, a former Navy captain, knows his ships, of course, but his cast is strong besides, and his grip on the tiller of...

bookshelf

A stirring story of the Civil War—maritime style—as told by savvy veteran Poyer (China Sea, 2000, etc.) in the first of an ambitious trilogy.

Except for the zealots and the hotheaded sunshine patriots, it’s a war few want, but in the spring of 186l it seems inescapable. And good people, on both sides of the Mason-Dixon line, are forced to scrutinize positions they had thought fully settled. Aboard the Navy sloop Owanee, for instance, there are two such: the captain and his executive officer, both men of honor, both career officers, but both also Virginian-born and -bred. And on the day that young Elisha Eaker, recently of Harvard University, reports for duty, only one of the two has made up his mind. Though Captain Trezevant’s love for his home commonwealth is hardly a secret, he’s told no one that he intends to resign his commission, a fact that will complicate life for all the ship’s company. Eli, too, has some difficult decisions to make. His, however, have little to do with the war. He has to decide whether the affection he feels for his childhood sweetheart is really strong enough for marriage. And he has to decide whether he will allow his arrogant, plutocratic, tyrannical father to continue going on forever without a confrontation. When guns open fire on Fort Sumter, the war few want breaks out for real. Captain Trezevant leaves the Owanee. Reluctantly, his exec, Lieutenant Claiborne, takes command. Eli becomes gunnery officer, and to his own considerable surprise performs efficiently, even valiantly. Finally, on the last day of that fateful April, volume number one slips safely into harbor, all plot lines neatly advanced and yet satisfactorily in flux.

Poyer, a former Navy captain, knows his ships, of course, but his cast is strong besides, and his grip on the tiller of Civil War history appears reassuringly firm.

Pub Date: July 5, 2001

ISBN: 0-684-87133-5

Page Count: 464

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2001

Categories:

HISTORICAL FICTION | GENERAL FICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
DEEP WAR
by David Poyer

- BOOK REVIEW
TIPPING POINT
by David Poyer

- BOOK REVIEW
THE CRUISER
by David Poyer

bookshelf

WE WERE THE LUCKY ONES

by Georgia Hunter ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 14, 2017

Too beholden to sentimentality and cliché, this novel fails to establish a uniquely realized perspective.

bookshelf

Hunter’s debut novel tracks the experiences of her family members during the Holocaust.

Sol and Nechuma Kurc, wealthy, cultured Jews in Radom, Poland, are successful shop owners; they and their grown children live a comfortable lifestyle. But that lifestyle is no protection against the onslaught of the Holocaust, which eventually scatters the members of the Kurc family among several continents. Genek, the oldest son, is exiled with his wife to a Siberian gulag. Halina, youngest of all the children, works to protect her family alongside her resistance-fighter husband. Addy, middle child, a composer and engineer before the war breaks out, leaves Europe on one of the last passenger ships, ending up thousands of miles away. Then, too, there are Mila and Felicia, Jakob and Bella, each with their own share of struggles—pain endured, horrors witnessed. Hunter conducted extensive research after learning that her grandfather (Addy in the book) survived the Holocaust. The research shows: her novel is thorough and precise in its details. It’s less precise in its language, however, which frequently relies on cliché. “You’ll get only one shot at this,” Halina thinks, enacting a plan to save her husband. “Don’t botch it.” Later, Genek, confronting a routine bit of paperwork, must decide whether or not to hide his Jewishness. “That form is a deal breaker,” he tells himself. “It’s life and death.” And: “They are low, it seems, on good fortune. And something tells him they’ll need it.” Worse than these stale phrases, though, are the moments when Hunter’s writing is entirely inadequate for the subject matter at hand. Genek, describing the gulag, calls the nearest town “a total shitscape.” This is a low point for Hunter’s writing; elsewhere in the novel, it’s stronger. Still, the characters remain flat and unknowable, while the novel itself is predictable. At this point, more than half a century’s worth of fiction and film has been inspired by the Holocaust—a weighty and imposing tradition. Hunter, it seems, hasn’t been able to break free from her dependence on it.

Too beholden to sentimentality and cliché, this novel fails to establish a uniquely realized perspective.

Pub Date: Feb. 14, 2017

ISBN: 978-0-399-56308-9

Page Count: 416

Publisher: Viking

Review Posted Online: Nov. 21, 2016

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2016

Categories:

RELIGIOUS FICTION | HISTORICAL FICTION

- BOOK TO SCREEN
Hulu’s ‘We Were the Lucky Ones’ Adds To Cast

bookshelf

MAGIC HOUR

by Kristin Hannah ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 2006

Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.

bookshelf

Sisters work together to solve a child-abandonment case.

Ellie and Julia Cates have never been close. Julia is shy and brainy; Ellie gets by on charm and looks. Their differences must be tossed aside when a traumatized young girl wanders in from the forest into their hometown in Washington. The sisters’ professional skills are put to the test. Julia is a world-renowned child psychologist who has lost her edge. She is reeling from a case that went publicly sour. Though she was cleared of all wrongdoing, Julia’s name was tarnished, forcing her to shutter her Beverly Hills practice. Ellie Barton is the local police chief in Rain Valley, who’s never faced a tougher case. This is her chance to prove she is more than just a fading homecoming queen, but a scarcity of clues and a reluctant victim make locating the girl’s parents nearly impossible. Ellie places an SOS call to her sister; she needs an expert to rehabilitate this wild-child who has been living outside of civilization for years. Confronted with her professional demons, Julia once again has the opportunity to display her talents and salvage her reputation. Hannah (The Things We Do for Love, 2004, etc.) is at her best when writing from the girl’s perspective. The feral wolf-child keeps the reader interested long after the other, transparent characters have grown tiresome. Hannah’s torturously over-written romance passages are stale, but there are surprises in store as the sisters set about unearthing Alice’s past and creating a home for her.

Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.