VOYAGE OF THE ECLIPSE

by Erik T. Hirschmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 14, 2023

In Hirschmann’s debut historical novel, a young sailor contends with a dangerous captain on a voyage to Alaska.

The Eclipse sets sail from Boston in 1801, heading out into an ocean still dominated by the British Navy, who are only too happy to conscript American sailors into their war against Napoleon. Eclipse captain Jonathan Fletcher is young and brash, and his 11-man crew is even younger. Second Mate Joshua Hall distrusts the captain’s recklessness, but like First Mate Micah Triplett, Joshua is obligated to follow the captain’s orders, even when he disagrees. Besides, Joshua must focus on his true reason for signing on with the voyage, beyond merely acquiring otter pelts in the Pacific Northwest to sell in China: He’s investigating the fate of another ship, captained by his rebellious brother, Elias, that disappeared along the northwest coast the year before. After two sailors are lost in a storm while rounding Cape Horn, the crew takes on replacements in Hawaii—despite the taboo against such things, the recruits include Fletcher’s and Triplett’s Hawaiian paramours. To be fair, the women as skilled sailors, particularly Fletcher’s “wahine,” Alamea. It’s under these fraught conditions that the Eclipse arrives on the shores of Alaska, where the dangerous fur trade is pursued by competing Russian trappers, powerful Indigenous clans, and conniving British and American crews. Joshua’s rescue of a young slave from captivity wins him Alamea’s affection, which he cannot help but return: “Her graceful presence and manner only added to an overpowering, if not disquieting attraction that he was beginning to realize could never be defeated, only contained, though for how long he was uncertain.” However, Fletcher’s increasingly erratic behavior must be contended with if Joshua hopes to find his brother or make it back to Boston alive.

The author, a history professor, is well acquainted with the conditions of the time, and his text is rich with wonderful period details, as when the crew of the Eclipse prepares to trade for pelts with the Haida people of Prince of Wales Island: “Further down the deck, Lavelle Clark prepared his blacksmithing forge, ready to accommodate any villagers’ requests to make or refashion copper and iron goods. Kekoa held two young white and orange cats high on his shoulders to catch the eyes of otter pelt-owning villagers desiring a pet.” Hirschmann succeeds in communicating the harshness of the era through the youth of the sailors, their distance from home, the general lawlessness of the time, and the ruthless exploitation of local populations. Stopovers in remote places like the Juan Fernandez Islands drive home the far-flung geography of the Age of Sail. The author displays less skill when it comes to crafting personalities to populate this world; Joshua’s pat heroism is neither compelling nor terribly believable. The other characters are just as thin, including the native Hawaiians and Tlingits sailing with the crew. It’s a shame, as the reader is curious to see the effect such harrowing conditions—battles, storms, duels, months at sea—would have on people of diverse perspectives. An impressively researched but emotionally unengaging historical novel.

Pub Date: March 14, 2023

ISBN: 9781684920518

Page Count: 286

Publisher: N/A

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2023

Review Program: Kirkus Indie

Categories:

HISTORICAL FICTION | GENERAL FICTION