Favian Markham is a rising young American officer in during the War of 1812. As commander of the small, slow brig Experiment, he must break the British blockade and take his outgunned vessel on a daring raid into the Narrow Seas of England. On his desperate journey he faces duels, rivalries, ambitious politicians, yardarm-to-yardarm combat, and the deadly beauty of a foreign courtesan. Yet his … greatest battle is not with the enemy, but with his own divided nature…
Brig of War (originally published as The Raider) is one of the historical novels with which Walter Jon Williams began his career.
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This a novel of the English navy ruled the seas, grow up a young man sent to sea to learn the trade on an British officer. Good read!
Good sea faring story
Not much.
Didn’t bother to finish.
Poor Patrck O’Brien clone
Fans of Patrick O’Brien and Bernard Cornwall will like this writing. Loved the battle scenes, the ship preparations, and the period of history. An old Navy sailor myself, thought I was back,on the Bridge.
Too much emphasis on the main character’s romantic life and not enough about the naval war of 1812.
Great seafaring story. with lots of action.
Great swashbuckling story
Interesting perspectives of US history in 1812.
Naval sea battles involving sailing vessels were often horrific events with many deaths, severe injuries and loss of ships. When crews could be captured and become slaves to the enemy, forced to help man their crews, more complications arose. Without anything close to the communications of today, it took weeks, even months for word to reach home …
I really liked this book. It gave a great picture of the early USA Navy and the accomplishments and failures of the Navy.
Days of the early American Sailing Ships at it’s finest. Remarkable, easy to follow nautical detail wrapped in a spectacular adventure novel—-or is it the other way around?? (Whatever)- It’s a great page-turning novel!
Brig of War was an excellent read. It’s detail to sailing was informative, as well as its naval tactics. Characterization was good, excellent in fact and how the characters reacted to situations was true to form.
If anyone enjoys suspense, historical naval backdrop, then this book I can heartily recommend.
Not sentimental. Does not pull punches on the state of the republic at that time.
Believable hero.
I love a good sea story
Good book on the C.S. Forester line
Good fictional history of sea action during Revolutionary War.
Appears to be well researched Held my interest throughout.
Starts out well, but drags along first 1/3 still reading
A good historical read. Very informative about early days of the country. The politicking for naval recognition was very accurate for the time.