Peter Wicked Review

By Author: Arsenalo
Total Articles: 116
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Matty Graves, the teenage hero of No Quarter and War of the Knives, is back for another seafaring adventure, this time largely on the hunt for his former captain and friend, Peter Wickett, who may have turned pirate. Matty goes from suspension of duty ("on the beach" as the U.S. Navy puts it) to commanding a ship, the Tomahawk, a schooner.

The novel begins with Matty's demotion from acting lieutenant to midshipman and his orders to report to Washington to give testimony in the dueling death of his cousin and former commander, Billy Trimble. Matty finds that bureaucracy and petty despots characterize both naval justice and the emerging Tag Heuer Replica Watches caste system of American society as he takes a brief, forced respite from the sea and attempts to find gainful employment on land with his family and perhaps even a wife.

All the while, he longs to get a ship back under him, and he intently follows the news of an undeclared war with France fought out in cat and mouse ploys in the Caribbean. When his friend and former captain ...
... Peter Wickett appears to be lost at sea, Matty wonders if his old friend is really gone. When Peter remerges in the most surprising of ways, Matty finds himself back on deck, this time as captain of his own schooner, and the real fun begins for the reader.

Broos Campbell is an expert on sailing tall ships, battle at sea, and the history of the U.S. Navy, especially in the Caribbean during the Tag Heuer Replica early 19th Century. His delivery of sea battle stories in the first two Matty Graves novels approached perfection, and aficionados of Patrick O'Brien (author of the Aubrey-Maturin naval series of which Master and Commander is perhaps the most famous) really should give these books a chance even though they are written for a younger audience. Issues of race are once again a constant subtext in Campbell's novel, and his historical accuracy in portraying the complexities of these issues is once again admirable, as it was in the first two books. This book will be most appreciated by young adults of high school age although this series could easily be marketed for adults.