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Ramage (The Lord Ramage Novels) | 
 enlarge | Author: Dudley Pope
Creator: Alexander Kent
Publisher: McBooks Press
Category: Book
List Price: $15.95
Buy Used: $1.00
You Save: $14.95 (94%)
New (27) Used (62) Collectible (2) from $1.00
Avg. Customer Rating:  19 reviews
Sales Rank: 429001
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 320
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 8.3 x 5.4 x 0.9
ISBN: 0935526765
Dewey Decimal Number: 823.914
EAN: 9780935526769
ASIN: 0935526765
Publication Date: April 1, 2000
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
In a daring foray, under the very nose of the French Mediterranean fleet, Lieutenant Lord Nicholas Ramage is to sail his tiny cutter close in to the Italian shore and rescue a party of stranded aristocrats from Napoleon's fast-advancing army.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 14 more reviews...
 Does not compare with others in the genre January 10, 2007
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
I love great dialogue and clever plot twists. I love a rich, woven tapestry of historical events, daily life, nautical detail and nuance. I love multi-dimensional characters who speak and act always in ways entirely consistent with their personalites.
Unfortunately this book has none of these things. The characters are one dimensional despite cliched attempts and adding dimension. The dialogue is painfully stilted and the primary plot device is the thought balloon. It reads more like an outline or a first draft than a novel.
Comparing this book (I also read the second book to see if it improved - It most decidedly did not) to other Series of Nautical fiction I see it like this:
#1. Patrick O' brien - Brilliant. Great Dialogue, characters, plots, nuance, Nautical detail etc.
#2: C. S. Forester - Excellent but not quite as good as O'Brien.
#3: Alexander Kent - Not bad but definitely not up to the quality of the first two. Decent characters and plots. Good summer reading for the first 20 books or so but becomes a soap opera after that.
Dudley Pope is a far distant #4 on this list. If you have not read O'brien or Forester, please read them first. I won't buy another in this series. What a disappointment.
 Good for vacation reading December 1, 2006
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Rather than reviewing this single book, I'll comment on the entire series. Pope's Ramage lacks the edge of O'Brian's Jack Aubrey and evolves less over the course of the series than Forseter's Hornblower. In short, the characterization of Ramage is less mature. Likewise, the writing itself is slightly ponderous at a number of points, with Pope feeling the need to remind the reader of a list of character traits and events in the protagonist's life that the reader of the entire series already has in mind. Pope does, however, give the reader a more robust set of recurring characters to enjoy reading about than dose Forester in his Hornblower series (who really only gives you two significant recurring characters other than Hornblower himself). Also, Pope's Ramage has nobility (both in title and in character) that O'Brian's Aubrey lacks and readers who prefer protagonists with greater moral clarity will find this appealing in Ramage. Pope also has sprinkled throughout the series a number of court martial scenes that are well done and entertaining. The series makes for good reading during vacations, business trips or during your daily train/subway/bus commute. A solid three stars. Suggest O'Brian's Master and Commander series and Forester's Hornblower novels as better over all reads if you enjoy the style of the Ramage books.
 Lots of excitement in this book! June 19, 2006
2 out of 4 found this review helpful
This book starts out right in the thick of battle! Plenty of good action here. Pope can tell a great story. The book is an easy read--not so much detail or naval jargon that the reader gets lost. This book reminds me a little of Hornblower, but Ramage, as both a book and character, is a LOT more interesting than Hornblower. Whereas Forester gives us some action and then 90 pages at the whist table, Pope gives us more action. Hornblower spends every moment lamenting his decision to marry Maria; Ramage thinks periodically about his Truelove, but it's quickly back to planning how to get out of the next scrape. Good action, good story, good reading. Highly recommended!
A really good British sailing navy Napoleonic War era novel. March 14, 2006
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
If you like the O'Brian series of novels you'll like this one. This is just number one in Pope's series of Ramage novels so there are more to look forward to. I am glad of that since I have read all of the O'Brian novels including the latest unfinished one and have no more to look forward to now.
Another Brit sails the hazardy seas! December 2, 2003
3 out of 7 found this review helpful
It was while reading Van Reid's funny historical adventures about the gentlemen's club, the Moosepath League, that I was led, by a communication with that author to James L. Nelson's "Revolution at Sea" saga. Even if Mr. Reid hadn't already made me laugh and shout with surprise at his unlikely heroes' exploits, I would be grateful to him for telling me about Mr. Nelson's writing. From the latest in the "RaS" series I began hunting for some more nautical adventures. The first thing I tried was Dewey Lambdin - not too bad. Now I come back after reading the first of Mr. Pope's Ramage novels (Where did he get *that* name?) to say that this guy is another good storyteller. I've said elsewhere that the British nautical hero has probably been done enough, but if you love a sea-story, they are the go to guys, I guess. Mr. Pope does it up pretty well - not quite as good a tale-spinner as Mr. Nelson, nor does he have such an original tale to spin, not quite as roguish as Mr. Lambdin, and certainly not the stylist that Forester was. But all in all, a solid entry in the lists and I will give the second in the series a read soon. It will hold me between Mr. Nelson's and Mr. Reid's next books.
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