Captain’s Surrender is reviewer’s choice at NOR
Captain’s Surrender by Alex Beecroft
Score: 4.75 / 5 – Reviewer Top Pick
Reviewer: Vee of Night Owl Romance
Online: http://www.nightowlromance.com/nightowlromance/reviews/Review.asp?ReviewId=1033
Joshua Andrews and Peter Kenyon are two gay men who are forced to bunk together aboard Captain Walker’s naval ship. Captain Walker, a sadistically cruel man who revels in beating and killing, has made it clear there are spies among the crew and any show of passion will be dealt with in a gruesome and lethal manner.
Thus sets the backdrop of Captain’s Surrender. While Josh and Peter escape death at Captain Walker’s hands, there is the societal and biblical damnation that fosters in Josh a deep-seated self loathing. And there’s the expectation that Peter take a wife and ‘make’ heirs for his family.
While each works up the ranks of the Navy to become captains themselves, they have stolen, intense and passionate moments. After a battle with the Colonists that sinks Josh’s ship, he awakens in the arms of a Native American man. As Josh recuperates, the Indians who are caring for him show him a different outlook on gay men. They revere them as being special and better. This helps Josh accept his nature and his love for Peter.
The conflict in Captain’s Surrender and the forbidden nature of the romance between Josh and Peter is probably the strongest and most realistic that I’ve ever read. Ms. Beecroft is unflinching in her portrayal of the volatile society in which they lived.
However I had a very hard time stomaching the cruelty dished out by Captain Walker and admit that after reading a couple of very vivid passages where men were beaten, I didn’t want to continue the book. I was greatly relieved when the pair were no longer under the captain’s thumb.
The truth is the feelings of revulsion I felt are a compliment to the author’s writing. She managed to invoke the sense of despair and dread the men felt. The love/lust scenes were equally as good showing at their paradoxical nature.
I felt Ms. Beecroft’s prose, setting of time and place, and historical accuracy were excellent.
Huzzah ! That’s a very good rec and I’m so happy you’re given full credit for your talent and the impressive power of your writing ! It seems Captain’s Surrender is going to become the editorial case of 2008 and I’m feeling very proud to know the author. 🙂
*g* Thanks! It’s funny how the flogging and punishment day seems to disturb a lot of people. To think I was worried about it being too mild 🙂 LOL! But a lot of people seem to get consistent runs of 5 out of 5s, so I don’t suppose I’m going to be taking the romance world by storm just yet 🙂 We’ll have to see whether anyone actually buys it!
Somehow I suspect the reviewer is not au fait with the historical period outside of romance novels…. *grin*
Congrats on another excellent review! I, for one, will be buying it as soon as it’s available.
*G* You might be right 🙂 I admit, I based my level of gruesomeness on Patrick O’Brian, and the romance readership is probably accustomed to rather less than that. Or perhaps I’m just sadly desensitized.
Hee! Thank you so much 🙂 It can’t be long now. I must check and see whether the print book comes out at the same time as the ebook version. That comes out on the 1st of January, but the print version might be a bit later.
So very pleased for you. I can’t wait to read it. 😀 If you based your perception of violence on Mr O’Brian, who portrays one of the mildest (in terms of punishment handed out) captains, your reviewer certainly never read a lot period stuff. *g*
Again, well done you!
Thanks! Ah, but no, it was more based on Mr. O’Brian’s description of the prisoners at Botany Bay – walking off after thousands of lashes, with blood puddling in their shoes. Mine was slightly less extreme, I thought. But then I had a flogging captain on my hands, and he had to be bad enough even to appall his own officers – so it had to be on the far extreme of naval violence.
Definition of Cruel and Inhuman Punishment: not flogging, but having to wait for the release of Captain’s Surrender while reading such great reviews! Flogging is mild by comparison.
Congratulations, Alex B. I can hardly wait.
Ruth Sims
LOL! Thanks so much Ruth 🙂 *g* Well I’m going to have to learn to relish my reputation for sadism 😉 Mind you, if I could make it arrive faster, I would. Not long now though! Only about a fortnight. Woohoo!
Are you thinking about a WordPress blog at all? I would be glad to help you set one up 🙂
Merry Christmas, if I don’t hear from you again before then, and a Happy New Year!
Alex B (I like that – I sound like a rap star 🙂 )
Hee! That’s awesome! The comment on the violence did amuse me- I can understand people being disturbed by it, but I must say, if you succeeded in doing so, you’re only improving their historical knowledge. It wasn’t all butterflies and roses. ^^
I really REALLY want to get your book now, by the way.
That’s wonderful! And you thought you weren’t violent enough…! 😀
It’s interesting to see, though, how today’s violence, even the most heinous acts of cruelty, just “float by” while violence set in the 18th century makes people uncomfortable. Then again this proves that you master the art of making people care for the characters you created. 🙂
Yay! Congratulations! 🙂 It is awesome that your book is such a huge success with the reviewers already, and I am looking forward to it more and more. 🙂
*g* Thanks, Pearlsie 🙂 I guess that in our modern world where you aren’t allowed to so much as smack your children, a flogging comes as a bit of a shock! But then it ought to, I reckon. You don’t want your villains to come across as too namby pamby!
Hee! *Encourages you further in your desire to get the book…* 😀 Thank you!
*g* yes, I was worried that it might be a bit too fluffy, what with the happy ever after and everything. I suppose that most romance readers aren’t the kind of people who would also go out and watch Saw 2. My tolerance for fictional gore has obviously been skewed by being an SF fan and watching things like Alien in my youth 🙂 My tolerance for real life violence, otoh, is pretty much nil.
Yay! Thank you 🙂 Though I’m still braced and waiting for the backlash. I can’t help feeling that somewhere really influential will hate it – though that may be because Eeyore has nothing on me when it comes to pessimism 😉