Until the Sea Shall Give Up Her Dead

September 15, 2014
The heart wants what the heart wants, even when the terrors of the high seas threaten to tear love asunder in this latest seafaring yarn by Russell (Take, Burn or Destroy, 2013, etc.). Master and Commander Charles Hayden of the Royal British Navy is simply not a character meant for repose, but the challenges he faces in this fourth outing are as emotionally nerve-wracking as they are physically dangerous. Once again, Hayden commands the frigate HMS Themis on the eve of the Napoleonic Wars, but by now, his men have full faith and confidence in his ability to lead. Hayden, however, is still mourning the loss of his bride-to-be, Henrietta Carthew, to another man, making him a dismal soul as the book begins. The Themis is patrolling the Caribbean to counter French forces in the West Indies when the fates throw not one but two conundrums in Hayden's path. First, the crew rescues two stranded Spanish sailors, Don Miguel and Don Angel Campillo, a suspicious pair of brothers whose origins and agenda are suspect. Shortly after, the ship stumbles across a crippled slave ship, forcing Hayden to choose between the prize money owed for towing the cargo back to Barbados versus his strong feelings about the inhumanity of the trade. There's a significant twist that silences Hayden's longing for his lady love, but we won't reveal it here. Suffice to say that the back half of the book returns Hayden to form as he loses his ship yet again, works feverishly to rescue a group of royalist fugitives from the hands of their Jacobite pursuers, and finally captains the Themis into not-so-glorious battle once more. "It was, he realized then, the truth of war-men endeavored to bring destruction to the enemy, but, once achieved, they then looked in horror upon their own accomplishments," Russell writes. "One looked in horror upon one's self." A more melancholy entry than other books in this marvelous series but also one that humanizes its bold, thoughtful and intrepid captain.

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