Ramage

The Lord Ramage Novels, Book 1

By: Dudley Pope

Narrated by: Steven Crossley

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.

©1965 Dudley Pope (P)2014 Audible, Inc.

Great fun

I love historical fiction, and I love narrator Steven Crossley even more.
This story was entertaining and well acted. My only complaint was the slightly too long descriptions of things going on the war ship. I got a little bored during that part. Overall, a great listen , though.

Not Forester or O'Brian, but jolly fun

I read the Ramage series 40 years ago right after finishing the Hornblower Saga. After that anything would feel derivative, despite Pope's efforts to make Ramage the antithesis of Forester's hero. Ramage is wealthy, hansom, athletic, and comfortable in his own skin. The Ramage series is more swashbuckling than Hornblower which was an exploration into the psychology of a naval hero just as Aubrey/Matchurin books focused on the evolution of friendship as tested by war and shifting fortune. Pope knows his stuff and has written several naval histories. Taken for what they are, the Ramage books are fun.

A great character study

I greatly appreciated the focus on developing characters in this book. It allowed me to be driven further and further into the story. I found myself rooting for Ramage Gianna and Jackson while rooting against Count Pisano and Captain Croucher. All hallmarks of good writing. The tale itself had a decent amount of twists and turns that kept things interesting. I also enjoyed Commodore Nelson showing up like an intelligent guardian to Ramage. All in all I’m looking forward to continuing the series.

Pretty good!

If you are a fan of CS Forester's Horatio Hornblower and the Aubry/Maturin Series by Patrick O'Brian, you will like Ramage. However I believe that the plot of Ramage is unnecessarily expanded at certain points without any apparent gain in intrigue. The reader does a great job.

The story builds slowly and does OK

What did you love best about Ramage?

He has a personality that makes you want to keep listening

What was one of the most memorable moments of Ramage?

Alot of things happened that make me want to keep reading

Which character – as performed by Steven Crossley – was your favorite?

Lt Ramage was one of his best but all of them were well done

Who was the most memorable character of Ramage and why?

Ramage and his crew were all interesting with different character patterns

Any additional comments?

This was a good book not the best on naval warfare but good enough I have listened to 7 more and as the story goes along they get alot more interesting