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[New York: Donald I. Fine, 1989, 1990]

What do you get when you cross Horatio Hornblower with the tongue-in-cheek adventures of Harry Flashman? Whatever it is, it's probably very close to this well-written, cynical series about the adventures of Alan Lewrie, a young officer reluctantly seeking fame, fortune, and -- most of all -- survival in His Majesty's Navy, circa 1780. The tone is more Flashman than Hornblower, as demonstrated by Our Hero's reason for joining the Navy: he was forced into it after his father and the Vicar caught him in bed with his half-sister. (Yes, he was framed; but yes, he was in bed with his half-sister.)

The Tarleton spotting in The King's Coat consists of precisely one mention of his name, but The French Admiral of the second book in the series is De Grasse, and much of the book takes place off the Chesapeake during Yorktown. There are a few odds and sods mentions of Bloody Ban, all myth and nastiness as usual, and in general the series is of no interest in that respect. But it's an excellent read in all others. Alan's unwilling adventures ashore, where he is forced by circumstances to hook up with a regiment of Provincials, give him an up-close-and-personal view of the brutality of the campaign. Lambdin does a good job of handling the parade of ever-changing loyalties and frequent betrayals, and (uniquely) keeps Alan true to a reasonable mindset for a man with his background. It also makes an interesting change of viewpoint to see the operations around Yorktown from a navy man's perspective.

Lambdin is a good writer. His books are rich with atmosphere, and I think his descriptions of the sea battles outshine those in several of the more famous sea-going adventure series. The main weakness of the series for me is that I didn't warm to the rake-hell young scoundrel of a protagonist the way I did to the equally reprobate Flashman, but I'm sure many readers will like him just fine. (And as I progress through the series, he is starting to grow on me. He took several large steps forward in The French Admiral.) Even with that proviso, I give it a high recommendation to anyone who likes period sea adventures.

Other titles in the saga include The King's Commission, The King's Privateer, Gun Ketch, The King's Commander, Jester's Fortune, and The King's Captain.