Kydd

Thomas Kydd, Book 1

By: Julian Stockwin

Narrated by: Christian Rodska

Length: 9 hrs and 53 mins

Publisher's summary

1793 and Europe is ablaze with war. Thomas Paine Kydd, a young wig-maker from Guildford, is seized by the press gang to be a part of the crew of the 98-gun line-of-battle ship Duke William. The ship sails immediately and Kydd has to learn the harsh realities of shipboard life fast. Despite all that he goes through in danger of tempest and battle he comes to admire the skills and courage of the seamen - taking up the challenge himself to become a true sailor. Kydd is the first book in the acclaimed series, and is based on real events.

©2001 Julian Stockwin (P)2014 Audible, Inc.

I was skeptical but, it pulled me in and hooked me

Would you listen to Kydd again? Why?

Yes. The story pulls you into the world he's writing about

What other book might you compare Kydd to and why?

I like the O'Brian books and found this has the same quality. It pulls you into a different world and makes you reluctant to turn it off.

A little slow

It’s a good sea story, but drags at times. Lots of nautical terminology that can be hard to follow. It is a good book to get lost in. Excellent narration. Main character is not to be confused with the pirate William Kidd. This is not a pirate story.

Great Summer Read

This is a great summer read for any sofa sea dog. A really well done story if a bit short on good detail.

Great series, minor complaints

Love the series. Recommended highly. However, get the fist book in the series and make sure you can put up with the narrator's voice. Very heavily accented and scratchy. But by half the first book I was hooked.

BRILLIANT NAVAL FICTION

Julian Stockwin arrived on the naval fiction quarterdeck with the launch of KYDD. Over sixteen years the Kydd sea adventures have taken their place among the best even written in the genre. Christian Rodska's narration is superb, giving a rich interpretation of Stockwin's madterly storytelling.

Addicting!

such a lovely book. probably my favorite series of books. this the first book takes a totally different look at sealife to most of this era, following the starting of an epic career of a pressed landsmen turned seamen. This book is also read by my favorite readers, Christian Rodska. Take the plunge and buy it, you won't look back!

Very engaging

As serious a fan of naval history literature (read entire Patrick Obrian series x2) I quite enjoyed the meticulous attention to detail of the life of a seaman in a ship of the line. Though the characters were not quite as engaging as the Aubrey/Maturin pair (for now) This first foray added a level of detail above what Obrian offers and fills in quite a few blanks about the life of a rated seaman during the napoleonic era. Very entertaining and looking forward to the next in the series.

Good Sea Yarn

What did you love best about Kydd?

Interesting plot. You see life from a sailor's, not officer's, point of view.

What other book might you compare Kydd to and why?

Dewy Lambdin's series - although Lambdin is better.

Thoroughly Entertaining!

Would you listen to Kydd again? Why?

Yes, I am anxious to start book two.

What did you like best about this story?

The adventure was exciting and engrossing - reels you in and keeps it interesting. Not too much "fluff", which seems to be prevalent in several of the books I've listened to.

What does Christian Rodska bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Excellent voices - great interpretation.

Who was the most memorable character of Kydd and why?

Thomas Kydd is the main character of course, and naturally the most memorable.

Any additional comments?

I enjoyed this book a great deal - but be forewarned - it contains a lot of sailing/nautical nomenclature of the period, and it does not go into what any of it is. As I was not familiar with those terms it made it a bit challenging to follow at times. Also, one other small criticism is that sometimes the scenes (or particular parts of the story) seem to get truncated leaving the listener wondering what happened. Don't let these things scare you off though, I'm a tough critic, and I enjoyed this book very much.

The Enlisted Version of Ramage, Hornblower. And Auvrey

I have avidly consumed the Aubrey/Maturin series, the Ramage series, and the Hornblower series. This opening book promises something similar, but is critically different insofar as the protagonist is a pressed "foremast Jack," rather than the captain (or cimmander). I enjoyed this book and, as in the Hirnblower series, Rodska was an excellent narrator.