Gone to Sea in a Bucket

A Harry Gilmour Novel, Book 1

By: David Black

Narrated by: James Langton

Length: 11 hrs and 49 mins

Publisher's summary

Like all young men of a certain age, Harry Gilmour had his own notion of how a naval battle should be. This wasn't it.

Norway, 1940: Sub Lieutenant Harry Gilmour's first encounter with battleship action is not the adventure he had hoped for. Faced with a thankless task and ill equipped to handle it, Gilmour's inexperience leads to a damning allegation. His future hangs in the balance.

But then Lieutenant Peter Dumaresq steps in to offer him a lifeline - an advanced navigation course that will take him aboard a crack submarine, HMS Pelorus, under the command of a Royal Navy hero. Faced with a possible court martial, Harry chooses life underwater. Once aboard, however, Harry is confronted for the first time by the full horror of submarine warfare. If he can just overcome his fears, it will be the making of him.

Because survival itself is the challenge now. For Harry and the rest of the crew, the next depth charge could be the one that sinks them.

©2015 David Black (P)2015 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.

Absorbing, well narrated story of WW II submarine service

Harry Gilmore is a fresh idealistic young man who finds himself in the crew of a Royal Navy submarine fighting Nazis in rousing sea battles. The characters are admirable; the action lively. I especially liked all the details about the undersea service. The narrator couldn’t be better - so British.

Standout Series

Writing this review after listening to all 6 books, A fictional series following the navel evolution the Second World War from a British perspective.
Strong points were relatable characters, the stories cadence and the narrator being a very good match. The standout aspect for me was the research detail for WW2 submarines and submariners. It all combined to be one of those rare series which at times kept you in the car after it was switched off just so you could hear what happened next. Recommend.

Harry Gilmore is the perfect hero....

Loved "Gone to Sea in a Bucket." Informative tale of the British Submarine Service WW2.

Detailed, gripping and multi faceted

This book had a lot of descriptive text that at first seems too much but helps understand the nuances of the characters. It’s starts off a bit slow but hang in there, before long you will hooked. A good military history based book that has several underlying stories. Very much worth listening to.

Submarine Warfare

Although submarine warfare was much older than WWII, it didn't truly come into its own until the second world war.

Very Good Tale!

found myself feeling like I missed something at the end. As if the author skipped a chapter? Otherwise enjoyed it. Hopefully they will gill in the blanks in the next volume.

Great Adventure

An engaging young man finds himself in the Royal Navy’s submarine service at the beginning of WWll. The reader is wonderful and the story engrossing.

Reminiscent of The Cruel Sea.

Tremendous story of WWII naval sub warfare told and read in an easy to digest and understand way. It feels old fashioned and reminds me of my favorite war movies like Run Silent Run Deep and Enemy Below. I found this Kindle book and others as well as the Audible version free under the Kindle Unlimited tab in a section called Prime Reading. Or search for Prime Reading and you will find many good choices at no cost to Prime members. I do not work for Amazon but wanted to pass it along because it is a bit hard to find.

A great WII story, excellently written!

David Black has written an excellent story of submarines during WII and James Langton has done a great job of bringing it to life!

Outstanding series

If you like historical fiction or the adventurous sort, especially of the naval WW2 sort, you will love this series. It's not a super-hero type who goes around shooting up everything and being a genius. It follows a 19 yr old in 1940 who is thrust into the madness of war (and Brit navy bureaucracy) and ends up in submarine service. Of course, being in a WW2 submarine inevitably leads to bone-chilling white knuckled 'adventures', all of which are quite enjoyable for the reader, though I am quite glad to not experience these thrills in person.

I just finished first three books, all on audio. Best fun I've had in a looooong time. Great story, great writing, and particularly excellent narration.