Take, Burn, or Destroy

Adventures of Charles Hayden, Book 3

By: S. Thomas Russell

Narrated by: Nick Boulton

Length: 14 hrs and 19 mins

Publisher's summary

1794, the height of the French Revolution - Charles Hayden sets off aboard the ill-fated HMS Themis with orders to destroy a French frigate sailing from Le Havre and to gather intelligence from a royalist spy. On discovering French plans for an imminent invasion of England, Hayden must return to Portsmouth to give warning before it’s too late. But the enemy has been lying in wait for him, and so begins a dangerous chase out into the Atlantic and into the clutches of a powerful French squadron. After a thwarted attempt to masquerade as French sailors, Hayden and his officers are taken prisoner. A shipwreck following a storm and a case of mistaken identity befall Hayden and his men, as they try in desperation to escape in order to warn the Lords of the Admiralty. Failure will mean the invasion of England - and the guillotine for Hayden.

This book was originally published in the United Kingdom under the title Take, Burn, or Destroy.

©2012 Sean Russell (P)2013 W.F. Howes

Not on par.

Slow far to much story wasted on what women do on shore. Painful,I had to skip through the on shore story.
The long chase is way to long.

More Soap Opera Material

Is there anything you would change about this book?

This book was filled with material that may have made a good soap opera, with a lot of mundane conversation between sisters and suitors. This took up such a large part of the book, that it detracted greatly from it.

Would you be willing to try another book from S. Thomas Russell? Why or why not?

I will read the next book in the Hayden series because the first two were so good. However, another similar effort to this one, would make it my last.

What about Nick Boulton’s performance did you like?

Boulton did an excellent job at making the characters easy to distinguish.

A great adventure story

This is book three in the Hayden Series. Captain Charles Hayden is the son of a British Post Captain and a French mother. Hayden is fluent in French as he spoke it all his life. The time of the story is during the French Revolution with England and France at war again.

Hayden’s orders was to take the HMS Themis to a spot off the French coast to met a spy and then get the message immediately back to the Admiralty. The message was that the French have a naval fleet and 100,000 soldiers to invade England. The HMS Themis is captured after a daring chase and the French 79 gun ship runs aground while being chased by two British Naval Ships. The book has lots of sea action both from ship to ship battles as well as with storms at sea. Lots of suspense as the French thinks Hayden is a French Royalist that has gone over to the British. This is an excellent sea faring adventure.

I understand that Russell wrote Sci-fi/fantasy novels under pen names and going into historical seafaring adventure novels in new to him. Nick Boulton did a good job narrating the story.

Best RN Series since Jack Aubrey and Hornblower

Russell is a very good story teller and the story is strong. It's the best Royal Navy series outside of Master and Commander and the Hornblower books. The three books available on Audible are worth the download and the narration is top notch.

Almost Patrick O'Brien!

If you love Patrick O'Brien like I do, you'll love this series!
Great story, narration. Flawless in my estimation. I've listened to it twice now!

Great Maritime Adventure - Best Narrator Ever

What made the experience of listening to Take, Burn, or Destroy the most enjoyable?

The descriptions of life aboard an 18th Century Navy warship are fascinating. Russell inserts nautical terminology in such a way that you understand what is meant without any explanation. You really get a sense of what it would be like to be there.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

I generally listen to audiobooks while I drive in the car. I found myself taking extra trips so that I could get back to the story. The story didn't necessarily keep me on the edge of my seat, but was so engaging that I just wanted to keep hearing more. It is well written and very interesting.

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

I have listened to over 130 audiobooks and Nick Boulton is the best narrator that I have heard. The voices that he gives to the characters really make them come alive. I get lost in the story and actually feel like there are different people talking. While some narrators struggle to assemble a large number of unique voices, particularly ones of the opposite sex, Nick Boulton accomplishes this with an natural ease.

Any additional comments?

The only problem with the book is that it ended rather abruptly, with a clear setup for another sequel. I look forward to the next novel in the Charles Hayden series.

This series improves with every book he writes!

Any additional comments?

I've listened to all the Patrick O'Brian Aubrey/Maturin books and Cornwell's Sharpe series and scoured the bookstores for anything else that's in this category. The first book in this series was good--well worth reading. But he gets better with each book! This review doesn't have to go through the plot--it is certainly true that Russell and O'Brian use some of the same historical material, but these books are different enough and good enough to make them an excellent companion series to the best historical seafaring fiction of all time (Aubrey/Maturin). The last book makes ST Russell a solid second place, with many more books to be written. Who knows how much better he will get?

A+++ Age of Sail

I love Captain Hayden. I love Nick Bolton. So this audio book was a perfect storm of literary Age of Sail goodness. The characters are all so colorful and wonderful, and Mr. Russell's seamanship is exemplary. He makes you feel as though you are standing on the quarterdeck right with Hayden, grapeshot whizzing by your ears. I also really enjoyed the cuts to the drama going on in the Carthew family on shore, it added even more dimension to Hayden's trials at sea.

I wish they'd put a cool cover on this copy tho! I love looking at the pretty ships and dramatic battle scenes on my player, lol.

keeps you gesting

could not put down like the storyline of the outsider working his way through bias and hostility and lies with truth and patriotism to protect freedom and righteousness