H.M.S. Saracen

By: Douglas Reeman

Narrated by: David Rintoul

Malta 1941. To most people H.M.S. Saracen is just an ugly, obsolete ship with an equally ugly recent history: her last commander is due for court-martial after shelling the troops he was sent to protect.

But to Captain Richard Chesnaye she brings back memories - memories of the First World War when he and the old monitor went through the Gallipoli campaign together. It seems that captain and ship are both past their best. But as the war enters a new phase Chesnaye senses the possibility of a fresh, significant role - for him and the Saracen.

©2011 Douglas Reeman (P)2014 Audible, Inc.

A classic long overlooked

This plucky malformed ship and crew and the tumult of two wars are the stuff that legends are made of. With great characterization and the throng of battle at sea it's a compelling work of fiction informed by the authors own service at sea.

Best Book by Douglas Reeman

This is Douglas Reeman, author of great war at sea novels, BEST book!!! A joy to listen to.

Good story!

Another classic naval yarn brought to life by David Rintoul ‘s narration which makes you feel that you’re in the middle of the action.

Different kind of War Story

Would you listen to H.M.S. Saracen again? Why?

Yes I would because it was a good read/listen. I am also going to look into more of his books because I am very interested in WWI and WWII naval ships and battles.

What did you like best about this story?

I like the first part of the story about how the the ship and the crew were brought to life. The English might be a little hard at first, but that is because we don't use the English language like it was used back then.Also that it was written long before I was born. I feel that this book helped bring alive some of the old romance from back when Naval battles where more interesting than watching a missile on a CCTV screen.

Any additional comments?

If you are a younger reader/listener like I am, give this book a chance if you are a naval history buff. It was refreshing pace from my normal science fiction and modern day thrillers. I recommend it.

Superb Book… Superbly Performed

I have a lot of personal history with this book, having read it the first of many times in 1966. I AM biased towards the book but the performance made it come to life. David Rintoul works out all the different characters, including the various English dialects. And he does it just at the right intensity. No overacting as if he was trying for the Audiobook industry equivalent of an Emmy.