Under the Meteor Flag
Log of a Midshipman during the French Revolutionary War
By Harry Collingwood
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This is well-written and full of action. The formula is very much the
same as Kingston's--gales, shipwrecks, rafts, hand-to-hand battles, and
above all, a super-smart midshipman who doesn't even shave yet, but who
has influence in the Navy.
It is a good yarn, but there are a couple of things I do not like about
it. One is the habit of giving people surnames that are also parts of
the ship. I know that Marryat did it once or twice, and Kingston did
it, but it jars each time. I suppose the virtue of doing this is that
you are unlikely to find anyone in real life with that surname, so
confusion with actual people is avoided.
The other thing I don't like is the bringing-in of descriptions almost
word for word from other books by the same author. I suppose that's
better than bringing in descriptions by other authors.
A very strange thing is the title of the book. The word "meteor" is
mentioned only once, and on that occasion the meteor flag was waving
while they committed someone's body to the deep. I do think the title
ought to have something to do with the book, but at the time this book
was written there didn't seem to be a strong rule about it.
It is a longish book, and the audiobook is easy to listen to, but the
action goes so fast that you must not let your mind drift while you are
listening. NH.
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UNDER THE METEOR FLAG
LOG OF A MIDSHIPMAN DURING THE FRENCH REVOLUTIONARY WAR