Enter your search terms Submit search form   Web www.obsidianbookshelf.com

Captain's Surrender by Alex Beecroft

It's 1779 at the Portsmouth Naval Dockyard in Britain. The frightened crew of the Nimrod stands assembled by the sadistic Captain Walker to watch one of their lieutenants die by hanging. The man's crime: getting caught having sex with another man. As the crew watches the execution, no one hates the captain more than 20 year-old midshipman Josh Andrews who has always desired men.  He hasn't yet been found out.  However, he senses the captain's suspicions.

But then a carriage races up to the quay:  it's the dead lieutenant's replacement. A footman jumps out! Steps unfold!  A man's leg emerges, shapely and clad in a silk stocking. Peter Kenyon emerges, resplendent in his dress uniform. Josh, craning his neck discreetly from the ranks, is completely enthralled. 

The captain's wrath redirects to the tardy newcomer who is courteous but not intimidated.  To Josh, Peter moves with the grace of an angel about to unfurl its wings and fly.  Josh has been at sea since age thirteen and does not believe in love at first sight; all these unexpected feelings plunge his soul into turmoil. The captain, with a knowing sneer, assigns Peter to bunk with Josh.  Obviously he hopes both to insult Peter (by making him share a cabin with a lowly midshipman) and to throw fatal temptation Josh's way.

Meanwhile, important passengers board the Nimrod:  Mr. Summersgill and daughter Emily bound for Bermuda. Summersgill is a friend of Peter's parents.  He wouldn't mind betrothing Emily to Peter. Emily feels mingled resignation and resentment at the thought of an arranged marriage. However, Peter, who is used to being admired, accepts the compliment as his due.  He might get around to marrying Emily after he establishes his brilliant career.  Poor Josh senses the matrimonial currents at work:  yet another reason to suppress his hopeless attraction towards Peter.

Captain's Surrender, which won the Linden Bay 2007 Starlight Writing Contest, goes well beyond a mere love story.  As the voyage to Bermuda commences, Peter gets caught between captain and crew. He must protect the sailors from Walker's increasing sadism while quelling their instinct to mutiny. Walker isn't leaving them with a whole lot to lose and the sailors vastly outnumber the officers, many of whom are only boys.  If Captain Walker provokes a mutiny, it will mean the slaughter of officers and passengers alike. (Squeamish readers may want to skim over the floggings on pages 26 through 28.)

When the captain has Peter flogged for insubordination, Josh tends to Peter in their cabin, and they both drown their pain and sorrow in rum.  Moved by reckless passion, Josh reveals his attraction to Peter with a forbidden kiss.  Peter accepts it in drunken surprise; obviously he has known a man "of Josh's sort" before – probably not as a lover but as a trusted friend.

Josh (and the readers) may yearn for the two of them to redefine their friendship. But first things first!  They must get the ship to Bermuda, avoid pirates and the French navy, manage Captain Walker, and prevent an impending mutiny.  If they survive, Peter promises he will get his own ship and take Josh with him as a protégé. It's not exactly a declaration of passion from Peter, but it has potential. 

All this would make a fabulous adventure right there.  Would you believe that this only covers 38% of our plot?  A lot more is going to happen.  A new suitor enters Emily's life and their mutual attraction is exceeded only by their individual stubbornness. Of course, it is far from certain that Peter is bowing out of the race for her hand.  His entire life has been shaped to meet society's expectations. The unconscious knowledge of how much he stands to lose causes Peter to minimize the growing attraction between him and Josh.  

Josh experiences increasing anguish as he and Peter become lovers while negotiating whether or not they can afford to fall in love.  Of course Josh has already given his heart to Peter even while he struggles to retain some self-respect. 

This leads to one of the great pleasures of the book:  the evolution of both men's characters. Both are complex personalities. Both struggle under the heavy burden of society's condemnation of their secret passion. But Josh has fighting spirit to balance his insecurity (note how he stands up to Captain Walker on page 33).  Will he eventually learn to demand the happiness he deserves? Peter, who wrestles with a dark night of the soul towards the book's end, must completely redefine what it means to be a man of honor.

However, readers shouldn't worry about excessive introspection:  there's too much action for that! We get plotting from an evil clergyman, a duel, a wedding, an imprisonment, and a ransom.   We're even treated to an exciting sea battle with an unforgettable moment of heroism from Josh.  The battle results in far-reaching consequences for our heroes. Josh in particular will never see the world or his place in it in quite the same way again.

When you finish this succinct book (which is slightly under 200 pages) you will be amazed at the range of emotional and physical territory covered by Captain's Surrender.  Everything feels thoroughly explored and in proportion with everything else.    How delightful that the title ends up referring to Peter!

One of my favorite things here at ObsidianBookshelf.com: the vivid sensory details in Captain's Surrender.  On page 17, we experience the ship's motion with Emily:  not just up and down on the waves, but also a side-to-side roll, and speeds that vary depending upon the wind. It's enough to make you seasick!   The battle on page 128 includes the high-pitched sounds of the swivel guns like terriers barking, and the heavy warm smell of gunpowder drifting through the air.

Even better is the sexual tension between Peter and Josh.  This is evident in the sizzling hot scene on page 80 where Peter takes Josh into a tiny storage room in the hold of his new ship where the rum is stored: 

"They were left confined together in a narrow space where to breathe was to become drunk.  Heavy, underwater silence pressed on the walls and the lantern light was a sphere of gold about them, an almost palpable warmth. "Private enough?"

'Yes,' Josh admitted, his ribs so tight with emotion he had no room for air, let alone speech."

Is this beautiful writing or what? The two negotiate their relationship as the tension between them grows so taut that it makes the reader break into a sweat.  Yet they do nothing more explicit than kissing and some preliminary disrobing! It is still one hot scene in Captain's Surrender, which is the best gay novel I've read this year (in 2007)..

Relevant Links: Historical Fiction Insubordination, a short story about Peter and Josh from Captain's Surrender, by Alex Beecroft Lieutenant Samuel Blackwood (deceased) by Emma Collingwood The Phoenix by Ruth Sims Which One of Two Lovers Did I Like Best and Why? Great Moments in Dialogue Captain's Surrender is available on Amazon:   Captain's Surrender

homoerotic fiction slash fan fiction self-publishing writers homoerotic writing gay fiction homoerotic themes gay fiction writers yaoi book publicity creative writing gay mysteries homoerotic gay fantasy book reviews gay literature gay self-publishing historical fiction slash book writing homosexual book reviews slash gay novels creative writing gay books gay erotica literary criticism gay slash yaoi science fiction publishing book reviews print on demand books reviews slash gay romances writing books gay publishing gay love book reviews gay characters writing gay lovers homosexual gay writing slash books love gay romance writing book yaoi reviews self publishing love creative writing homoerotic yaoi gay literary criticism books self publishing erotica books slash homoerotic fiction slash fan fiction self-publishing writers homoerotic writing gay fiction homoerotic themes gay fiction writers yaoi book publicity creative writing gay mysteries homoerotic gay fantasy book reviews gay literature gay self-publishing historical fiction slash book writing homosexual book reviews slash gay novels creative writing gay books gay erotica literary criticism gay slash yaoi science fiction publishing book reviews print on demand books reviews slash gay romances writing books gay publishing gay love book reviews homoerotic fiction slash fan fiction self-publishing writers homoerotic writing gay fiction homoerotic themes gay fiction writers yaoi book publicity creative writing gay mysteries homoerotic gay fantasy book reviews gay literature gay self-publishing historical fiction slash book writing homosexual book reviews slash gay novels creative writing gay books gay erotica literary criticism gay slash yaoi science fiction publishing book reviews print on demand books reviews slash gay romances writing books gay publishing gay love book reviews books reviews slash gay romances writing books gay publishing gay love book reviewsbooks reviews slash gay romances writing books gay publishing gay love book reviews