Until the Sea Shall Give Up Her Dead

Adventures of Charles Hayden, Book 4

By: S. Thomas Russell

Narrated by: Daniel Philpott

Length: 13 hrs and 30 mins

Publisher's summary

Charles Hayden returns in the thrilling new naval adventure from best-selling author S. Thomas Russell, today’s "Patrick O’Brian for a new generation" (Kirkus Reviews). Master and Commander Charles Hayden has received fresh orders that take him and the HMS Themis to the Caribbean, with instructions to meddle with French shipping to the colonies. While en route, they rescue two Spanish castaways who beg for help fleeing from a vengeful family situation - Hayden agrees to do what he can, though it’s soon clear his two new guests aren’t exactly what they seem. Arriving in the lawless Caribbean seas, Hayden and Themis find themselves torn between the forces of reckless English captains, conflicts between royalist and revolutionary Frenchmen, and Spanish ships that are enemies to both England and France. And when someone very dear to him is kidnapped, Hayden may sacrifice everything in a reckless pursuit to save her...

©2014 Sean Russell (P)2014 W.F. Howes

Very good

Started slow but ended with a bang. I wish I knew more about sailing to more appreciate the ship's maneuvers.

Well construced, but not that exiting

I wish there was a more naval batte, as this is quite entertaining.

Did someone else ghost write this?

What did you like best about Until the Sea Shall Give Up Her Dead? What did you like least?

I liked the first three books by this author in this series, but this one not so much. The plot was disjointed and had many scenes that causes this sailor, who has experience on a square rigged ship, to roll his eyes in disbelief. However, my biggest disappointment in the book was the ending...it was both abrupt with unnecessary sadness as well as lacking in closure. Finally, the author choose a new narrator for this book whose performance paled when compared to his predecessor.

Good Book - performance lacking

The book was good, although maybe not quite as strong as the earlier 3 in this series. The reader, however, was not as good as the reader on the first three. His voice was not as strong (I often had to turn the sound nearly to max to catch the action) and his accents not as well done or believable. I asked myself if it was just that I was used to the previous reader, but I do not believe that was the issue. It spoiled the book somewhat for me.

I would still recommend the book to anyone.

Much better after a slow start

Overall ok, but not the best of the 4. Starts slowly, but picks up after Chapter 13. I FF thru the ever increasing navel gazing of Hayden. Overall, still worth the listen.

Love this series

My only question for Mr. Russell is, when can we expect book five in this well-written series?

Exceptional

Well written story line. The author has a wide understanding of the ways of the sailing of the tall ships.

Too much mush.

Should have been labeled a romance, more than an adventure. Farfetched and predictable. Not a favorite.

An Excellent Continuation of the Series

S. Thomas Russell continues to knock it out of the park with his Charles Hayden series in "Until the Sea Shall Give Up Her Dead." This is not my normal genre of books to read (or listen to). I happened upon the first in the series, "Under Enemy Colors," on audio in a used book store for very cheap, and have never looked back.

Twists and turns, engaging from the start, I cannot recommend all of the books in this series enough, even if naval books aren't your thing.

Disappointing narration

While starting out a bit slow, the plot picked up and the second half was a lot of fun. Having listened to the other books in this series, I thought Hayden's quick marriage was somewhat out of character, but the action scenes made up for that. The reader, however, just didn't meet my expectations. Simon Vance is my favorite narrator and his performance in the first book was as stellar as usual. I was disappointed that he didn't continue with the series, but pleasantly surprised with Nick Boulton's performances in the second and third books - very well done. However, Daniel Philpott's performance in this book just doesn't measure up to the other two. Example: On several occasions I couldn't tell who was talking: 24-year old post-Captain Hayden or 16-year old midshipman Wickham. There's no excuse for those two sounding alike!