The closet thing to sailing that Elisha Eaker has ever experienced was the time he went out on Cornelius Vanderbilt's yacht...and even then he didnt make the open water. Yet he finds himself volunteering to ship out on the U.S.S. Owanee. He has recently discovered that he is sick, and hopes that the sea air will do him good. He also goes to defend his country if the southern states do, indeed, decide to go to war. He would rather die on the deck of a ship than in a sick bed. He leaves behind an angry father and a fiancee, Araminta Van Velsor, whose desire to act and to become an abolitionist is something her domineering uncle would like to crush, even as he has often tried to control and crush his own sons will. Onboard, Eli meets the other main character of this story, Lieutenant Ker Calibourne, who will soon find himself a captain with mixed loyalties.
These mixed loyalties are something that I got a real feel for in this book. Being in the United States, where I can pretty much move anywhere I want and live anywhere I want, I don't really feel rooted or loyal to any one state. I feel loyal to my country, and so it is a surprise (well, maybe thats too much of a word...this idea has occurred to me before, having read a bit on the Civil War, but I think it just never impacted me so keenly) to read how heart tearing the decision for many of these men is...Ker spends much of the time trying to decide if his loyalty is to his home state or to the United Sates, and his decision is not easily reached. In some ways, it's an inevitable one...no one in the northern navy feels they can trust him, being a southerner, and it makes it even more difficult, because he knows he has to make that decision before it comes too late and the southern navy decides it can't trust him, either. It's really tough, and I'm impressed by how Poyer uses these ideas of torn loyalties and people trying to do what's right while keeping true to their own hearts in many ways through out this book to add a great deal of tension as well as empathy for the characters.
If, while watching certain sea-going movies that are doing fairly well in the box office right now you find your taste has been whetted for a realistic feeling sea going adventure, this would be perfect for you. The details of the ship are richly rendered, from the battles (which are really quite exciting) to the most mundane things. One of the personal highlights for me was the monkey...the Owanee picked up some monkeys at one of their ports (it was a trading vessel just coming off a fairly long expedition) and the scenes between it and Ker are extremely endearing.
I keep talking about Ker, but really my favorite character was the main one, Eli. He knows nothing...he's seriously winging everything. He's given a position, and he basically nods and says, Yes, I know all about it, leave it to me! ...and a few moments later, his nose is buried in his books, or he's interviewing some of the sailors. Through guts and intelligence, he manages to pull off some pretty amazing things. There are some high action places where he's in charge, and while he freely admits to himself...and us...that he's scared stiff, the crew around him marvel at his seemingly natural abilities. Hes definitely a character you want to cheer for.
Of course, one of the most important things is the historical feel. From the very beginning, Poyer tries to transport the reader back to the time, using chapter section headings (you have probably seen them...the section at the beginning of each chapter that gives us a quick, if enigmatic glimpse, of the contents of the chapter.) and a dash instead of quotation marks to mark dialogue. To be honest, this is the only flaw of the book. The headings are fine, but, well, a girl likes her quotes. I think most readers will find that they get used to this much easier than I did...Im also an editor, and sometimes I find it hard to separate my reading-for-editing with my reading-for-pleasure. But this doesn't answer the question I posed at the beginning. I think that the historical accuracy feels really strong. Poyer cleverly manages to make his characters part of some very large happenings...for instance, they are witness to the fall of Fort Sumter, the action that effectively started the war between the states (which, to be honest, the north really didnt think they'd see come to pass) in earnest. Poyer uses other characters, an engineer, a runaway slave, and Ariminta to show other viewpoints and other happenings that the main characters can't be present for.
A excellent naval adventure with fabulous depth and detail...a real winner for those looking for a sea going adventure, or even someone looking for a different historical novel.
Fire on the Waters
David Poyer
