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Rating: 
Summary: Weak link in the Ramage chain
Review: I've read all the Ramage novels and I'm a fan. This is just a friendly suggestion to the reader that when you get to this one you might consider to proceed rapidly through the first half of the book. Read the first sentence of each paragraph and then decide whether to read the whole paragraph or not. The author gets especially carried away with descriptions of things we, the seeker of naval action, don't give a damn about -- local vegetation, birds, geographical names (and their histories). Mr Pope can be forgiven for waxing on about his interests (because he has given us so many exciting stories up to this point), but I voted to pass up large portions. Make no mistake, the exciting part does eventually arrive, but even then is a bit rushed and abbreviated. And, the ending definitely leaves a bunch of loose threads (e.g., what happens to the duel between Ramage and the obnoxious General?).
Rating: 
Summary: Back to the Beginning
Review: Ramage and his happy crew sail back to adventure off the Tuscan coast of Italy again, haunts where he first rescued the beautiful Gianna, the Marchesa of Volterra, escaping from the heel of Napolean. Now she's presumed to be his victim again, but will Ramage happen upon traces of her, or of the wife he married just before she disappeared at sea? In the meantime he has been tasked by the Navy to rescue some noble (and well-hidden) hostages, and he must try several ruses to outwit the clever French. This story and its allusions will make more sense if you've read Ramage no. 1 (and the rest of the series). Among the interesting vignettes Pope loved to slip in are how to up anchor on a lee shore or cast a log line to determine ship's speed. Usual McBooks excellence in typography, with those lovely swash capitals (oops, the swashbucklers appear in no. 17). This time the cover art is misleading, since this is another story featuring Ramage's ingenuity, guile, tact, and luck rather than bloodthirsty battle.
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