Just Finished Reading: A Prayer for the Ship by Douglas Reeman (FP: 1958) [255pp] 

England’s South coast, early in WW2. After several months on armed trawlers, sub-lieutenant Clive Royce is transferred to HMS Royston, a motor torpedo boat mothership. Now second in command of an MTB Royce is both looking forward to action and is worried that he’ll let his squadron down if he doesn’t perform as needed. Learning the ropes, learning command and learning how to fight in the ever-changing environment of the English Channel is a steep enough challenge. What he doesn’t really need is a new commanding officer how is a stickler for the rules and who is jealous of anyone else’s success. Both making and losing friends, worrying about his aging parents and, just maybe, falling in love he has enough to think about on the cold, dark patrols.  

This is yet another of those books I picked up a while back (although WELL after its publication date!) that I’ve been meaning to get around to. Small craft combat in the English Channel isn’t something that gets much attention – in fiction or non-fiction – so I thought it’d be interesting if nothing else. It was, unfortunately, a book of two halves. The main narrative was typical enough: young (but not entirely green) officer recruit learning the ropes, worried about fitting in and being up to the task – especially as he’s never seen combat before. Also, we have the trope of an overbearing officer who can (if annoyed) inhibit if not destroy his military career. Most of that was decently handled. As often with these books the combat side of things is well done, and this was no exception. There wasn’t a HUGE amount of combat sequences – as in real life its mostly waiting for things to happen – but once the shells and the torpedoes where flying the pace picked up and it was all rather well done. 

As often the case though, the more personal aspects of the plot were rather less competently handled – but that might have been more the times it was written in rather than any shortcomings by the author. The hospital scenes with Royce’s parents as he recovered from a very close shave were OK, but it was the love story in the second half of the book that REALLY slowed the narrative down and honestly read like something an inexperienced (but romantically inclined) teenage might produce. I cringed more than once as that particular plot thread SLOWLY progressed. 

Overall, this was generally reasonable although I would have preferred more action and less mooning over a pretty face. I don’t think I have any more from this author in various stacks and am not really looking to buy any more, but I’m sure that I have others to fill the gap.