Hellespont: Through the Jaws of Death
343 pages
Andy Field
It’s unusual, but certainly not unique, for a novel to have a bibliography, maps and photographs, but this is an unusual novel, written by a former submariner of 36 years. His excellent website, www.byrneavery.com gives more biographical details. The book itself is the first of a planned series, The Tradesmen, and there are enough loose ends flapping around to make several viable sequels.
Central to the story are the exploits of Edward – ‘Ted’ – Crockford, as he moves from life in an Exmoor village to command of an E-class submarine in the Dardanelles campaign.
For me, this was a book of two halves, and I must admit that I had problems with the first few chapters. I felt that the plot was thin, verging on the ‘Downton Abbey’-ish at times, and the characters appeared ‘one dimensional’. Ted, the hero, is portrayed as quiet, reticent, but popular, who makes good in the navy, even though I thought he turned into an unsympathetic central character later, (especially in his dealings with the Telegraphist, Andrews). There is also Hardacre, his nemesis during Ted’s time at Dartmouth. Ted’s encounters with Hardacre, who tries to get him dismissed from the College, lacked drive and seemed a bit cliched, to me.
I also had a bit of a problem with aspects of the chronology. It’s obvious that it’s set at the start of the 20th century, as Ted’s father is killed at the Siege of Ladysmith. Unusually, not in some feat of derring-do against the Boers, but succumbing to gangrene after a bullock fell on him. Ted and his mother are left with memories and a medal and his mother dies; the local landowner arranges for Ted to enter Dartmouth.
I think Ted is 13 at this time, but its only in about the third or fourth chapter that readers are given a year, 1909, when we are told, Ted is 22. This suggests that Ted was at Dartmouth during the building of the college and surely the cadets on Britannia (moored astern of the old Hindustan, I thought, not bow to bow, as suggested) would have at least noticed and commented on some of this. But presumably as it is not central to the plot, it is omitted. However, I think it would have given some sense of setting, some ‘atmosphere’.
For me, the book improved once Byrne Avery is on more familiar territory, with Ted entering the Submarine Service and making his way up the ladder of command, eventually ending up in an E-class submarine in the North Sea and eventually the Gallipoli Campaign. Here, he is reunited by a reformed and apologetic Hardacre, temporarily assigned to his boat from Queen Elizabeth, after an accident to Ted’s navigator.
From now on it is fact-based fiction, the fiction following closely on actual submariners’ exploits (outlined in the chronology at the end of the book. with Ted’s submarine sailing to penetrate the Dardanelles, sinking dhows, steamers and Turkish warships, as well as blowing up railway lines, Of course, there is also the obligatory, ‘will they, won’t they?’ between Ted and the enigmatic, intelligence agent, Mrs Kapadoukas. The answer to this is seemingly solved when Ted is hit in the chest by a Turkish 6pdr shell and knocked, overboard, off the conning tower as Hardacre orders a crash dive.
Is Ted dead though? We don’t know. This, and other ‘cliff-hangers’ keep the reader intrigued and are pointers to more books in the series. Will we find this out? Has Hardacre really reformed? And who exactly is Mrs Kapadoukas?
Lest I appear negative, let me say that I’m full of admiration Byrne Avery’s achievement in writing, and self-publishing, his book. That’s not easy in itself, even with support. Writing fiction is also hard. Writing historical fiction is harder. Writing historical fiction, when you’re putting fictional characters into actual events, that constrain the plot development, even harder still.
I’ve been trying a similar approach and encountered similar problems with one-dimensional characterisations and plots which are weak in places. Unlike Byrne Avery, I’ve chosen not to continue for the moment with my novel, but after reading his book, I think that I should give it another go. So, Byrne Avery is to be congratulated for his perseverance and for seeing his project through to fruition.
Would I recommend it? Yes. It’s an easy read and I thought the Dardanelles section was particularly strong. The book is inexpensive, priced at £9.99 for the paperback, and if you do buy it, you’ll have the satisfaction of supporting and encouraging a former submariner, and maybe even inspiring him to write another one! So yes, give it a go.
