A River in Borneo: A Tale of the East Indies

by Richard Woodman

Overview

It is the summer of 1964 during the Far Eastern war euphemistically called ‘Confrontation.’ A British Royal Marine patrol has orders to penetrate Indonesian Borneo to locate a river thought by Allied intelligence to be in use by the Indonesians to build up supplies before launching a major attack on Sarawak. Charged with this mission, Lieutenant Charles Kirton makes a most extraordinary discovery amid the dense mangrove swamps bordering a river in Borneo. What he finds not only enables Kirton to fulfil his mission, but also turns out to be intensely personal and macabre as the truth behind the strange event is revealed. From this highly charged opening sequence, the story flashes back a century to 1867, when young Henry Kirton, second officer of the auxiliary steamship River Tay, is dumped ashore in Singapore, badly injured by a fall from the rigging of his ship. Woodman’s compelling tale has echoes of Joseph Conrad.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781493061921
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	10/15/2021
Series:	The Modern Naval Fiction Library
Pages:	240
Product dimensions:	6.29(w) x 9.36(h) x 0.96(d)

About the Author

Captain Richard Martin Woodman retired in 1997 from a 37-year nautical career. His Nathaniel Drinkwater series is often compared to the work of the late Patrick O'Brian. Woodman lives in Harwich, England, and is the author of some two dozen nautical novels, as well as several nonfiction books. Unlike many other modern naval historical novelists, such as C.S. Forester or O'Brian, he has served afloat. He went to sea at the age of sixteen as an indentured midshipman and spent eleven years in command. His experience ranges from cargo-liners to ocean weather ships and specialist support vessels to yachts, square-riggers, and trawlers. Said Lloyd's List of his work: "As always, Richard Woodman's story is closely based on actual historical events. All this we have come to expect—and he adds that special ambience of colourful credibility which makes his nautical novels such rattling good reads."

Editorial Reviews

Brilliantly told, the story catches every nuance.. .. A convincing and compulsive seafaring story.

Oxford Times

The blend of real history and fictional adornments does no violence to the historical record [but] brings it to life.

Lloyd's List

Woodman knows his ships and the sea and is a craftsman of great ability.

Guernsey Evening Press

This author has quietly stolen the weather gauge from most of his rivals. . .

London The Observer

Richard Woodman’s brilliant maritime ­action places him among the genre’s master storytellers.

Quarterdeck

NetGalley Review: 5 stars

Last updated on 14 Sep 2021

"I have read quite a few Richard Woodman books, both fiction, including his fourteen Nathaniel Drinkwater books, and non-fiction, including The Sea Warriors. A River in Borneo betrays his experience as a novelist, his knowledge as a master mariner, and the research of a historian. It is a curiously old fashioned book with more than a hint of Joseph Conrad, tracing the path of a young British merchant officer from a crippling accident to a hopeful respite to inevitable doom. The language is elegant and the book is highly readable. I did not find the framing scenes, set in the 1960s and later, addictive and somewhat unlikely and melodramatic. That said, the book is well worth reading. Recommended. Thanks to NatGalley and the publisher for a copy in exchange for an honest review." —Evan Ladoucer, consumer reviewer

NetGalley review

It is vivid stuff, written by a man who knows his seamanship and who has used the records as a dramatic backcloth to his imagination.

Navy News

Woodman at his best.. .. The sailing scenes are pure delight.

Yachting Monthly

NetGalley Review: 5 stars Last updated on 14 Sep 2021 "I have read quite a few Richard Woodman books, both fiction, including his fourteen Nathaniel Drinkwater books, and non-fiction, including The Sea Warriors. A River in Borneo betrays his experience as a novelist, his knowledge as a master mariner, and the research of a historian. It is a curiously old fashioned book with more than a hint of Joseph Conrad, tracing the path of a young British merchant officer from a crippling accident to a hopeful respite to inevitable doom. The language is elegant and the book is highly readable. I did not find the framing scenes, set in the 1960’s and later, addictive and somewhat unlikely and melodramatic. That said, the book is well worth reading. Recommended. Thanks to NatGalley and the publisher for a copy in exchange for ab honest review." —Evan Ladoucer, consumer reviewer

NetGalley Review: 5 stars Last updated on 17 Oct 2021 "this was a unique read in historical fiction, it was a unique time period used and the characters were really well done. I liked that the author worked with ships it added to the book."—Kay McLeer, consumer reviewer

From the Publisher