SLOOP OF WAR

A young and earnest Captain Richard Bolitho bravely faces the shot and ball thrown at his British ship by American patriots, managing one narrow escape by sailing over a shallow bar. Michael Jayston's raspy voice is deep and sure of itself as it spins these sea yarns. In the way of a good storyteller, he sometimes gets excited or takes on an accent, but he always stays easily understood. The author's muse contributes "tightly reefed topsails, the clank of pumps, and the smell of gun smoke in battle" to provide the narrator with stories of the Revolutionary War that are both educational and in good taste. J.A.H. (c) AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine [Published: JUN/JUL 02]