Sub-Lieutenant Clive Royce is new to the war. He's just come aboard MTB 1991 -- a fast, powerful little British Motor Torpedo Boat -- as her new second in command, and he's thrust quickly into the turmoil of naval combat as he and his peers patrol the North Sea for Nazi warships and supply vessels.

Douglas Reeman -- better known to me as Alexander Kent, author of numerous novels set during the Age of Sail -- knows what he's writing about. While he doesn't have much experience firing cannons or hoisting sails in the age of Napoleon, his knowledge of World War II combat was hard won. He saw plenty of action during both WW2 and the Korean War, including time served on MTBs like the one described in A Prayer for the Ship. Consequently, his descriptions ring true.

Royce, like many of Reeman's (and Kent's) protagonists, finds himself at the heart of the action, and he acquits himself well as circumstances demand. He suffers loss -- both men and boats -- and rises to the occasion.

He also has time for a little port-side romance, as he falls for the sister of a fallen commander. While the romantic subplot never takes over the story, it does provide a pleasant diversion from the sea battles that dominate the pages.

This was Reeman's first novel, but it doesn't read like a novice's work. He writes with a seasoned hand, and the story should hold your interest to the end. Sadly, Reeman died in 2017 at the age of 92, but he left behind 68 novels to keep us reading.