In On the Lee Shore, the third novel in the Alexander Clay series, the eponymous British Navy officer finds himself serving on his third ship. Now a post captain, Clay is given command of the frigate HMS Titan, which has recently mutinied against its former captain and is by no means a "happy" vessel.

Clay approaches his task with a will, and he seems to make immediate progress towards mending the rifts between officers and crew. It doesn't help matters that the British fleet is in the midst of a more widespread mutiny; Clay sympathizes with the crewmen's demands for better pay and conditions, but he also realizes their timing couldn't be worse.

For, as part of Commodore Sir Edward Pellew's small fleet blocking the French port at Brest, Titan is a much needed cog in the machine meant to keep an invasion force from landing on England's shores. Of course, mutiny inevitably spreads even to Titan; it remains to be seen if Clay has developed enough loyal followers among the crew to reverse it in time.

Eventually, Titan must join Pellew's action to contain a small fleet of French frigates from landing troops somewhere in Ireland.

There is plenty of bold action in the story, from secret plots to broadside-to-broadside sea battles, but the action in On the Lee Shore is almost secondary to the people. Philip K. Allan has written a strong protagonist in Clay Alexander, and he has gifted him with a well-rounded group of supporting characters. In assuming command of the Titan, he brings with him a marine commander, Lt. Tom Macpherson, and a handful of crewmen with whom he has previously served and on whom he can rely. They give him a foundation to work with and, of course, provide readers with a touchstone that connects them -- and Clay -- to the previous books. Plenty of newcomers share the pages, however, including a variety of young officers on the ship who show varying degrees of competence.

There's still room for world-building outside the confines of the ship. Clay manages to find a bit of romance despite the demands of his new command. Also, in an early scene, and showing a remarkably subtle touch by Allan, Clay gives indirect advice to the poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge, via William Wordsworth, on writing about nautical themes -- even providing the famous "painted ship upon a painted sea" imagery from Coleridge's "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner."

I find the adventures of Alexander Clay immensely entertaining, and Allan is certainly an author to keep an eye on. There are several more books in the series already in print; I hope I get a chance to read them soon!