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  • King's Shilling

  • British Military Quartet, Book 2
  • By: Mike Lunnon-Wood
  • Narrated by: John Telfer
  • Length: 11 hrs and 34 mins
  • 4.8 out of 5 stars (408 ratings)
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King's Shilling cover art

King's Shilling

By: Mike Lunnon-Wood
Narrated by: John Telfer
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Summary

As a powerful insurgent army closes on Liberia's capital, London is forced to act, and HMS Beaufort is dispatched to West Africa to pull British nationals from the teeth of encroaching danger. But when the volatile situation ashore unravels, the frigate's crew must draw deep on reserves of skill, ingenuity and sheer bloody-mindedness to save it. And with time running out, Beaufort's Captain makes the decision to take his ship upriver....

Cover art courtesy of Crown Copyright.

©2016 Mike Lunnon-Wood (P)2017 Audible, Ltd.

What listeners say about King's Shilling

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Boys' Own stuff - brill !

I really enjoyed this book. If, like me, you grew up on a rich diet of black & white British war films, then you will find much to enjoy in this updated version of such classics as "We dive at dawn", "In which we serve" and "The Yangtze Incident". It's a British crew, up against it and coming through with flying colours.

Unlike the standard "techno-thriller", there is much less focus on the technology and more on the story and the characters. Equally, whilst Tom Clancy or Stephen Coontz would have a single, all-conquering hero, this is an ensemble piece, but with just as much flag-waving as either could muster.

I draw the comparison with old war movies advisedly, however. Both in the writing and the narration, this really is a 1940's war movie transplanted to 1996. We may have WRENs and female officers, but the classic components of a '40s film are all, splendidly, here. We have understated officers, cheeky matelots who do something terribly brave and then exclaim that they could "murder a cup o' tea"; only to be scolded by some grizzled, salty Petty Officer who keeps it all together. As an aside for the more sensitive listener, the one allowance to "modernism" is that there is quite a lot of strong language, with the "C" word much in evidence. Nevertheless, if this were a film, Laurence Olivier would be the captain, Richard Todd would lead the shore party and John Mills would pop up to be cheery in the face of danger; "Cripes, we are going to be for it now !".

If I am honest, the narration is a bit much; it really is voiced straight out of the 1940s. Naval officers have not had accents like this since Suez. But that really is me being churlish. This is great fun, and if you are not left a bit moved by the deeply predictable ending, then I would be amazed that you had got as far as that.

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8 people found this helpful

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Enjoyable

An enjoyable easy listen, again a bit boys own and a bit far fetched but that's what action adventure is all about. Another brilliant performance by John Telfer whose characterisations are varied and believable.

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3 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Nicely British naval action story.

Good story, although the love interest is a bit of a distraction. Narration is authentic and well read, but U.K. military readers will fall out of their chairs laughing at some of the pronunciation of terms that the narrator ought to have taken time to check. E.g “helo” is pronounced throughout as “hello” (instead of “heelo” and, risibly, “GPMG” is pronounced “gimpy” - as in “gimp” rather than “jimpy” as in machine gun. It is still a good yarn though.

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1 person found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent adventure story

Thoroughly enjoyed this talking book. Couldn't stop once started listening. Highly recommended. Great action and just the right level of gritty realism

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1 person found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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So well done!

This is a book that I thought would be rather hung-ho and unthinking, but it is far more than that. Build around well rounded characters with a pace that never lets up and gives a genuine insight into comradeship.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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This book took me there

Words are hard to find when trying to describe this Authors books. This is the third book I have read and I am not looking forward to finishing the final one as I have been spoiled enhanced and completely captivated by the writers skills.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Exhilarating and riveting.

A fantastic listen. Very good story and brilliant detail which shows the level of research that must have gone into writing it.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

What a fantastic story. ML-W knows his stuff!

I was intrigued when I saw this title, as stories about the modern RN are rare - most are Napoleonic or, at most, WWII-era. Mike Lunnon-Wood promised a thrilling tale in the (relatively) contemporary Royal Navy. And did he deliver.

I have served in a warship of the same class as HMS Beaufort, and I could visualise every detail that ML-W put into his narrative. It was all wholly believable, from the fighting posture of the ship to the way her officers and crew spoke. The story alternately excited me, moved me, stunned me, and amused me.

Amidst all the praise for his depiction of the Royal Navy, I also want to draw attention to the two child soldiers ML-W showed as emblematic of the antagonists. I found their story to be utterly heartbreaking, especially in the moments when they are allowed a little introspection.

The one very minor criticism I have concerns not the author but the narrator, and it’s so minor that most listeners wouldn’t notice it: but every so often the narrator spells out an acronym (e.g. PWO) where the Navy tend to say it as a single word (“Peewo”), or refer to “Forty-five Commando” instead of “Four-Five”. It’s not much, but stands out because the rest of the detail is so accurate.

Overall, a fantastic novel! Loved it.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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A florin at least ?

Compelling, and brilliantly thought out plot , Crew members of all ranks and all trades feature to show their individual importance in and to the ships company . Desperately vivid .

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  • Overall
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Royal Navy action in Africa

Writing as a former Royal Marines Commando with 27 years experience this story could almost be a true account.

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