The Blooding of the Guns
Although several volumes of Fullerton's naval adventure series  have been published to high acclaim in the United Kingdom, this  book marks the U.S. debut of the series. The star of the series  is Nicholas Everard, a young naval officer in the British navy  during World War I. In this first volume, Everard plays a role  in the Battle of Jutland, an important and decisive encounter in  May 1916 involving 150 British ships and 100 ships from the  German High Fleet. Unfortunately, the novel suffers from trying  to do too much. The focus is diffuse; instead of concentrating  on Nicholas, the author shifts to his brother, David, and his  Uncle Hugh, who are also naval officers in the battle but on  different ships. This results in a choppy and confusing  narrative, as well as uneven characterization. Although the  volume is far from satisfying, naval adventure series (e.g.,  Patrick O'Brian's more successful Aubrey-Maturin books) are  perennially popular with patrons. Large public libraries, then,  may want to consider. Fred Gervat, Concordia Coll., Bronxville,  NYCopyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.