This was not a bad book....a bit better than Horizon that I had read earlier. pretty consistent with only a few stops where I wondered how we got here from there.

He has no qualms about bumping off minor characters that could be interesting or not use the interesting characters he does keep. The book is main character focused throughout... Not like Alexander Pope who gives his minor characters meaty roles to play in support of Ramage... the main character.

This author has his problems and I found he has also written books under the pseudonym of Alexander Kent . It makes sense since I had the same complaints about his books.

This was not too bad but I would cherry pick any others I might read. ( )

Oorspronkelijke Titel: Badge of Glory.
Blazoen van eer begint in 1850, wanneer kapitein Philip Blackwood zich aan boord van zijn schip Hr.Ms. Audacious begeeft. Het is vredestijd en al heeft de machtigste marine ter wereld soms ver van huis kleine campagnes te voeren, over het algemeen houdt ze zich aan een vast rooster van ceremonieel en traditie. Blackwood komt echter al snel tot de ontdekking dat hij binnen afzienbare tijd alle actie waaraan hij behoefte heeft zal meemaken. De nieuwe eskadercommandant krijgt orders uit te varen naar West-Afrika om daar de laatste bolwerken van de slavenhandel uit te roeien. Langzamerhand dringt het tot Blackwood door dat er voor het aanvoeren van zijn manschappen meer komt kijken dan autoriteit. Liefde, haat, ambitie en jaloezie zijn krachten die hij ook het hoofd moet bieden. ( )

A disappointing read from the author of an excellent British naval Napoleonic War series.

Writing under his own name for The Blackwood Family series, Reeman's first novel explores the life of Royal Marine Captain Philip Blackwood in the mid 19th century.

The historical detail is done with an exact and impeccable hand. The writing, however, is a bit dated, and the story itself slides into saccharine romance. ( )

In an era of Empira and an age of change, tradition meshes with new technology to shape the destiny of men and nations. As the Age of Sail gives way to the power of steam and battleground muskets yield to sharp-shooting rifles, Captain Philip Blackwood eagerly takes command of his old vessel, the H.M.S. Audacious, in the summer of 1850. Sent out to Africa to eliminate the last strongholds of slavery, then on to the Crimean War, Blackwood and his men battle brutal heat and bitter opposition to uphold the Royal Marines' motto-Per Mare-Per Terram. The first volume in Douglas Reeman's stirring story of the Blackwoods, Badge Of Glory begins a vivid saga that spans a century and a half in the life of a great seafaring family and their enduring British heritage.

The Marines are always the first to land, and here they land first in Africa (and then later in the Crimea). The action is well-related, but there is something drab about the characters; worrying, really, since this is the first in a series of novels charting the path through history of a sea-faring family. Definitely genre fiction: subgenre perhaps. Good at times, but like candy floss, it began to stick in my teeth. ( )