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3.74 AVERAGE
3.74 AVERAGE
informative
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Timing is everything - I started this book on April 14th (104th anniversary of the Titanic), Senator William Alden Smith presided over the Senate hearings investigating the sinking of the Titanic whose parents were descendants of General Israel Putnam (cousin to Rufus Putnam) and Virginian Henry Alden (familiar families in my town). This is a heartbreaking account from a perspective I had not previously known and a lot of "what if's". Very good read.
Having been through at least two or three big Titanic phases in my life, (sharing the last one with the rest of America when the big over blown and somewhat cheezy Leo DiCaprio flick took the nation by storm about 20 years ago) I continue to be drawn to material about this much mythicized disaster. I read several non fiction accounts of the event back in the day and have pretty much exhausted the standard narrative. I have perused many chapters about the captain, the ship's designer, the various A-list/plutocrat passengers who either lived to tell their tale or went down with the ship and even some little bits of information about the lower class passengers who died like corralled animals in an underwater cage.
What the world needs now is a fresh take on the popular tragedy. David Dyer has provided an angle in The Midnight Watch which is less often explored and rather fascinating. It is the story of the Californian...a smaller steamer that was probably the nearest ship to the Titanic on the night that it did the unthinkable and sunk. The Californian was moored for the night because of the treacherous icy conditions that doomed her more famous counterpart. Had Captain Smith of the Titanic shown the prudence and caution of Captain Lord of the Californian, very likely the Titanic would be just another interesting footnote in the book of 20th century maritime history. Smith, however, was pressured to prove the mettle of his 'unsinkable' craft and had 'veddy, veddy important people' on board who may not have thanked him for holding them up for a trifle. Like everyone else in the sailing world, Smith had been assured that his was the sturdiest and safest liner on the water. The idea of such a deadly disaster would have been too incredible for words.
Still, the conditions were terrible. And warnings had been attempted. The Californian's Marconi Man (in charge of radio signals and telegraphy) had issued such a message to his counterpart on the Titanic. "We are jammed up in ice, old man, and stopped for the night." The Titanic's man was busy sending messages for his wealthy clientele and brusquely cut off the Californian's wireless man.
Dyer's fictive account is provided through the point of view of the crew of the Californian, especially through that of Second Mate, Herbert Stone, who was on watch the night the Titanic sunk. In this affecting rendering of the story, Stone is a bookish and timid man, who is intimidated by his stony skipper, Captain Lord and who has an uneasy relationship with his career as a seaman. (Stone had hoped to become a school teacher.) When Stone first sees the white flares exploding over the liner he is watching on the horizon, he is not as assertive as he might have been. Although doing nothing 'wrong', Stone is portrayed as a sympathetic ditherer who watches for a bit longer than he needs to before making the decision to alert his captain. Once Stone does call down to Lord to inform him of the presence of potential disaster flares over the other ship, he is disappointed by Lord's response. Lord fails to 'spring into action' -- instead asking Stone if he has followed procedure and attempted to Morse the ship. Stone most certainly has, but is getting no response. Lord basically tells Stone to keep trying and to let him know if a response is received.
Meanwhile, the disaster is happening so late at night (or, perhaps it is more accurate to say so early in the morning) that Cyril Evans, the Californian's young Marconi operator, had turned off his headset and gone to bed. Therefore he was unaware of the increasingly frantic messages the Titanic was beginning to convey into that frigid and dark night.
1500 souls lost in the space of an hour or so. Such a heavy cosmic burden to bear for anyone who had to spend the rest of their own life wondering if some little action on their part -- staying up an hour later on the wireless, being more forceful with your boss about what you though you saw, or leaving your chart room below and taking a walk up on deck to see what your Second was going on about --might have made a difference.
In Dyer's poignant but restrained telling, Captain Lord is not sympathetic. He is, however, very realistic. We generally do not recognize the moments when we are living big history. For Lord, the early hours of April 15, 1912 were just the end of another tiring day at sea. He had stopped his craft and seen that his crew and cargo were safe for the night. He had a man on watch and this man was following procedures to contact the other ship. In the devastating aftermath of the disaster, Lord was made into a villain by the press. Certainly these horrific events usually require a person or persons to blame. Why did Lord do nothing? Why did he not steam as quickly as possible toward that ship on the black horizon and mount a rescue? These were good questions at the time and they have been explored in historic accounts. Reading this fascinating fictional account has prompted me to read up a bit on Lord. And history acquits him a bit better than his contemporaries did.
According to many who study the rules of the waves and who are well versed in the construction and design of the Titanic and the Californian, Lord acted (or, in this case did NOT act) within his rights. Because the ice conditions were so treacherous, his first duty was to his crew and to his ship. Lord knew he would be sailing blind into the sort of waters that buried the Titanic, a much larger 'unsinkable' ship. According to Maritime Law, every effort must be made, while on the waters, to aid another ship in trouble. However, one's own safety and that of one's crew takes precedence. In other words, two ships should not go down because one is trying to save the other in an impossible situation.
In the wake of history and the unravelling of over 100 years of time, it is a bit easier to view Lord through impartial and rational eyes. At the time of the tragedy, people were too blinded by rage and despair to understand why he might have responded as he did.
I hope to learn more about Herbert Stone through some non fiction reading about the Californian. In contrast to Lord, he WAS a sympathetic soul in this story and one who bore the burdens of over a thousand dead throughout his life.
Readers who are interested in all things Titanic and who appreciate well rendered historical fiction should run out to pick up a copy of The Midnight Watch, if they have not done so already. It is a marvellous story in its own right and will prompt more research in those who follow news of this historic disaster.
What the world needs now is a fresh take on the popular tragedy. David Dyer has provided an angle in The Midnight Watch which is less often explored and rather fascinating. It is the story of the Californian...a smaller steamer that was probably the nearest ship to the Titanic on the night that it did the unthinkable and sunk. The Californian was moored for the night because of the treacherous icy conditions that doomed her more famous counterpart. Had Captain Smith of the Titanic shown the prudence and caution of Captain Lord of the Californian, very likely the Titanic would be just another interesting footnote in the book of 20th century maritime history. Smith, however, was pressured to prove the mettle of his 'unsinkable' craft and had 'veddy, veddy important people' on board who may not have thanked him for holding them up for a trifle. Like everyone else in the sailing world, Smith had been assured that his was the sturdiest and safest liner on the water. The idea of such a deadly disaster would have been too incredible for words.
Still, the conditions were terrible. And warnings had been attempted. The Californian's Marconi Man (in charge of radio signals and telegraphy) had issued such a message to his counterpart on the Titanic. "We are jammed up in ice, old man, and stopped for the night." The Titanic's man was busy sending messages for his wealthy clientele and brusquely cut off the Californian's wireless man.
Dyer's fictive account is provided through the point of view of the crew of the Californian, especially through that of Second Mate, Herbert Stone, who was on watch the night the Titanic sunk. In this affecting rendering of the story, Stone is a bookish and timid man, who is intimidated by his stony skipper, Captain Lord and who has an uneasy relationship with his career as a seaman. (Stone had hoped to become a school teacher.) When Stone first sees the white flares exploding over the liner he is watching on the horizon, he is not as assertive as he might have been. Although doing nothing 'wrong', Stone is portrayed as a sympathetic ditherer who watches for a bit longer than he needs to before making the decision to alert his captain. Once Stone does call down to Lord to inform him of the presence of potential disaster flares over the other ship, he is disappointed by Lord's response. Lord fails to 'spring into action' -- instead asking Stone if he has followed procedure and attempted to Morse the ship. Stone most certainly has, but is getting no response. Lord basically tells Stone to keep trying and to let him know if a response is received.
Meanwhile, the disaster is happening so late at night (or, perhaps it is more accurate to say so early in the morning) that Cyril Evans, the Californian's young Marconi operator, had turned off his headset and gone to bed. Therefore he was unaware of the increasingly frantic messages the Titanic was beginning to convey into that frigid and dark night.
1500 souls lost in the space of an hour or so. Such a heavy cosmic burden to bear for anyone who had to spend the rest of their own life wondering if some little action on their part -- staying up an hour later on the wireless, being more forceful with your boss about what you though you saw, or leaving your chart room below and taking a walk up on deck to see what your Second was going on about --might have made a difference.
In Dyer's poignant but restrained telling, Captain Lord is not sympathetic. He is, however, very realistic. We generally do not recognize the moments when we are living big history. For Lord, the early hours of April 15, 1912 were just the end of another tiring day at sea. He had stopped his craft and seen that his crew and cargo were safe for the night. He had a man on watch and this man was following procedures to contact the other ship. In the devastating aftermath of the disaster, Lord was made into a villain by the press. Certainly these horrific events usually require a person or persons to blame. Why did Lord do nothing? Why did he not steam as quickly as possible toward that ship on the black horizon and mount a rescue? These were good questions at the time and they have been explored in historic accounts. Reading this fascinating fictional account has prompted me to read up a bit on Lord. And history acquits him a bit better than his contemporaries did.
According to many who study the rules of the waves and who are well versed in the construction and design of the Titanic and the Californian, Lord acted (or, in this case did NOT act) within his rights. Because the ice conditions were so treacherous, his first duty was to his crew and to his ship. Lord knew he would be sailing blind into the sort of waters that buried the Titanic, a much larger 'unsinkable' ship. According to Maritime Law, every effort must be made, while on the waters, to aid another ship in trouble. However, one's own safety and that of one's crew takes precedence. In other words, two ships should not go down because one is trying to save the other in an impossible situation.
In the wake of history and the unravelling of over 100 years of time, it is a bit easier to view Lord through impartial and rational eyes. At the time of the tragedy, people were too blinded by rage and despair to understand why he might have responded as he did.
I hope to learn more about Herbert Stone through some non fiction reading about the Californian. In contrast to Lord, he WAS a sympathetic soul in this story and one who bore the burdens of over a thousand dead throughout his life.
Readers who are interested in all things Titanic and who appreciate well rendered historical fiction should run out to pick up a copy of The Midnight Watch, if they have not done so already. It is a marvellous story in its own right and will prompt more research in those who follow news of this historic disaster.
I liked the premise of this novel and learning more about the Titanic. I wish the author had developed the characters more.
The Titanic has always been fascinating to me. So many lost lives, so must potential never realized. So when I was given the opportunity to review this title I was intrigued to read a fictional account based on historical facts. The author was so well researched that while it read like a fictional novel, it provided so much knowledgeable information. I feel in love with some "characters" and tried desperately to understand why others didn't respond to the distress signals. I found myself looking up more information outside of the book just because I wanted to know more! The only reason I gave this a 4 star rating instead of 5 was at times the characters were hard to differentiate, but this could have easily been because I don't have an in-depth understand of maritime ranks. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys historical fiction based on actual events. I will be on the lookout for more novels by this author in the future!
* I received this book from the author/publisher in exchange for an honest review *
* I received this book from the author/publisher in exchange for an honest review *
I found this book a little slow to start, and a list of characters including who was in which position on the Californian would have been very helpful - I kept getting mixed up in the beginning.
But I could sympathise with the officer on the Californian who saw the rockets fired from the Titanic when he realised the next day the magnitude of what had happened and what his ship’s role had been (and what it could have been) in the disaster.
I’m not sure I totally bought the explanation by David Dyer for why the Californian didn’t do anything, although it is a possibility. But I guess, with the benefit of hindsight, and knowing the scale of the the tragedy, any “explanation” for why a ship didn’t go to lend assistance is probably going to seem a bit paltry.
But I could sympathise with the officer on the Californian who saw the rockets fired from the Titanic when he realised the next day the magnitude of what had happened and what his ship’s role had been (and what it could have been) in the disaster.
I’m not sure I totally bought the explanation by David Dyer for why the Californian didn’t do anything, although it is a possibility. But I guess, with the benefit of hindsight, and knowing the scale of the the tragedy, any “explanation” for why a ship didn’t go to lend assistance is probably going to seem a bit paltry.
The sinking of the Titanic still reigns as one of the greatest transportation disasters in history. It ignites the imagination into thinking about if things could have been different. Could the ship have been saved? More importantly, could more people have been saved? One ship, The Californian, saw the flares from Titanic during the midnight watch but the captain chose to ignore them. When he is eventually found out, the captain and many others are pursued by the media. One of them is Dyer's fictional newspaper man who will stop at nothing to get the story.
Being that I was a teenaged girl when the Titanic movie came out, I was obsessed with the disaster (I read every book I could get my hands on at the library!!!) and had heard about the Californian before. It's still such a strange story. I found it so hard to believe the negligence of not trying to figure out what was wrong and not coming to the aid of the Titanic. We do get to understand a little bit behind what made the staff of the Californian not take action. It certainly doesn't excuse the inaction but I loved seeing what made these men tick, even if it was a fictional account.
The story-line was good. I thought that the choice to tell the story through one of the newspapermen eagerly pursuing the story was a good one. It was interesting to see the journalism and tactics that journalists used during that time. Some parts of the book were a bit slow and shuffled a bit. Overall, this was a very interesting perspective on a historical event that continues to haunt to this day!
Being that I was a teenaged girl when the Titanic movie came out, I was obsessed with the disaster (I read every book I could get my hands on at the library!!!) and had heard about the Californian before. It's still such a strange story. I found it so hard to believe the negligence of not trying to figure out what was wrong and not coming to the aid of the Titanic. We do get to understand a little bit behind what made the staff of the Californian not take action. It certainly doesn't excuse the inaction but I loved seeing what made these men tick, even if it was a fictional account.
The story-line was good. I thought that the choice to tell the story through one of the newspapermen eagerly pursuing the story was a good one. It was interesting to see the journalism and tactics that journalists used during that time. Some parts of the book were a bit slow and shuffled a bit. Overall, this was a very interesting perspective on a historical event that continues to haunt to this day!
This book was gorgeous. I may be wearing Titanic obsession glasses that I cannot shed, but honestly I was absolutely enthralled by this book. From the description I expected a slow moving picture of the events of the night the Titanic sank from onboard the Californian, the Titanic, and a little bit of the reporter's story back in America. But no. So much no. The first few chapters are a haunting picture of the midnight watch the night the Titanic sank. From there was travel along with the main narrator, the reporter as he searches for the truth about what really happened on board the Californian and why it did not go to the aid of the Titanic.
I felt so many things. Pity, sorrow, anger at these men for their choices and their situation.
This book was masterfully written and the research about the real events, the inquiries, and the general reception of the public to the disaster is beautifully laid out. Dyer, has a wonderful way with words, and he just draws in so far into the story you almost believe that this could be the TRUTH about what happened.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who shares my fascination with the Titanic.
**I received this book for free through Net Galley for an honest review.
Video Review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mf8O_bp9FWg
I felt so many things. Pity, sorrow, anger at these men for their choices and their situation.
This book was masterfully written and the research about the real events, the inquiries, and the general reception of the public to the disaster is beautifully laid out. Dyer, has a wonderful way with words, and he just draws in so far into the story you almost believe that this could be the TRUTH about what happened.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who shares my fascination with the Titanic.
**I received this book for free through Net Galley for an honest review.
Video Review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mf8O_bp9FWg
The real tragedy here is watching history fall through the gaps of miscommunication, assumptions and preconceived ideas. It's about how two men - two decent, flawed men - with contradictory, deeply held beliefs about the role of command, loyalty and leadership failed.
http://bronasbooks.blogspot.com.au/2016/02/the-midnight-watch-by-david-dyer.html
http://bronasbooks.blogspot.com.au/2016/02/the-midnight-watch-by-david-dyer.html
I really enjoyed this book--it started out slow for me, but then I read the last 150 pages in one day! It makes a reader feel so much ANGER at Captain Lord and Second Officer Stone. It also made me go on a Wikipedia binge for an hour after I finished it. Just very compelling story and writing!