I have read quite a few Richard Woodman books, both fiction, including his fourteen Nathaniel Drinkwater books, and non-fiction, including The Sea Warriors. A River in Borneo betrays his experience as a novelist, his knowledge as a master mariner, and the research of a historian. It is a curiously old fashioned book with more than a hint of Joseph Conrad, tracing the path of a young British merchant officer from a crippling accident to a hopeful respite to inevitable doom. The language is elegant and the book is highly readable. I did not find the framing scenes, set in the 1960’s and later, addictive and somewhat unlikely and melodramatic. That said, the book is well worth reading. Recommended. Thanks to NatGalley and the publisher for a copy in exchange for ab honest review..

this was a unique read in historical fiction, it was a unique time period used and the characters were really well done. I liked that the author worked with ships it added to the book.