["The Captain"] is a master's narrative of an ocean experience. In his newest sea journey, [Jan de Hartog] is in full command of his material and his ship of men….
The author's debt to Conrad and to his "The Secret Sharer" is evident, but it is a debt that is also asset and capital. De Hartog's own intimate knowledge of the sea and his extraordinary skill in pacing his narrative makes for a wonderful combination with the novel's literary allusiveness. The graphic power of the battle scenes and the undercurrents of the theme—the captain's weakening reserve and acceptance of other men's weaknesses, other men's demands—bring the reader to the depths of a real experience. His newest portrait of a ship and men at war is a triumph of popular fiction.
Martin Tucker, "The Secret Sharer," in The New York Times Book Review (© 1966 by The New York Times Company; reprinted by permission), December 11, 1966, p. 66.
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