When you come from Hornblower or Bolitho, the transition is a little rough. It's more like "Bizounours" or "The Famous Five". Despite the first volume we made it and past it follows more easily and with pleasure Thomas adventures. The character is quite boyscout, sometimes on the verge of stupidity but it will satisfy all fans of the genre.
Note that in Bolitho, especially from the fifteenth volume, is dark quickly in the heart of stories that are increasingly ubiquitous as the number of the volume; what the weary lover of beautiful well bloody killings.