A new trilogy from Joan Druett – Historic Naval Fiction

What could be better news than a new book from award winning maritime historian and novelist Joan Druett? Well three books actually. Released together for kindle are the three books of the Promise of Gold trilogy, Judas Island, Calafia’s Kingdom, and Dearest Enemy.

This release also marks Joan’s move to a new publisher, Old Salt Press, an independent press catering to those who love books about ships and the sea. They are an association of writers working together to produce the very best of nautical and maritime fiction and non-fiction. Old Salt Press was launched by author and well know maritime blogger Rick Spilman.

Incidentally, Old Salt Press have announced that, to celebrate the publication of Joan Druett’s Promise of Gold trilogy, starting May 15th and running through Sunday, May 19th, Rick Spilman’s Hell Around the Horn will be free on Kindle. From May 18 – 20, Joan Druett’s The Beckoning Ice will be free and from May 21 – 23, Joan’s A Love of Adventure will be also be free. Some truly great fiction free! and an opportunity not to be missed.

via A new trilogy from Joan Druett – Historic Naval Fiction.

Lone Star Rising: T.S. Wasp and the Heart of Texas (PB/K) – Historic Naval Fiction

Jason Vail recently released a new novel in his alternate US history series, Lone Star Rising: T.S. Wasp and the Heart of Texas, which is available in paperback worldwide and for download on Kindle.

British forces spread across the rebellious colonies, crushing all resistance now that George Washington is dead and the American army is dispersed.

But defeat is merely a reckoning postponed. A few die-hards flee west into the Tennessee and the unsettled wilderness beyond the frontiers of British control, where after many years a leader arises among them, Andrew Jackson.

Yet the British cannot ignore these upstarts, and Banastre Tarleton eventually arrives to crush them as well. Those who survive, lead by Jackson, escape into the Spanish Empire — to Texas.

via Lone Star Rising: T.S. Wasp and the Heart of Texas (PB/K) – Historic Naval Fiction.

The Spanish Armada (HC/K) – Historic Naval Fiction

A new book by Robert Hutchinson, The Spanish Armada, was released last month in hardcover and for Kindle.

After the accession of Elizabeth I in 1558, Protestant England was beset by the hostile Catholic powers of Europe – not least Spain. In October 1585 King Philip II of Spain declared his intention to destroy Protestant England and began preparing invasion plans, leading to an intense intelligence war between the two countries, culminating in the dramatic sea battles of 1588.

Robert Hutchinson’s tautly written book is the first to examine this battle for intelligence, and uses everything from contemporary eye-witness accounts to papers held by the national archives in Spain and the UK to recount the dramatic battle that raged up the English Channel. Contrary to popular theory, the Armada was not defeated by superior English forces – in fact, Elizabeth I’s parsimony meant that her ships had no munitions left by the time the Armada had fought its way up to the south coast of England. In reality it was a combination of inclement weather and bad luck that landed the killer blow on the Spanish forces, and of the 125 Spanish ships that set sail against England, only 60 limped home – the rest sunk or wrecked with barely a shot fired.

via The Spanish Armada (HC/K) – Historic Naval Fiction.

Caribbee (HC) – Historic Naval Fiction

The latest novel in Julian Stockwin’s Kydd series is now available for pre-order in hardcover, Caribbee. It is due for release in the UK on 24 October 2013 and in the US on 1 November 2013.

More than a decade ago, Thomas Kydd and Nicholas Renzi were in the Caribbean as sailors before the mast in the old Trajan. Now Kydd, a storied hero of Trafalgar, holds the glory of being Post-captain of the 32-gun frigate, L’Aurore. His almost unbelievable feat of self-advancement is the toast of his own crew… but the envy of others less blessed than he.

After unremitting war a Caribbean posting seems a welcome respite. But, in addition to the balmy warmth and turquoise waters, Kydd and Renzi find themselves facing a familiar threat as the French imperil Britain’s vital sugar trade.

When more and more merchantmen begin vanishing from the sea, fear spreads. Before long, the sugar ships refuse to set sail at all. Now Kydd and Renzi must embark on a dangerous game of espionage, seamanship and breath-taking action in order to destroy this new and terrible danger to the Empire.

Read More Caribbee (HC) – Historic Naval Fiction.

The King’s Chameleon (HC) – Historic Naval Fiction

The latest novel in Richard Woodman’s Kit Faulkner series, The King’s Chameleon, is now available for pre-order in hardcover. It will be released in the UK on 25 July 2013 and in the US on 1 November 2013.

England, 1659. Captain Kit Faulkner’s house is prospering; his eldest son, Nathaniel, has recently returned from a profitable trip to Jamaica in the good ship Faithful, and his daughter, Hannah, has made a suitable match with a young sailor. But the resignation of the Lord Protector, Richard Cromwell, throws England into uncertainty. Will the republic flourish, or will a King return to the throne? Kit is content to let matters take their natural course, but his younger son, Henry, is an idealist with political ambitions. It soon becomes clear that Henry is in much deeper than Kit first realised, and Henry’s actions may threaten everything that Kit holds dear…

via The King’s Chameleon (HC) – Historic Naval Fiction.

Hunting the Essex (HC) – Historic Naval Fiction

The epic chase of the Essex by HMS Phoebe during the War of 1812 inspired Patrick O’Brian and the movie Master and Commander. Aboard Phoebe was a young Midshipman Allen Gardiner who recorded the events. These have been edited by John S Rieske into a new book Hunting the Essex: A Journal of the Voyage of HMS Phoebe 1813-1814 which is now available for pre-order in hardcover worldwide. It will be released on 30 June 2013.

In February 1813 the British frigate Phoebe set out on a secret mission that would involve sailing halfway around the world to attack American settlements in the Pacific Northwest. The United States, frustrated at the treatment of its shipping by the combatants in the Napoleonic Wars, had finally opened hostilities against the British in the previous June. From the American perspective the War of 1812 began with disasters in its invasion of Canada, but against all expectations the infant US Navy had scored significant victories at sea. The most strategically significant of these was the campaign by the frigate USS Essex, which had almost annihilated the lucrative British whaling trade in the south Pacific. Therefore, Phoebe was diverted to hunt down and destroy this highly successful commerce-raider.

Read More Hunting the Essex (HC) – Historic Naval Fiction.

Review: Britannia’s Wolf by Antoine Vanner – Historic Naval Fiction

Britannia’s Wolf by Antoine Vanner is set during the Russo-Turkish War of 1877. Perhaps unusually for the first book in a new series about the Royal Navy, The Dawlish Chronicles, the entire book is spent with the principal character seconded to a foreign power, Turkey, but this worked well.

Dawlish has to retake his future command from a rebellious Turk, but he is soon in command of an ironclad and, despite the language and cultural difficulties, getting the ship ready for sea and bringing some esprit de corps to it’s crew. Throughout the book there are some well written action scenes both at sea and ashore as Dawlish and his men seek to stem the relentless Russian advances despite some of the political intriguing that was expected in the levant at the time. The rivalries that started this war are ones that still echo through to modern times and as I have not studied this period before it was a pleasure to read about the origins of these conflicts. However, be warned that at the time little concern was showed for civilians and the narrative graphically brings to life some of the atrocities that marked this conflict.

Read More Review: Britannia’s Wolf by Antoine Vanner – Historic Naval Fiction.