Peregrine (K) – Historic Naval Fiction

Author Michael Aye’s latest novel in the Fighting Anthony’s series, Peregrine, is now available worldwide on Kindle. It will be released in paperback next month, April 2012.

July 1778. A French fleet of mighty warships under Comte d’Estaing arrives off Sandy Hook to aid the colonies. The British Navy finds itself hard pressed to fulfill the duties cast upon it.

Vice Admiral Lord Anthony has temporarily transferred his flag to the frigate, HMS Peregrine for diplomatic duty. The ship’s captain is Lord Anthony’s brother Gabe. The mission is to transport prisoners of war and their families to Norfolk, Virginia in exchange for British prisoners. Sailing under a flag of truce Peregrine is viciously attacked.

The roar of cannons and smell of gunpowder once again fills the air as Lord Anthony’s ships struggle to do their duty.

Read More Peregrine (K) – Historic Naval Fiction.

The Prodigal (PB) – Historic Naval Fiction

S. K. Keogh has a new book which has just been released worldwide, The Prodigal. The first book in a pirate fiction series, it is available in paperback and ebook versions.

A story of relentless pursuit, betrayal, and revenge:

As a young boy Jack Mallory knows horror and desolation when James Logan and his pirates murder his father and abduct his mother. Falsely accused of piracy himself, Jack is thrown into jail. He survives seven years in London’s notorious Newgate prison and emerges a hardened man seeking revenge.

Read More The Prodigal (PB) – Historic Naval Fiction.

The Privateering Stroke: Salems Privateers in the War of 1812 PB – Historic Naval Fiction

Author Capt. Michael H. Rutstein has a new book, The Privateering Stroke: Salems Privateers in the War of 1812 , which has been released today, 25 March 2012, in the US in Paperback. It will not be available in other countries and must be purchased through US vendors.High school and even college textbooks oversimplify the War of 1812 – when they dont ignore it completely. Popular histories emphasize the military as opposed to the economic and political aspects of the war. The U.S. Navys role has been written about ad nauseum. Meanwhile, we are still waiting for a definitive work on the equally important contributions of American privateers.While the Navys outstanding performance in single-ship engagements remains a source of national pride, those victories did not change the course of the war one iota. Had Constitution defeated a dozen British frigates, the thousand-ship Royal Navy would still have blockaded our coasts, strangled our commerce, bottled up our warships, and hunted down those that escaped. Even her former commander, Tyrone Martin, conceded that Constitutions victories were “no more than pin pricks” that “had no direct effect on the course of the war.”

Read More The Privateering Stroke: Salems Privateers in the War of 1812 PB – Historic Naval Fiction.

Review: A Ship for the King by Richard Woodman – Historic Naval Fiction

This is the first book in a new series by Richard Woodman, and for those that have read his Nathaniel Drinkwater series the style has a familiar feel particularly as the insights into the workings of Trinity House are a common factor.

The new principal character is Kit Faulkner, first introduced to us as an orphaned quayside waif in the reign of James I. This choice of period, as Kit’s career through to the English Civil War is explored, sets the series apart, as it is the first time it has been explored by a major naval fiction series.

The insights into the Navy of the period fascinating. This was the period when the foundations of the Navy that fought the Dutch during the Anglo/Dutch Wars and became familiar through the many novels about the Nelsonian period were being laid down which makes it of particular interest.

Read More Review: A Ship for the King by Richard Woodman – Historic Naval Fiction.

For King or Commonwealth (HC) – Historic Naval Fiction

Author Richard Woodman’s latest novel For King or Commonwealth is now available for pre-order in hardcover. It will be released in the UK on 26 April 2012 and in the US on 1 August 2012

An exhilarating high seas adventure set during the English Civil War.

1649. England has been torn asunder by a civil war that has pitted Parliamentarians against Royalists. Captain Kit Faulkner, bound to the Royalist cause, has been living in exile for the past four years. Faulkner must now support himself with the tiny rump of the Royal Navy that remains loyal. But his loyalties are torn, partly by the desire of his old patron, Sir Henry Mainwaring, who wishes to return home, and partly by the predatory nature of Prince Charles, who has his eyes on the beautiful Katherine Villiers . . .

Read More For King or Commonwealth (HC) – Historic Naval Fiction.

Roger Marsh Review: HMS Warrior – Ironclad – Historic Naval Fiction

This is one of the first books published in Seaforth’s own ‘Historic Ships’ series, the other volume published alongside it during 2011 having been on the subject of HMS Victory. The publisher’s aim in this series is to guide the reader on a superbly illustrated tour of a ship from bow to stern, from keel to masthead and deck-by-deck.

Visually, they have certainly succeeded in no uncertain fashion. Geoff Dennison’s photography is indeed superb, both above and below decks as well as outside the ship, and the reproduction does his work justice, printed in high quality on excellent paper even though this is, nominally, a paperback. Beginning with an account of the ship’s concept, design, history and preservation, the feast of Geoff Dennison’s pictorial tour starts on page 30, after some fine introductory illustrations, and continues through to the end of the book on p. 128.

Read More Roger Marsh Review: HMS Warrior – Ironclad – Historic Naval Fiction.

The Flag of Freedom HC – Historic Naval Fiction

Author Seth Hunter has a new novel which is now available for pre-order in hardcover, The Flag of Freedom, due for release on 5 July 2012 in the UK.1797: Britain stands alone against the forces of Revolutionary France. A victorious French Army, led by the youthful Napoleon Bonaparte, is poised to invade Britain. And in his countrys darkest hour, Captain Nathan Peake finds himself imprisoned by his own side on the Rock of Gibraltar – charged with treason. To prove his innocence Nathan must uncover the great deception that masks the French war aims. Is the great armada being assembled in Toulon bound for the shores of Great Britain – or Egypt? His secret mission to discover the truth about Napoleons invasion plans will hurl him into two of the greatest battles of the 18th century.

Read More The Flag of Freedom HC – Historic Naval Fiction.

Honorable Lies (HC) – Historic Naval Fiction

Author Robert N Macomber has a new novel, Honorable Lies, which will be released worldwide in hardcover on 15 Septemnber 2012. It is now available for pre-order.

It’s September 1888, and Commander Peter Wake, Office of Naval Intelligence, has five days to rescue his two captured operatives from a dungeon in Spanish colonial Havana. But his plan quickly falls apart on the first day when long-time nemesis Colonel Isidro Marrón, head of Spanish counter-intelligence, springs a deadly trap that Wake can’t avoid. Huguenots, Freemasons, the beautiful actress Sarah Bernhardt, the re-election of President Grover Cleveland, and Cuban patriot José Martí are all part of the desperate action as Peter Wake uses innovation and experience to defy the odds.

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Review: Napoleon’s Gold by Mark M. McMillin – Historic Naval Fiction

In this third instalment of the adventures of Captain Luke Ryan the historical records on which the series is based have run out and the author gives free reign to his imagination to fill in a plausible history for the continued adventures of his characters. He set himself a difficult task in choosing to cover a lengthy period from the end of the fight for American Independence through to the end of the Napoleonic Wars.

As before the Irishmen spend much of their time based in France but this time operating in the Mediterranean. As the title indicates Ryans exploits become involved with Napoleon Bonaparte and we see some of his career from a new perspective with an interesting possible explanation of how he returned to France after the Egyptian campaign.

Read More Review: Napoleon’s Gold by Mark M. McMillin – Historic Naval Fiction.

Roger Marsh Review: The Sea Painter’s World: The New Marine Art of Geoff Hunt, 2003-2010 – Historic Naval Fiction

Another magnificent volume of the work of one of the undisputed foremost maritime artists of our own time, well-known to many of our readers, this one covering many of Geoff Hunt’s recent paintings. The last time I had the pleasure of receiving a volume of his paintings was three years ago, the book written and produced together with Brian Lavery on HMS Surprise, containing all the cover paintings of the Patrick O’Brian books as well as a wealth of others.

This new book covers Geoff Hunt’s work since then as well as some earlier paintings. In contrast to the HMS Surprise volume, there is greater diversity of subject here. Though the artist’s home period is clearly that of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, we are taken right back to the 16th century with his definitive study of the Mary Rose based on all the researched information now available (culminating in his now well-known 2009 painting reproduced in the book) and right up to the present day HMS Bulwark at the International Fleet review on 28th June 2005, HMS Dragon building at VT Portsmouth and HMS Ark Royal in drydock at Portsmouth in May 2009. Modern sail and port scenes are covered as well.

Read More Roger Marsh Review: The Sea Painter’s World: The New Marine Art of Geoff Hunt, 2003-2010 – Historic Naval Fiction.