Trident PB/K – Historic Naval Fiction

Author Michael Aye’s recently released the latest novel in the Fighting Anthony’s series, Trident. It is now available worldwide in paperback and for Kindle.

Recently promoted to Rear Admiral, Rupert Buck’s flag flies aloft HMS Trident as his squadron is formed. Captain Sir Gabriel Anthony, England’s latest hero, has been chosen as flag captain. What was to have been a routine mission has suddenly been changed by the Foreign Services Office.

American privateers have joined with the French to raid British convoys returning from the Indian Ocean. Buck’s squadron has to immediately weigh anchor and rush to meet this new threat. A sudden crisis develops and Gabe finds himself thrust into command of the squadron. Follow the ships and men under Rear Admiral Buck’s flag as they raid a neutral fort, battle the elements and face a powerful enemy with cannons blazing.

via Trident PB/K – Historic Naval Fiction.

The Battle of All the Ages PB/K – Historic Naval Fiction

The latest book in J. D. Davies’s Journals of Matthew Quinton, The Battle of All the Ages, is now available for pre-order in paperback and kindle. It will be released worldwide on 16 June 2014.1666.

The Four Days’ Battle. Once again Captain Quinton finds himself in the thick of the action, fighting the Dutch in one of the epic encounters of the age of sail. But the battle is a disaster: the fleet is mysteriously divided, with part of it sent to meet a French threat that never materialises, while thousands are slaughtered by the Dutch.

As popular fury turns violent, the King decides heads must roll, and Quinton is sent to rebellious, pirate-infested Plymouth to root out the source of the false intelligence that cost so many British lives.

It is an unenviable role — especially when all the evidence seems to point towards an old friend and boon companion.Then Quinton receives an urgent message from his wife, the usually level-headed Cornelia, begging him to come home to London at once…

via The Battle of All the Ages PB/K – Historic Naval Fiction.

The Threat in the West Indies K/PB – Historic Naval Fiction

If you can not wait for the next instalment of a series this seems to be the one to try as Roger Burnage has just released the fourth book of The Merriman Chronicles just 3 months after the previous one. The Threat in the West Indies is available worldwide for Kindle download and in paperback.

The year is 1793 and James Abel Merriman has been sent to the West Indies as Captain of his Majesty’s sloop Aphrodite.England’s oldest enemy France, now under the control of Napoleon Bonaparte is in the throes of the revolution and also is at war with Austria and the Netherlands.

At this point in history, February 1793, France declares war on England.

In the West Indies many of the islands have been fought over by the British, the French and the Spanish and at the time of this book, the principal islands of St. Lucia, Martinique and Guadeloupe are still in French hands although in 1794 many French claimed islands had been retaken by British Forces.

via The Threat in the West Indies K/PB – Historic Naval Fiction.

HMS Bellerophon HC – Historic Naval Fiction

HMS Bellerophon was an iconic ’74’ and it’s story is told in a new book by Colin A. Pengelly. It is now available in the UK in Hardcover and will be released in the US on 19 July 2014.

The story of HMS Bellerophon is a record of the many and varied duties which the Royal Navy had to carry out in the period 1793 – 1815. It was involved in the first great fleet action of the War and was involved in the last moments of the struggle with the surrender of Napoleon. The 74-gun ship was the standard unit in the line of battle, Bellerophon was one of the most distinguished with a fine fighting record. Having fought at ‘The Glorious First of June’; the battle of the Nile and at Trafalgar the ship saw more than her share of fierce ship-to-ship encounters. In between there were the varying duties of blockade and escort carried out with service in the Channel, the Mediterranean, the North Sea, the Baltic and the West Indies. The ship saw every type of service which fell to the Navy in that period. All the many and various aspects of the ship’s life are covered from construction through maintenance and refits to final disposal. Sadly the ship could not be been saved like Victory and the ship and her fine record were confined to the history books.

via HMS Bellerophon HC – Historic Naval Fiction.

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

Britannia’s Reach by Antoine Vanner is the second book in this new series set during the early years of the Royal Navy’s conversion to a steam powered iron fleet. Dawlish is again seconded, this time to a private corporation in South America.

There were several wars involving early steam vessels on the vast rivers of South America and the plot of this book enables the author to explore that area of naval warfare. Dawlish is given leave so he can head up the naval forces of the ‘consortium’ which has lost control of it’s productive land to an uprising.

Cooperation with the mercenaries of the land forces and the civilian leaders of the expedition do not go well at first and Dawlish is blamed for some early failures, however the power of the naval forces under his command are the only way of achieving a breakthrough and his plans are eventually accepted.

Once again this is a well written novel with a good plot that flowed smoothly holding my attention well. Although it is not set in the Age of Sail I enjoy Dawlish’s adventures and look forward to reading more. Recommended.

via Review: Britannia’s Reach by Antoine Vanner – Historic Naval Fiction.

Review: Commodore Levy by Irving Litvag – Historic Naval Fiction

On the European side of the Atlantic Uriah Phillips Levy is not a name that springs to mind when thinking of famous American naval officers, in deed I had never heard of him. That is a deficiency I have now rectified by reading Commodore Levy: A Novel of Early America in the Age of Sail, a fictionalised biography of his life.

Brought up in the Jewish faith Levy went to sea as a cabin boy aged ten and quickly rose to be an officer. A patriot he joined the Navy during the War of 1812 as a Master on the Argus until he was captured. He was promoted Lieutenant in 1817 which saw the start of his problems. As a ‘tarpaulin’ officer and a Jew many officers took it upon themselves to try and end his career, a thread that was to continue as he rose through the ranks. He fought many court martial’s but eventually achieved an appointment commanding the Mediterranean squadron.

As a respected member of the New York Jewish community he also invested in property amassing a personal fortune and becoming a noted philanthropist.

At over 600 pages this is a large book for a novel but I found it very engaging and hard to put down. The standard is such that it could easily be used as a scholarly work for those interested in Levy’s life and career and his story was so interesting that the book is highly recommended reading.

via Review: Commodore Levy by Irving Litvag – Historic Naval Fiction.

Review: The Threat in the East by Roger Burnage – Historic Naval Fiction

The Threat in the East, the third book in the ‘The Merriman Chronicles’, sees Merriman and his ship Lord Stevenage heading for Bombay and India where local potentates are building ships to threaten British interests and possibly link up with Napoleon’s invasion of Egypt.

The novel spends less time ashore than previous offerings as Merriman takes the ships of the Honorable East India Company’s Marine under his command and sets out on a series of raids to destroy the enemies forces.

The now familiar mix of naval action and espionage is as always brought together in a fast paced well written  narrative.

This book and the series as a whole is recommended.

via Review: The Threat in the East by Roger Burnage – Historic Naval Fiction.

Review: Merriman and the French Invasion by Roger Burnage – Historic Naval Fiction

When I reviewed the first book in ‘The Merriman Chronicles’, A Certain Threat, I said “if subsequent books keep up this standard it will be a good one.” I was not disappointed. The second book, Merriman and the French Invasion, as the title implies is about an attempted invasion, in this case of Ireland. There is a mixture of shipboard and shore action with a continuation of the espionage sub plot introduced in the first book. To this is added some personal treachery.

Merriman and his crew find themselves virtually unsupported as they defend the coast if Ireland against the plans of an arch enemy they have fought previously.

The mixture of familiar & new characters were well rounded as before in another well paced narrative. Although much of the action takes place ashore the book fits the genre well and I look forward to seeing what future adventures will reveal.

via Review: Merriman and the French Invasion by Roger Burnage – Historic Naval Fiction.