Medieval Maritime Warfare (HC/K) – Historic Naval Fiction

Charles D. Stanton has a new book available for pre-order in Hardcover and for kindle download, Medieval Maritime Warfare. It will be released worldwide on 30 June 2015.

Following the fall of Rome, the sea is increasingly the stage upon which the human struggle of western civilization is played out. In a world of few roads and great disorder, the sea is the medium on which power is projected and wealth sought. Yet this confused period in the history of maritime warfare has rarely been studied – it is little known and even less understood. Charles Stanton uses an innovative and involving approach to describe this fascinating but neglected facet of European medieval history. He depicts the development of maritime warfare from the end of the Roman Empire to the dawn of the Renaissance, detailing the wars waged in the Mediterranean by the Byzantines, Muslims, Normans, Crusaders, the Italian maritime republics, Angevins and Aragonese as well as those fought in northern waters by the Vikings, English, French and the Hanseatic League. This pioneering study will be compelling reading for everyone interested in medieval warfare and maritime history.

via Medieval Maritime Warfare (HC/K) – Historic Naval Fiction.

Water Ghosts (PB) – Historic Naval Fiction

Linda Collison has just released a new novel, Water Ghosts, for Young Adults. It is available worldwide in paperback.

“I see things other people don’t see; I hear things other people don’t hear.” Fifteen-year-old James McCafferty is an unwilling sailor aboard a traditional Chinese Junk operated as adventure-therapy for troubled teens. Once at sea, James believes the ship is being taken over by the spirits of courtiers who fled the Imperial palace during the Ming Dynasty, more than 600 years earlier, and sailing to its doom.

via Water Ghosts (PB) – Historic Naval Fiction.

Winning (PB/K) – Historic Naval Fiction

David O’Neil recently released a new book in his Forest-Bowers series, Winning. It is now available in paperback and for kindle download worldwide.

Captain Sir Martin Forrest-Bowers returns to the sea once again in the service of his grateful nation, along with First Lieutenant Patrick Brooks and rest of his valiant and loyal crew. Only this time, Martin finds that his wife, Lady Jennifer, is not content to sit idly at home waiting for her seafaring husband to return. Eschewing the expectations of high society, a class to which she and her husband belong, Lady Jennifer decides that she, like Ruth, whether thou goest, will sail at her husband’s side and join him in battle as it may come. Finding that she is not the lone female aboard ship, Lady Jennifer learns that her Naval Captain is as brave as she had thought and that battle at his side is even more hazardous than she had imagined.

Captain Forrest-Bowers finds himself and his crew fighting the French, the Spanish, Barbary pirates, and the Americans as he and a small band of other ships sail the dangerous waters of war in service to his homeland. Then, just when needed and much to his surprise, Martin finds an unexpected ally in battle: the Americans. But can they really be trusted? One question: Friend or Foe? The correct answer means survival.

via Winning (PB/K) – Historic Naval Fiction.

Fenwick & Meacham back in print – Historic Naval Fiction

This site features regular articles on newly published books but some of my favaourites were published many years ago and have been out of print for some time. They are therefore usually hard to come by and expensive when you do find a copy. I am pleased to note therefore that Thunderchild Publishing has brought two of my favourite authors back in to print with eBook versions, making them accessible to fans of the genre once again.

A particular favourite of mine, and of one of our current leading author’s Alaric Bond, is The Far off Ships by Kenneth Fenwick. This was the only novel by the historian and is a very well written and graphic account of Nelson’s chase accross the Atlantic and the culminating Battle of Trafalgar.

The other favourite is the three book series by Ellis K. Meacham about Percival Merewether of the Bombay Marine during the Napoleonic Wars. The series starts in 1806 and is based on the little known private naval service of the Honourable East India Company which defended the interests of the Company in the Indian Ocean and the Far East. This is a service not usually featured in Naval Fiction.

Also coming out are the works of Victor Suthren and hopefully we will see some more authors coming out as eBooks from Thunderchild.

via Fenwick & Meacham back in print – Historic Naval Fiction.

Gallagher’s Prize (K) – Historic Naval Fiction

Joseph O’Loughlin recently released his debut novel about the War of 1812, Gallagher’s Prize. It is available worldwide for Kindle download.

At the beginning of the 19th century, British global military power oppressed, outgunned and eventually invaded the young United States of America during the War of 1812.

How did America prevail against such odds? With ships, guns and the fierce desire for freedom that lived in the hearts of American sailors. Many of these men were not even Americans yet. Some came from Ireland, including Jack Gallagher.

“Gallagher’s Prize” begins in southern Ireland when English law breaks up an Irish Catholic family’s farmland and a young man longs for the sea. During his many adventures, Jack visits Portsmouth (England), Dublin, Tenerife, Recife, Boston and New Orleans. He learns about square sailing, naval gunnery and ship’s tactics, makes interesting new friends and acquaintances, repairs long-standing enmity with his brother, rescues his family from debt, defeats a powerful and dysfunctional adversary, and experiences sex and love.

via Gallagher’s Prize (K) – Historic Naval Fiction.

Nelson’s Band of Brothers (HC) – Historic Naval Fiction

Peter Hore has a new book available for pre-order in Hardcover, Nelson’s Band of Brothers: Lives and Memorials. It will be released on 30 may 2015 and in the US on 15 June 2015.

While there is a perennial interest in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic wars and in Nelson himself, there is no reference work that chronicles all the captains of his ships, their social origins, their characters and the achievements in their lives beyond their service under Nelson. This new book, researched and written by distinguished historians, descendants of some of Nelson’s officers, and members of the 1805 Club, presents concise biographies of those officers who fought with Nelson in his three great battles, with superb colour illustration throughout.

Nelson first gave the name of band of brothers to the officers who had commanded ships of his fleet at the battle of the Nile (1798). This new volume will include 100 officers, ranging from lieutenants in command of gunboats at the battle of Copenhagen (1801) through captains of line-of- battle ships at the Nile and at Trafalgar (1805), to admirals in command of squadrons in his fleets. Of real significance are the specially commissioned photographs of all the monuments and memorials to Nelson s captains, descriptions with transcriptions of epitaphs, and clear directions to enable the readers to find them. Part travel book, part biography and moving testimony to Nelson’s faithful captains, Nelson’s Band of Brothers presents the opportunity to rediscover 100 local heroes.

via Nelson’s Band of Brothers (HC) – Historic Naval Fiction.