The Seven Years War (HC) – Historic Naval Fiction

Martin Robson has a new book available for pre-order in Hardcover, A History of the Royal Navy: The Seven Years War. It will be released worldwide on 30 September 2015.

The Seven Years War (1756-1763) was the first global conflict and became the key factor in creating the British Empire. This book looks at Britain’s maritime strategic, operational and tactical success (and failures), through a wide-ranging history of the Royal Navy’s role in the war. By the end of the war in 1763 Britain was by no means a hegemonic power, but it was the only state capable of sustained global power projection on a global scale. Key to Britain’s success was political and strategic direction from London, through the war planning of Pitt the Elder and the successful implementation of his policies by a stellar cast of naval and military leaders at an operational and tactical level. Martin Robson highlights the work of some of the key protagonists in the Royal Navy, such as Admiral Hawke whose appreciation of the wider strategic context at Quiberon Bay in 1759 decided the fate of North America, but he also provides insights into the experience of life in the lower decks at this time. Robson ultimately shows that the creation, containment and expansion of the British Empire was made possible by the exercise of maritime power through the Royal Navy.

Source: The Seven Years War (HC) – Historic Naval Fiction

Review: Nor Gold by Kerry Lynne – Historic Naval Fiction

Nor Gold: The Pirate Captain continues the stories of Nathan, Kate and their friend Thomas. There are so many twists in the plot it is impossible to summarise, however it’s a story of romance, friendship and loyalty in a brutal world. Nathan is torn between his love of Kate, her desires and the need to protect her from evil enemies and at the same time his loyalty to his ship and crew and his need for revenge on a former nemesis.

There are plenty of characters who have a developed background and as with most pirates there is the subplot of who can be trusted and who is working for thier own profit.

Like the first book it is a very well written plot with twists that make it hard to put down as you always want to know what will happen next. Romance, suspense, action, scheming, Nor Gold has it all and you are left eagerly awaiting the sequel.

This book and the series are highly recommended.

Source: Review: Nor Gold by Kerry Lynne – Historic Naval Fiction

An Interview with Robert N. Macomber – Historic Naval Fiction

Historic Naval Fiction is pleased to have obtained an Interview with Robert N. Macomber whose new novel, The Assassin’s Honor, will be released on 1 October 2015.

What can you tell us about your new book The Assassin’s Honor, without spoiling the plot for readers?

In December 1892, a foreign assassination team in the Caribbean targeted one of the most famous men in the world. What happened with those assassins is little-known, but ended up changing how a significant part of history evolved into the world we know today. The storyline in The Assassin’s Honor is woven around those amazing events. A spy thriller, right out of history!

In The Assassin’s Honor, U.S. Navy Captain Peter Wake is finally out of the naval espionage work he excelled at but despised. Now, after 29 years in the Navy, he has the dream assignment of every naval officer ~ command of a newly commissioned ship, U.S.S. Bennington, on independent patrol duty. After being a lonely widower for 11 years, his personal life has also changed, for he has found true love again, this time with a beautiful lady of foreign descent.

But everything changes when he is summoned to his squadron commander at Key West. Wake’s old skills are needed to decipher a cryptic chart fragment and a coded message. It doesn’t take him long to uncover that in eight days an important man will be killed. But who? And where? Plunged back in the sordid life he thought he left behind, Wake takes his ship and crew on a journey involving the Imperial German Navy in Mexico, Cuban revolutionaries in Key West, and Spanish secret operatives in Tampa.

Nothing is as it seems, war hangs in the balance, and time is running out.

Read More: An Interview with Robert N. Macomber – Historic Naval Fiction

Brewer’s Luck (K) – Historic Naval Fiction

James Keffer has just released the first book in a proposed new series about an officer under the patronage of Admiral Hornblower, Brewer’s Luck: Hornblower’s Legacy. It is now available for kindle download worldwide and will be available in paperback shortly.

After gaining valuable experience as an aide to Governor Lord Horatio Hornblower, William Brewer is rewarded with a posting as first lieutenant on the frigate HMS Defiant, bound for American waters. Early in their travels, it seems as though Brewer’s greatest challenge will be evading the wrath of a tyrannical captain who has taken an active dislike to him. But when a hurricane sweeps away the captain, the young lieutenant is forced to assume command of the damaged ship, and a crew suffering from low morale.

Brewer reports their condition to Admiral Hornblower, who orders them into the Caribbean to destroy a nest of pirates hidden among the numerous islands. Luring the pirates out of their coastal lairs will be difficult enough; fighting them at sea could bring disaster to the entire operation. For the Defiant to succeed, Brewer must rely on his wits, his training, and his ability to shape a once-ragged crew into a coherent fighting force.

Source: Brewer’s Luck (K) – Historic Naval Fiction

Sailors on the Rocks (HC) – Historic Naval Fiction

Peter C. Smith has a new book available for pre-order in Hardcover, Sailors on the Rocks: Famous Royal Navy Shipwrecks. It will be released on 30 September 2015 in the UK and on 19 December 2015 in the US.

For three hundred years or more the Royal Navy really did “Rule the Waves”, in the sense that during the numerous wars with our overseas enemies, British fleets and individual ships more often than not emerged victorious from combat. One French Admiral was to generously acknowledge that the Royal Navy possessed, “a tradition of victory.” And yet, in every other way, the waves were never ruled by any maritime power. Great fleets might wax and wane, ships grow ever more complex and powerful, but the sea, the eternally cruel sea, was always to have the final say.

This book highlights a sample array of disasters, occurring when men-of-war faced the ultimate test of the elements and lost. Among such tragedies are the wrecking of the Coronation in 1691, the destruction of the Winchester in 1695 and the great storm of 1703, along with a host of shipwrecks on far-flung shores from New Zealand to Nova Scotia, and from Florida to South Africa. Some of the featured stories are already famous, like that of the Birkenhead. Others are lesser-known, like the sister cruisers Raleigh and Effingham, separated by many years. More recently, steam power replaced the uncertainties of sail, but even so losses continued, from little destroyers in both world wars (Narborough, Opal and Sturdy among them) through great battleships like Montagu. Even modern warships equipped with every modern navigational device come to grief; witness the strange affair of the frigate Nottingham, or the humiliating grounding of the nuclear ‘wonder’ submarine Astute on Skye in 2010. This unique book presents a fascinating insight into the malevolent power of the sea and storms over man’s creation and dominion, chronicling some of the most dramatic shipwrecks ever to have occurred in our seas.

Source: Sailors on the Rocks (HC) – Historic Naval Fiction

Landfalls (PB) – Historic Naval Fiction

Naomi J. Williams recently released a fictionalized account of the 18th-century Lapérouse expedition, Landfalls. It is available worldwide in Paperback, ebook and audio formats and will be released in Hardcover on 22 October 2015.

An epic voyage, undertaken with the grandest of ambitions.

When Lapérouse leaves France in the Spring of 1785 with two ships under his command, he knows that he sails with the full backing of the French government. This is to be a voyage of scientific and geographical discovery – but every person on board has their own hopes, ambitions and dreams.

As the ships move across vast distances in their journey of nearly four years, the different characters step forward and invite us into their world. From the remote Alaskan bay where a dreadful tragedy unfolds, to the wild journey Barthélemy de Lessups undertakes from the far east of Russia to St Petersburg, the reader sees the emotional, physical and mental toll exacted by such an endeavour.

Landfalls marks the launch of a brilliant new writer, who creates an unforgettable world through a web of voices and narratives.

Source: Landfalls (PB) – Historic Naval Fiction

Tudor Warship Mary Rose (PB) – Historic Naval Fiction

Douglas McElvogue has a new book available for pre-order in Paperback, Tudor Warship Mary Rose. It will be released on 24 September 2015 worldwide.

The great warship the Mary Rose was built between 1509 and 1511 and served 34 years in Henry VIII’s navy before catastrophically sinking in the Battle of the Solent on 19 July 1545. A fighting platform and sailing ship, she was the pride of the Tudor fleet. Yet her memory passed into undeserved oblivion – until the remains of this magnificent flagship were dramatically raised to the surface in 1982 after 437 years at the bottom of the Solent.

Part of the bestselling Conway Anatomy of The Ship series, Tudor Warship Mary Rose provides the finest possible graphical representation of the Mary Rose. Illustrated with a complete set of scale drawings, this book contains technical plans as well as explanatory views, all with fully descriptive keys. Douglas McElvogue uses archaeological techniques to trace the development and eventful career of Henry VIII’s gunship, while placing it in the context of longer-term advances in ship construction.

This volume features: -The first full archaeological reconstruction of the Mary Rose, as she would have appeared when built and when she sank. -The concepts behind the building of the ship, along with consideration of the materials used and her fitting-out and manning. -The ship’s ordnance, including muzzle loaders, breech loaders, firearms, bows,staff weapons, bladed weapons and fire pots. -Analysis of the contemporary descriptions of the Mary Rose’s sailing characteristics and ship handling, whether general sailing, heavy weather sailing, anchoring, mooring, stemming the tide or riding out storms. -A service history of the Mary Rose examining the campaigns of the vessel: the battles she was involved in, when she held station in the Channel and the periods in which she was laid up.

via Tudor Warship Mary Rose (PB) – Historic Naval Fiction.

French Warships in the Age of Sail 1786 – 1862 (HC) – Historic Naval Fiction

In a sequel to his popular series on the design of British Warships, Rif Winfield, together with Stephen S Roberts, has a new book available for pre-order in Hardcover, French Warships in the Age of Sail 1786 – 1862: Design Construction, Careers and Fates. It will be released on 14 September 2015 in the UK and a few days later on the 18th in the US.

In 1786 the French Navy had just emerged from its most successful war of the eighteenth century, having frequently outfought or outmanoeuvred the Royal Navy in battle, and made a major contribution to American independence. The reputation of its ship design and fighting skills never stood higher, yet within a few years the effects of the French Revolution had devastated its efficiency, leading to defeat after defeat. Fine ships continued to be built, but even under Napoleon s dynamic influence the navy never recovered sufficiently to alter the balance of sea power. It was only after 1815 that the navy revived, espousing technical innovation and invention, to produce some of the most advanced ships of the age. This book is the first comprehensive listing of these ships in English, and follows the pattern set by the companion series on British warships in the age of sail in providing an impressive depth of information. It is organised by Rate, classification and class, with significant technical and building data, followed by a concise summary of the careers of each ship in every class. Thus for the first time it is possible to form a clear picture of the overall development of French warships in the latter half of the sailing era.

via French Warships in the Age of Sail 1786 – 1862 (HC) – Historic Naval Fiction.