The Aftermath of Devastation (K)

Alan Lawrence has just released the next book in his series ‘The Continuing Voyages of HMS Surprise’. The Aftermath of Devastation is now available worldwide for Kindle download.

After two years of bloody fighting and heavy losses, after enduring the hurricane of 1824, HMS SURPRISE struggles to make Falmouth port in a dreadful state, very severely damaged and sinking, dozens of her crew wounded and injured, all her officers and men utterly exhausted.Will she be hulked or even broken up? Doctor Simon Ferguson, traumatised by so many deaths, has had enough and leaves for his home in the Isles. The First Lord ponders the frigate’s future as her men are paid off. Battered and broken, HMS SURPRISE’s very existence is in doubt.Actual historical events form the stirring backcloth to a story about fighting men in violent times. Life and death in the turmoil and terror they endure is described in vivid detail as the barky comes alive once more in an exciting climax to one of the most famous battles in the Greek war of independence.

Source: The Aftermath of Devastation (K)

A Fine Retribution (HC)

The latest Alan Lewrie novel by Dewey Lambdin titled A Fine Retribution, is now available for pre-order in hardcover worldwide. It will be released on 30 May 2017.

Summer, 1809, and Captain Alan Lewrie, RN, wins fame, glory, and prize-money leading his squadron to victory over four French frigates. Battle damage, though, costs Lewrie his command, ship, and crew. He returns to London a hero, but, as weeks on half-pay turn to months, and no new command is offered, he’s forced to lease a house and furnish it, unsure if he will ever go to sea again!At least Lewrie can have his portrait done by Miss Jessica Chenery, an intriguing young lady he takes for his wife, after seven years as a widower. In the midst of newly wedded bliss, an old friend poses a project for landing battalion-sized raids on enemy coasts. Though he never expects it to amount to anything, since it’s too novel, Lewrie soon finds himself assigned to lead the proposed raid. Despite the stumbling blocks thrown in his way by his foes in the Navy, it’s failure and ignominy, or shining success to prove himself to be won and rub their noses in it!

Source: A Fine Retribution (HC)

The Sugar Sacrifice (PB/K)

Lyle Garford has just released the third book in The Evan Ross Series, The Sugar Sacrifice. It is now available in paperback and for kindle download worldwide.

In 1793 the world is on the brink of war and the French Revolution is inspiring a storm of unrest throughout the Caribbean. A representative of the new French revolutionary government arrives to assume command of the island of St. Lucia and royalist supporters are forced to flee or be sent to the guillotine brought with him.Staunch royalist supporter Captain Marcel Deschamps is imprisoned on St. Lucia as a spy for the British. Commander Evan Ross and Lieutenant James Wilton are tasked with finding out what has happened to their source and saving him if possible. While on reconnaissance their agent Manon Shannon, Lieutenant James Wilton’s lover, is captured and imprisoned.The two British officers plot a high stakes rescue to free their people, but more is at stake than they know. Captain Deschamps has hidden the colony’s wealth from the new regime and the revolutionaries badly need to find it. The two officers are soon in the midst of desperate action to complete their mission, as cannons blaze amid the bloody opening salvos of war.

Source: The Sugar Sacrifice (PB/K)

Leopard (K)

Author Michael Aye’s has just released the latest novel in his Fighting Anthony’s series, Leopard. It is now available for Kindle download worldwide and will be available in paperback shortly.

The year is 1780. American privateers who have wreaked havoc among British shipping are now boldly entering British ports. Lord Anthony sets sail with a squadron to deal with the privateers. Gabe has been on the beach for several months, accused of overstepping his authority by an angered admiral who is sent to replace Admiral Buck.

Unbeknownst to the British, Spain has entered the war to aid the Americans. Sailing the crippled Trident to the Antigua dockyards, Gabe comes upon a decimated British convoy. Once in Antigua, the admiral places Gabe in temporary command of HMS Leopard, a fifty-gun ship. His job: To seek out Lord Anthony and alert him of this new enemy. Fighting enemy ships from several countries seems bad enough; yet the worst hurricane in history threatens to do what enemy cannons can’t do — stop the Fighting Anthonys.

Source: Leopard (K)

Blue Water Scarlet Tide (PB/K)

John Danielski has a new book in his Royal Marine series, Blue Water Scarlet Tide, available for pre-order. It will be released for kindle download worldwide on 23 January 2017 and in paperback a day later.

It’s the summer of 1814, and Captain Thomas Pennywhistle of the Royal Marines is fighting in a New World war that should never have started, a war where the old rules of engagement do not apply. Here, runaway slaves are your best source of intelligence, treachery is commonplace, and rough justice is the best one can hope to meet—or mete out. The Americans are fiercely determined to defend their new nation and the Great Experiment of the Republic; British Admiral George Cockburn is resolved to exact revenge for the burning of York, and so the war drags on. Thanks to Pennywhistle’s ingenuity, observant mind, and military discipline, a British strike force penetrates the critically strategic region of the Chesapeake Bay. But this fight isn’t just being waged by soldiers, and the collateral damage to innocents tears at Pennywhistle’s heart.As his past catches up with him, Pennywhistle must decide what is worth fighting for, and what is worth refusing to kill for—especially when he meets his opposite number on the wrong side of a pistol.

Source: Blue Water Scarlet Tide (PB/K)

Persephone (HC/K)

Author Julian Stockwin’s new novel, Persephone, will be released in hardcover and kindle and audio formats worldwide on 18 May 2017. It is now available for pre-order.

November 1807. Captain Sir Thomas Kydd must sail to Lisbon to aid the Portuguese Royal Family’s evacuation in the face of Napoleon’s ruthless advance through Iberia. In the chaos of the threatened city an old passion is reawakened when he meets Persephone Lockwood, a beautiful and determined admiral’s daughter from his past.But the Royal Family’s destination is Brazil, Perspehone’s England, and it seems Kydd’s chance has gone again. Only later he discovers Persephone has another suitor – and that, if he wants to win her hand, he must enter the highest echelons of London society.Mixing with aristocracy and royalty brings other responsibilities. The Prince of Wales asks him to take temporary command of the Royal Yacht. Sailing to Yarmouth, Kydd realises they are being stalked by French privateers. The terrible threat of a prince of the blood being captured sees Kydd call on daring seamanship of the highest order.

Source: Persephone (HC/K)

Review: The Seventy-Four by M. C. Muir

M. C. Muir’s The Seventy-Four is the latest novel in her ‘Under Admiralty Orders – The Oliver Quintrell Series’ and starts with Quintrell arriving in Rio de Janeiro where he receives welcome new orders from a seventy-four which he is now required to escort to England.

With the power of the seventy-four it should be an easy voyage but they are soon engaged with two French frigates. When one is sunk and the other captured the British Captains have to spread their crews through the three ships whilst guarding a substantial number of prisoners. Into this mix is thrown some dissaffected Irishmen.All the threads were woven into a well wiritten plot which was an enjoyable read. In the Quintrell series the plots differ from the norm as the things tend to go wrong, even though it comes right in the end, which also makes them a refreshing amd believable read.Both the book and the series as a whole are highly recommended reading.

Source: Review: The Seventy-Four by M. C. Muir

Fletcher and the Great Raid (PB/K)

John Drake has just released a new book in his Jacob Fletcher series, Fletcher and the Great Raid. It is now available in paperback and for kindle download worldwide.

1795: Inventor James Watt is accused of stealing a patent for a steam engine by the McCloud brothers. Furious with their boss, they take their technology to France, where Napoleon Bonaparte promises great things to come. The French and the English are at war, and a steam engine would be very valuable, allowing either side to leap the channel.Jacob Fletcher is a career navy man. Whether he wanted to be or not is open for debate. He is serving on the Serpant, under the inept Captain Cuthbert Percival-Clive, whose mother is Prime Minister William Pitt’s sister. Captain Percival-Clive has no interest in anything to do with his ship, and spends as much time as possible lounging in hotels, leaving all the work to Fletcher.During a test to see if Fletcher is fit for promotion, a civilian named Rowland sits in. But the mysterious Rowland has more in store for Fletcher than a test. Fletcher is tasked to find and destroy anything he finds at sea regarding the steam engine, before the French can build one. A deal is struck, but when Rowland says he must also kill the McCloud brothers, the English-Scots who betrayed their country, Fletcher is not sure how far he is willing to go.Promoted to captain and given his own ship, the adventure that lies before Jacob Fletcher will challenge his resolve. Before the story is over, Fletcher will be tempted by the Devil, garrotted, and nearly blown up – all on the same night!Told through the diary dictated to his reluctant clerk, and intended for his nephews, the life of Admiral Sir Jacob Fletcher is a rollicking adventure, and a great look into life on the high sea.

Source: Fletcher and the Great Raid (PB/K)

Review: The Blackstrap Station by Alaric Bond

Following the wreck of HMS Prometheus, some of the crew have managed to evade capture and a British Frigate is nearby. When their attempt to steal a vessel coincides with a cutting out attempt, action and new responsibilities follow for Tom King. Now based in Malta with a shore job he worries that  his seagoing career will be over.Another well written narrative from Bond with sea action and some nefarious shoreside activities which as usual follows a wide cast of characters from all ranks as well as some civilians, all of whom you feel you know. The plot had plenty of unexpected twists which made it hard to put down.Bond’s historical accuracy, knowledge of sailing ships and characterisations imerse you in the period and he continues to be one of the best contemporary naval fiction authors. Highly recommended.

Source: Review: The Blackstrap Station by Alaric Bond

Review: The Sugar Revolution by Lyle Garford

The Sugar Revolution is the second book in The Evan Ross Series which follows an officer who lost an arm and has little prospect of further sea appointments. Instead, ably assisted by James Wilton, he runs the Antigua dockyard, however, this is a cover for his counter espionage activities.

A party of French nobles are seeking to end slavery on the sugar plantations in the Caribbean islands, and if they can’t do it with words will aid slave rebellions. The navies of all the powers are seeking to stop these activities and are mistrustful of the other nations. Ross must steer a path that is diplomatic but which finds and deals with the source of the slave unrest.Whilst not a navel novel in the purest sense, with a lot of time spent ashore, it nevertheless fits the genre and has a well written plot with a good pace. Despite this lack of sea time it was an enjoyable read and is one I recommend.

Source: Review: The Sugar Revolution by Lyle Garford