Yankee Mission: Historical Fiction/Adventure

Book Review: Yankee Mission by Julian Stockwin  👌

Julian Stockin's 25th in the Thomas Kydd series, Yankee Mission, is another in the brilliant historical fiction age-of-sail adventure series. 

    There's not a bad moment in this narrative, which begins with a battle in the North American seas to save the British Navy's reputation against America's increasingly successful frigate campaigns versus the far more seasoned English. Captain Sir Thomas Kydd rejoins the Tyger crew, but he's wounded in battle and must convalesce back at home. There, the Admiralty finds him work proofing untested new technology for the British Navy, and he tries to learn a new lifestyle away from life at sea to which he's become accustomed. You'd be surprised what we take for granted today that needed to be concept tested before adoption in Kydd's day. 

    Then the Americans come after British merchant ships along native ports and once Kydd has restored his good health, he joins another fighting British frigate to chase down the mischief makers. But the chasing takes them across the Atlantic, south to the bitter cold waters of the Antarctic, and then up into the Pacific tracking down the enemy. There he finds a former American ally as a formidable foe and crew that will test his own considerable skills. The journey and battle is great storytelling, as always.

    All of Stockwin's books are well researched, adding authenticity to his exciting tales. Available as hardcover, Kindle, or audiobook. 

Stockwin's Maritime Miscellany: A Lot of Information; Hours of Entertainment!

Book Review: Stockwin's Maritime Miscellany by Julian Stockwin
Version: Author paperback

Author Julian Stockwin posted past photos on Facebook of his research trips for his historical fiction novels, and I commented that he should write a book compiling some of his most interesting finds. He steered me to Stockwin's Maritime Miscellany, "A Ditty Bag of Wonders From the Golden Age of Sail". I was expecting a book of interesting bits and pieces of lore and wisdom of the sea, perhaps some notes on tying knots and types of sails and classes of wooden tackle blocks. But no, this wide collection of knowledge is much more than that.

Stockwin's Maritime Miscellany is a small "tome" of research of the age of sail. Of the people and the places and the battles from that amazing time when England was the master of the seas and none dared oppose her. Too, it digs deep into the words we speak that emerged from that time. And it tells of the daring and the discoveries that both heroes and the plainspoken achieved who might have lived lesser lives on land. Also, it delves into inventions that marked a time when men had to come up with their own solutions to challenges, so far away from civilization, and the beliefs and superstitions that followed them far out to sea. Such faraway and dangerous travel would also have its misfortunes, and Stockwin's Maritime Miscellany has a section on those, too.

Most often when I'm reading a Stockwin novel, I want to breeze through it, because it's a compelling story I must finish to the end. But Stockin's Maritime Miscellany isn't that kind of work. You want to study it and savor it for its detail. And there's plenty of detail! One hundred and eighty-seven pages of regular content, plus eighteen pages of museums, important historical dates, ship sizes, and a detailed glossary. And the book is full of historical black and white photographs, with a photo index in the back.

So to say I was pleasantly surprised by the contents is an understatement. "Miscellany" is a good description! Reading this thorough book will provide you with not only a lot of information but also many hours of entertainment. It belongs on any shelf with books of stories of naval engagement, not to mention age of sail. And it gives you a deep understanding of the history of the times. If you haven't read Stockwin's Maritime Miscellany, add it to your to-read list now.

The Iberian Flame: Roiling Recount of Britain's Battle to Save Iberia

Book Review: The Iberian Flame by Julian Stockwin
Version: Author provided hardcover

We learn a lot from reading historical fiction. The better the research, the more we can learn. No historical fiction is better researched -- and written -- than Julian Stockwin's Thomas Kidd series. The 20th in the series is The Iberian Flame. It's the amazing story of Napoleon's attempt to take Spain by tricking the Spanish royalty out of power and finishing its taking of Portugal from an earlier invasion. Standing in Napoleon's way is the British Navy, with the assistance of the British Army, subverting the French who overplay their hand.

As always, Stockwin blends the real people of the time with fictional characters to fill out an intriguing story, including the host of series characters we have come to enjoy in the other books. You look forward to their reappearing from story to story, well defined and given important roles in tightly written plots that tell the real story but also give insights into those very trying times in British history when Napoleon posed an existential threat to the island nation and when it was the British Navy that ruled the seas to protect king and country, nation and people.

No detail is left unconsidered in telling the story, which shows Stockwin's meticulous research, bringing the reader ever closer to understanding the lives of everyday seamen and extraordinary leaders, not to mention the nefarious rulers and the people who enabled them in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Every read is a page burner, engrossing you in the tale so that you don't want to put the book down, and The Iberian Flame continues this trend. Captain Sir Thomas Kydd finds himself under the command of a failing but controlling admiral who does everything in his power to push Kydd to the back of the action, yet Kydd continually finds himself in the middle, aiding the Portuguese and Spain and the cause of Britain. There is plenty of naval action for the most ardent age-of-sail reader, a mainstay of the Kydd novel. For the reader who likes a little romance mixed in, The Iberian Flame begins with Kydd returning home to his beloved Persephone, but it doesn't take long for international intrigue to enter the picture and Kydd to be sent off to sea. There really is something for everyone in this book!

I will warn that this story is slightly more than 400 pages long. It may seem a bit lengthy. But it's quality length. And the maps at the front are well done and help aid in visualizing the name locations in the story. If you are tempted to buy the ebook, investing a bit more in hardcover is well worth it, especially if you're a collector.

The Baltic Prize: Number Nineteen Is Another Winner!

Book Review: The Baltic Prize by Julian Stockwin
Version: Author furnished ebook

If you have read this review blog for long you know I am a huge fan of Julian Stockwin’s Thomas Kydd age-of-sail series. The Baltic Prize is the nineteenth adventure in that series, and after two slight twists to his successful format in Inferno and Persephone, Stockwin returns to its roots in a stirring tale of conflict and battle at sea. A return well done!

Stockwin’s stock in trade is historical fiction, basing his stories on detailed research and bringing that detail to his stories. For that reason, Inferno was more about the siege of Copenhagen and the failed negotiation to "borrow" the Danish Navy and less about the sea adventure. It was a necessary diversion, which brought us to this next tale. In The Baltic Prize, he returns us to the waters off the coast of Denmark, where the Danes hold the choking point of islands that secure the waters of the Baltic Sea.

In 1808 Napoleon has taken over most of Europe and cut off Britain’s economic ties to most of the continent. Once ally Russia has now joined forces with Napoleon, cutting off access to the continent from the north. It leaves only Sweden as their ally. Britain’s access to Swedish ports must be through the Baltic Sea, and the Danes have a score to settle with Britain after the burning of their capital and the taking of their navy.

With that as a backdrop, The Baltic Prize sets up for a challenge to France, Russia, and Denmark as Britain organizes a new naval squadron to ally with Sweden, which is under attack by Russia, to defend the Baltic route to the continent, and Captain Sir Thomas Kydd and his heralded frigate Tyger are among the fleet. Their charge is to defend the British merchant fleet trying to reach European ports. Their challenges are French privateers that raid the merchant ships at will, a newly built fleet of Danish gunboats that resourcefully go after both merchant ships and British naval ships caught dead in failing winds, and an increasingly more aggressive Russian Navy looking to stake a claim to Swedish ports.

Increasing the challenge is an erratic Swedish king and his now untrustworthy navy, not to mention a British general who insists on ticking off the king. It’s always something, isn’t it?

We find Kydd and the Tyger crew getting plumb assignments hunting down privateers, taking on gunboats, and seeking out the hiding places of sneaky “Ruskies”, with daring skirmishes and dangerous raids. Kydd must not only warily track his opponents, but he finds he must tread difficult waters among his colleagues, many of whom are jealous of his rise in position and he suspects of sabotaging his missions.

And always in the back of Kydd’s mind as he manages a life of danger at sea is his beloved Persephone, whom he has married and left back in England to manage their new estate.

As always with Stockwin’s stories, the characters are engaging, the story is full of exciting action, and much of the story is real, based on historical research. You learn about history as you enjoy a rousing tale. And as with every Kydd tale, I couldn’t put the book down once I started reading. In my book, number nineteen -- The Baltic Prize -- is another winner!

I read this as an ebook, but it's available in U.S. and Canada beginning January 2, 2018.

Persephone: Well Told Adventure With Something for Every Reader

Book Review: Persephone by Julian Stockwin
Version: hard cover, advance copy

I'll be darned if Julian Stockwin hasn't done it again -- bested himself with his latest release in the Thomas Kydd series, Persephone. There's a little something for every reader in this volume: sea chase, age-of-sail battle, Napoleonic intrigue, imperial palace pomp, and romance. All nicely packaged in well-written historical fiction in around 400 pages.

Persephone is the name of Captain Sir Thomas Kydd's once spurned love interest of the past, and Kydd encounters her again while on station in Portugal trying to rescue the British from Lisbon and escort Portuguese royalty from the clutches of Napoleon and his Spanish allies. A spark of interest re-ignites between them, but they are forced apart by circumstances, only to be reintroduced once again on British soil. Kydd, the toast of England for his heroics in battle, has plenty of time to pursue her, but she appears to be out of reach. Meanwhile, Kydd inconsolable at his loss, returning to the sea and service of king and country, is sent to the site of his most recent conquest, Copenhagen, and then to follow a strange group of merchant ships protected by French sloops and a frigate, perhaps destined to invade the shores of Scotland or Ireland. They face uncertainty and dangers abound in pursuit, only to be surprised time and again -- including the final, biggest surprise of his life.

There is the romance of the sea and the romance between a couple, and Stockwin blends both seamlessly in this great tale of adventure. He deftly describes the relationship between Kydd and Persephone, their still stirring love interest yet the still unresolved conflicts from the past, setting up a hunt and seek chase that lasts through the book, almost as in a thriller. Packed in and around this theme flows the adventures of a naval hero doing his duty at sea and doing his duty on land, being paraded before the people as the hero of the hour and yet feeling the tug of life on board one his majesty's finest fighting frigates. There are battles aplenty, both at sea and on land, both military and political. And keep in mind, while many characters are fictional, others are based in history.

Stockwin's prose flows easily on the page, fluid with the magic of truth. You are transformed to the settings, knowing he has been there and seen that or gleaned parts from historical records. Dialogue is real, descriptions are vivid. The pacing is exciting. And having served in the Royal Navy, you know his battle narratives ring true. Many of Stockwin's characters recur from novel to novel, and one of my favorites is Stirk, who has been with Kydd from the beginning. One of those most stirring and realistic bits of dialogue is his near the end of the novel.

Persephone released as hardback in UK and as ebook and audio download in UK and the U.S. on May 18. It releases as hardback in U.S. in September. The link above is to the Book Depository, where hardback is available to order with free delivery worldwide. I think you will find it entertaining reading, wherever you are!

Powder of Death: A Great Adventure

Book Review: Powder of Death by Julian Stockwin

Version: hard cover, personal purchase

Historical novels can be a fun retelling of historic events fictionalized to fill in details when we don't know the whole story. Author Julian Stockwin has become a master at this craft, no more so than in Powder of Death (2016), the story of how gunpowder came to thirteenth century England through the Crusades and Europe to bring King Edward III victory against the brutal Scots.

Powder of Death is more than a simple retelling of the story, however. It's really a travel adventure, kind of a story of discovery in the exploration of strange new lands, which begins as an attempt at personal redemption but turns into a seeking of wealth wielding a seemingly magical concoction. Stockwin writes brilliantly, bringing wonderful characters to life in a wholly realistic setting exploring history and times in thoroughly researched detail, which is his habit.

The book can be perceived into two parts.

The first part is almost Tolkien-like, Fellowship of the Rings in tone, as the main character, Jared, sets off for the Crusades on a pilgrimage seeking redemption for a terrible deed. Perkyn, a sidekick and protector from Jared's small English village, joins him as they set off for parts unknown, wide eyed and innocent to the world. They fail to reach their goal, but they succeed in participating in the Crusades, where Jared uses his skills as a blacksmith to aid gallant knights in defending a Crusader stronghold far from Jerusalem against a devastating Muslim attack. In the end, Jared and Perkyn are captured and enslaved, but with his blacksmithing skills, he is retained to help the Muslims take the stronghold. It is here that Jared learns of a strange and magical powder that can take down mighty fortresses.

The second part brings Jared and Perkyn back to England. He has the secret of the powder, although not the details of its making, and his goal is to avenge the reason for his seeking redemption, using the powder. It becomes his mission in life, his obsession, and over the ensuing chapters Jared, with Perkyn's aid, tries to work out how to use this mysterious powder to bring down the high and mighty. It brings Jared back to his village, only to discover he has changed as has his village, and it isn't really where he wants to be. He moves to Coventry seeking to set up a business, but the guilds there won't allow him. So he seeks other avenues and meets up with the wife of his late cousin, who likes his vision for using the powder. Over months and years he tests the powder in various ways to use it as a weapon against a host of foes. Powers in Italy and Belgium show interest. But there is always an impediment to Jared's experiments. Ultimately, his quest brings him back to England and the Court of young Edward III.

The chapters are short but the story is long and captivating. The plan is cunning and the struggle is compelling. Your payoff is the life-changing journey.

I'm a big fan of Julian Stockwin novels. He doesn't disappoint. Powder of Death is a good example. Like The Silk Tree before it and his long-running Kydd Series novels that continue as I write, Stockwin is a master teller of grand historical fiction tales. Pick one, any one, and you will be highly entertained. Today, I suggest you read Powder of Death. It's a great adventure.

Update: Available April 20, 2017, in paperback (or now worldwide at bookdepository.com)

The Silk Tree: A Story You Have to Read

Book Review: The Silk Tree by Julian Stockwin
Version: purchased ebook

For a long time, the origins of silk fabric was a deeply held secret by the Chinese. Many myths and legends were held to be true, deepening the mystery. Julian Stockwin's The Silk Tree tells the fictionalized tale of two intrepid souls who sought out the truth in the hope of returning to their homeland with seeds from a silk tree to make themselves rich beyond their wildest dreams.

It it set in a time of Byzantine Emperor Justinian, after the fall of Rome and the rise of Constantinople as the center of the western world, before the West had contact with China. Christianity had been established as a dominant religion, and our two heroes left the West as two intrepid monks in search of truth, seeking to learn of the lands to the east. At the time, little was known about how silk or spices got from the East to the West, or where they even originated. So our heroes were traveling purely in ignorance, not even sure they would find a route let alone complete their quest.

The Silk Tree takes you on a far reaching, wide ranging journey through mysterious lands and among strange people through the eyes of an educated Greek businessman and a forlorn Roman soldier escaping the invading hordes who have reached Constantinople but eventually find themselves down on their luck but come up with a brilliant scheme to tap the considerable resources of Emperor Justinian to fund their travel. In the process they find themselves where they never expect to reach, a land that considers anyone from the west a spy looking to steal their secret and deserving of death. And while there, they discover the real source of silk and a way to sneak some back. Their journey home is long and perilous and full of surprises. In their century, under such circumstances, it's not certain they will ever even reach home. And thus, your journey beside them is as much an uncertain adventure as it is for our two very likable heroes.

When I first learned of the book, I had one impression of what the story would entail. And so when I began reading the story I expected it to unwind quickly and solve the mystery, letting out the secret early and then resolving the conflict over time. Not so. Stockwin builds the mystery through a good portion of the story, letting you find the truth with the our two heroes and uncover the wonder of the world in their eyes as they journey. It's a wonderful telling of their discoveries. We all know where silk comes from (or it's easy to find out by googling it), so that's not the issue in this story. The question is, how did growing silk get from China to the West? Who brought it out of hiding into the light of the world? This is a telling of that tale.

Julian Stockwin always does meticulous research for all of his stories. While many of the characters in The Silk Tree are fictional, including the two main characters (our heroes), others are real. "In the West accounts generally agree that it was two monks who returned from China in AD 551 with the secret of silk," Stockwin told me in a quick chat as I prepared to write this review. "I have this from three sources. However these documents vary in their details, each providing tantalizing references and with no one version standing out as definitive. My tale is based on these." So this tale is authentic, although specific details may wander from fact as all historical fiction does. "Where we do have verifiable historical information I have taken some pains to ensure veracity. Many of the characters in The Silk Tree did exist and it was fascinating researching their lives."

Stockwin lived in the Far East and visited many of the places in the story. His details as in all the books he writes are vivid and lend authenticity and immediacy to the tale. You will find The Silk Tree an enjoyable read, a wonderful place to immerse yourself, whether it's on a cold winter night by the fire or on a hot summer day on the beach.

The Silk Tree has been available in the UK, Australia, and other markets for a while but just became available in the U.S. late this summer. Wherever you live or travel, it's worth picking up.

"The genesis of the story came from a visit to a bazaar in Istanbul," added Stockwin, "when Kathy (his wife) was haggling with a merchant over a silk scarf, and I idly reflected on just how silk came to the West. Then I did some research and realized I had a story I just had to tell." I think you'll find it a story you just have to read.

Inferno: Not What I Expected Yet I Was Still Pleased

Book Review: Inferno by Julian Stockwin
Version: Purchased


Inferno wasn't what I thought it would be. Author Julian Stockwin broke some expectations with this novel, but when I got to thinking about it, his decisions to break them were sensible. In the end, I was pleased.

Inferno is the seventeenth novel in the Thomas Kydd series, which has been an age-of-sail series about a British naval hero's rise from seaman class to captaincy and knighthood. They are tales of adventure as well as tales of personal experiences based on historical moments, which result from precise research. Thus, I was looking for another tale of Captain Sir Thomas Kydd doing great daring deeds.

However, the Thomas Kydd series is also about Britain's struggle against Napoleon's attempt to conquer all of Europe. And Inferno hewed true to that story line, involving Kydd but not focusing on him. In fact, other than that Kydd appeared at the beginning and end of the story, and briefly in the middle, this book was hardly about him at all.

Inferno really is a tale about Britain's struggle to keep Napoleon from closing the European commercial market to them and uniting with Russia to seize all of Europe's navies to finally beat the British Navy, which commanded the seas. Between defeating them on the sea and defeating them economically, this would have meant Napoleon finally conquering Britain, which was all that stood in Napoleon's way of world domination.

Central to Napoleon's plan was working with Russia to take the Danish navy, and Britain had a brilliant plan to ask the Danish government to temporarily hand over their navy to Britain to deny Napoleon the key final piece of his plan. But the Danish king wouldn't hear of it. Even when British soldiers landed and surrounded the capital of Copenhagen and threatened to reduce it to rubble.

Stockwin's brilliance is in using historical detail to bring authenticity to his stories, and he does so in Inferno. You will thoroughly understand both sides of the dilemma and the horror of this battle from this story. It is a riveting tale told through the eyes of his characters, involving both fictional and real people from those times.

While I will admit to being disappointed initially that this wasn't much of a Kydd story, I came to admire Inferno for being a fine piece of well-crafted historical fiction told in the Thomas Kydd universe. Kydd and Kydd characters do show up from time to time in the story, and Kydd fans can enjoy that while enjoying Stockwin's attention to detail and being true to history.

Tyger: Much to Treasure in the 16th Novel in the Kydd Series

Book Review: Tyger by Julian Stockwin

an uncorrected advance proof copy

We are at sea again. Transported back to 1807 European waters under the command of Sir Thomas Kydd, captain of the captured-French frigate L’Aurore, we return to the comradeship of friends with names like Bowden, Stirk, and Dowd. All memorable characters that weave like threads through past Kydd novels.

But L’Aurore is no longer seaworthy and we have to give her up to the dry docks, and all our friends are set adrift.

There is hope of command of a new heavy frigate being freshly built, but instead Captain Kydd is given command of another frigate, Tyger, sequestered offshore because she has recently been the victim of a mutiny. It’s Kydd’s duty to bring this dangerous crew back into fighting shape under service of king and country, and thus is set the conflict underlying our keen adventures in this high-seas age-of-sail tale. We are at sea again at Kydd's side, his only comrades.

In this well researched, excellently detailed new novel, we wrestle with a restless crew, board sneaky merchant ships for prize money, battle enemy frigates that out number and out gun us, explore uncertain Arctic waters as winter sets in, and then there is the ambitious Napoleon to consider.

Impeded by England’s naval triumph at Trafalgar, Napoleon has moved east on land to conquer most of Europe. The crew of Tyger is sent to the Baltic to aid Prussia in its desperate final hours under siege by the French and their allies. Oh, that bastard Napoleon and his unrelenting French forces! 

Can Kydd trust his crew and officers in battle and in crisis? We voyage vicariously through Kydd’s mind as he fights doubts and imagines daring solutions. We experience life at sea and death in battle. A few friends even re-emerge. Tyger becomes the Thomas Kydd tale that we have all come to admire through fifteen novels, and now in a sixteenth. There are twists and turns, failures and successes, and as always, the triumph at his darkest hour of our favorite English naval hero.

There’s no hiding that I am a huge fan of Julian Stockwin’s Thomas Kydd series. If you like heroic tales, great sea adventures, the romance of the age of the sail, and the details of historical fiction, then you will find much to treasure in Tyger, the next wonderful addition to this series.

Tyger reaches bookstores in October. Prepare to board for adventure!

(c) 2015. Alan Eggleston. All Rights Reserved.

Victory by Stockwin Wins the Day

A Book Review
By Alan Eggleston, writer and editor, business books, leisure books


Why do you read? Is it to rip through a book a day and move on to the next, or is it to lose yourself in a story with amazing characters living under incredible circumstances? For most people, I suggest, it’s the latter. And if you’re a reader like the latter, I suggest you read Victory by Julian Stockwin, his 10th novel in the rousing Thomas Kydd series.


• (Search Amazon.com for julian stockwin kydd sea adventures)


In Victory, Stockwin takes his two signature characters – and, thus, us – onto the decks of Britain’s most venerated flagship, the HMS Victory, to get to know her most famous leader, Lord Horatio Nelson, the Admiral who defeated Napoleon’s navy in the Battle at Trafalgar. We see him in the eyes of the nation who depended on Nelson for their survival, the men and officers who looked to him for inspiration and leadership, and the newly promoted frigate captain, Thomas Kydd, who looked to Nelson for mentorship. 


What you look to Stockwin for in his books is authentic description of battles, of the daily life at sea, of the language and attitudes of the men and officers in service, of what ships and seaports were like, of how people lived at the time and how they saw the world. In Victory, there is that aplenty and more. Right from the beginning there is a consequential battle whose description takes you in “living color” to the times of fighting sail. Then you’re transported to 19th century England and the life in Britain awaiting certain invasion by a menacing Napoleon whose massive and experienced army had already gathered across the English Channel. Finally, you’re swept to distant places with a British Navy pursuing a restless enemy desperate to be unleashed from blockade to gather strength for invasion, and once unleashed difficult to track despite their size. It culminates in the build up to and action in the Battle of Trafalgar, told from the eyes of a young Midshipman serving on Victory and Kydd whose frigate provides intelligence. You’ll live life at sea and in those times throughout this novel.


Much has been written about the Battle of Trafalgar. Much has been said about Lord Nelson. Be there, meet him, in the pages of Victory by Julian Stockwin.
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For the sake of transparency, I’ll admit at the outset that I’m a big fan of Stockwin. I have been disappointed on occasion and have written about it in my reviews, but on the whole I find Stockwin gives great value for the money you pay for his novels. He has written that he spends 50 percent of the time he devotes to writing a story to research, which results in deep levels of authentic detail to his stories. He travels the world visiting the places in which his stories take place, where he runs into diaries, letters, and historical records, facts and artifacts from which appear as observations or intimate details in the stories.  In addition, Stockwin served in the British Navy, so he is knowledgeable about the history and traditions of British seamanship, which is a rich part of the detail of each novel.
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Julian Stockwin publishes a monthly fan newsletter. In it he held a drawing for a free copy of the book for anyone willing to write a review. I was one of the lucky winners. Thus, I didn’t purchase the book for this review. However, if I hadn’t won I would have purchased it. 


Links to Victory: Commission may be paid for purchase.
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Invasion Loses Me as Naval History Instead of Sea Adventure

Book Review: Invasion by Julian Stockwin

By Alan Eggleston, writer, editor, and bookseller

In October, Julian Stockwin released the 10th in his Thomas Kydd sea adventure series: Invasion. Stockwin is a fine writer of sea adventures, but in this story, he loses his way as a writer of naval history.

In Invasion, Britain worries over its imminent invasion by France's madman Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, and an American inventor, Robert Fulton, seems to be England's greatest hope. He's known to be in France trying to sell Napoleon on the new war concept of submarine and torpedo warfare, and it becomes the mission of Commander Thomas Kydd and his best friend, Renzi, to entice Fulton to come to Britain and bring his technology to England's aid.

I'm not big on stories the central theme of which is built around the idea of a past famous person interacting with the book's main fictional character, and I wasn't keen on it here. The Thomas Kydd series of sea adventures are full of the excitement of sea battles and the dangerous life on tall ships at sea. Miring these rich, deep characters in the false sense of meeting up with real people with whom they likely would not have met get in the way for me. In the case of Renzi, it works all right, and Stockwin moves Kydd's interaction into sea action, so it's not too distasteful. However, I read the Thomas Kydd sea adventures for sea adventure, not not naval engineering.

One thing I'll say about Stockwin is that I respect his research and his use of the details he uncovers and uses in his works of fiction. I trust him to make good and accurate use of facts. At the end of the book, he tells us that Fulton was indeed in France at the time and did work on submarine and torpedo warfare, then went on to England, where he continued his work. For that reason, I am able to slightly suspend my disbelief.

If you read Stockwin because you appreciate his fine use of detail and like his excellent narrative in sea battles, you'll enjoy some of that here, but a good part of the book is taken up in meeting up with Fulton in France and with developing weapons in Britain. It made me miss his earlier works on Kydd in the Caribbean and the journey around the world, and it reminded me somewhat of his work on Kydd in North America while stationed in the United States.

I haven't given up on Stockwin's earlier storytelling of adventure. I'm sure he will bring it back in books to come. He's a fine author.

Review Disclosures

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