Historic Naval Fiction The Home of Naval Fiction Set in the Age of Sail

A Ship of War (HC)

Author Sean Thomas Russell has a new novel which is now available for pre-order in Hardcover, A Ship of War. It will be released in the UK on 29 March 2012, but there is no date for other countries yet.

1794 - Charles Hayden sets off aboard the ill-fated HMS Themis with orders to destroy a French frigate sailing from Le Havre and to gather intelligence from a royalist spy. On discovering French plans for an imminent invasion of England, Hayden must return to Portsmouth to give warning before it's too late.

But the enemy have been lying in wait for him, and so begins a dangerous chase out into the Atlantic and into the clutches of a powerful French squadron. After a failed attempt to masquerade as French sailors, Hayden and his officers are taken prisoner. A shipwreck following a storm and a case of mistaken identity befall Hayden and his men as they try in desperation to escape in order to warn the Lords of the Admiralty. Failure will mean the invasion of England - and the guillotine for Hayden.

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Reefs and Shoals (HC)

The latest Alan Lewrie novel by Dewey Lambdin titled Reefs and Shoals, due for release on 17 January 2012, is now available for pre-order in hardcover worldwide.

Pity poor Captain Alan Lewrie, RN! He's been wind-muzzled for weeks in Portsmouth, snugly tucked into a warm shore bed with lovely, and loving, Lydia Stangbourne, a Viscount's daughter, and beginning to enjoy indulging his idle streak, when Admiralty tears Lewrie away and orders him to the Bahamas, into the teeth of ferocious winter storms. It's enough to make a rake-hell such as he weep and kick furniture! At least his new orders allow Lewrie to form a small squadron from what ships he can dredge up at Bermuda and New Providence and hoist his first broad pendant, even if it is the lesser version, and style himself a Commodore

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Armada (HC)

Author John Stack has a new novel which is now available for pre-order in the UK, Armada, due for release in Hardcover on 5 January 2012. It is currently only listed in the US as available via Kindle on that date.

Two nations are locked in bitter conflict. One strives for dominance, the other for survival.

After decades of religious strife, Elizabeth sits on the throne of England. The reformation continues. Catholic revolts have been ruthlessly quashed, and Elizabeth has ordered the execution of her cousin, Mary Queen of Scots. On the continent bloody religious wars rage, but England stands apart, her surrounding seas keeping her safe from the land armies of her would-be enemies. Only at sea do the English show their teeth. Sea captains and adventurers, hungry for the spoils of trade from the Spanish Main, regularly attack the gold-laden galleons of Catholic Spain. They are terriers nipping at the feet of war-horses but their victories disrupt the treasury of Spain, England's greatest threat, and Elizabeth's refusal to rein in her sea-captains further antagonises Philip II.

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Crucible of Gold (HC)

Author Naomi Novik has a new novel which is now available for pre-order in hardcover, Crucible of Gold. It will be available worldwide on 6 March 2012.

Naomi Novik's beloved series returns, with Capt. Will Laurence and his fighting dragon Temeraire once again taking to the air against the broadsides of Napoleon's forces and the friendly—and sometimes not-so-friendly—fire of British soldiers and politicians who continue to suspect them of divided loyalties, if not outright treason.

For Laurence and Temeraire, put out to pasture in Australia, it seems their part in the war has come to an end just when they are needed most. Newly allied with the powerful African empire of the Tswana, the French have occupied Spain and brought revolution and bloodshed to Brazil, threatening Britain's last desperate hope to defeat Napoleon.

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Heart of Oak (PB)

Author M. Kei's latest novel Heart of Oak is now available worldwise in paperback.

Lt. Peter Thorton's divided loyalties are tested in the crucibles of love and war. A pawn in the war for Portuguese independence, he is marked for revenge by the Spanish, and comes perilously close to losing both his life and ship. Discarded by friends and lovers, his health wrecked, and at the nadir of his career, he discovers what really matters and must make a choice that will seal his fate. Heart of Oak, the fourth book in the Pirates of the Narrow Seas series by M. Kei, continues the adventures of a gay officer during the Age of Sail. Read more...