Artemis
Thomas Kydd 2
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4.6 • 5 Ratings
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- $7.99
Publisher Description
'In Stockwin's hands the sea story will continue to entrance readers across the world' - Guardian
In the great age of fighting sail, life ranging the seas for prey and prize money in the crack frigate HMS Artemis is fast and exciting.
Now a true Jack Tar, Kydd sails into Portsmouth Harbour and a hero's welcome after a ferocious battle against the French. However his jubilation is cut short when a family matter threatens to take him from the life he has grown to love; he must return to Guildford.
But the sea beckons irresistibly and Kydd manages to ship out again in his beloved Artemis - a voyage that will take him to the fabled East and present him with fierce challenges, both personal and physical. Finally homeward bound, he faces death itself in the cruel waters of the Great Southern Ocean.
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What readers are saying about ARTEMIS
'Fast and furious' - 5 stars
'Superb' - 5 stars
'I simply could not put it down' - 5 stars
'Never fails to entertain!' - 5 stars
'A great read for all who love the world of wooden ships when the Royal Navy ruled the seven seas' - 5 stars
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
A young sailor battles foes on sea and land in this second entry in Stockwin's 19th-century naval series. When we last left young Thomas Kydd, he had distinguished himself in battle aboard the Duke William (Kydd, 2001). Now, Kydd and fellow novice sailor Nicholas Renzi leave the lumbering Duke William for the sleek frigate Artemis and promptly find themselves in cutthroat battle again, overmatched against the French frigate Citoyenne. The face-off ends in hand-to-hand combat and a hard-won victory for the men of the Artemis. But Kydd's jubilation is short-lived; his sister, Cecilia, arrives unexpectedly with the news that their father's health is failing. Kydd must return home to provide for his family. Renzi, with whom the virginal Cecilia has been flirting, accompanies his friend. They work dutifully but unenthusiastically to open a school, longing all the while for the sea. A reprieve comes when Cecilia finds someone to run the school, freeing Kydd and Renzi to follow their passion. Fortune favors them again; they're able to rejoin the Artemis, which is bound for the Orient. On this odyssey, Kydd also finds love (with the effervescent Sarah Bullivant) and sees a good deal of India, Macao and China. An act of desertion threatens both the valued friendship of Renzi and Kydd and their futures with the Artemis. The story peaks early with the naval battle and slowly loses speed down the stretch, but period dialect and seagoing argot aplenty add credibility to the adventure, and the unworldly Kydd is an apt lens for the reader's journey.
