The Guardship
Book One Of The Brethren Of The Coast
-
- $11.99
Publisher Description
Shortly after Thomas Marlowe's arrival in Williamsburg, Virginia, all in that newfound capital city are speaking his name. With the bounty from his years as a pirate--a life he intends to renounce and keep forever secret--he purchases a fine plantation from a striking young widow, and soon after kills the favorite son of one of Virginia's most powerful clans while defending her honor. But it is a daring feat of remarkable cunning that truly sets local tongues wagging: a stunning move that wins Marlowe command of Plymouth Prize, the colony's decrepit guardship.
But even as the enigmatic Marlowe bravely leads the King's sailors in bloody pitched battle against the cutthroats who infest the waters off Virginia's shores, a threat from his illicit past looms on the horizon that could doom Marlowe and his plans. Jean-Pierre LeRois, captain of the Vengeance--a brigand notorious even among other brigands for his violence and debauchery--plots to seize the colony's wealth, forcing Marlowe to choose between losing all or facing the one man he fears. Only an explosive confrontation on the open sea can determine whether the Chesapeake will be ruled by the crown or the Brethren of the Coast.
Shortly after Thomas Marlowe's arrival in Williamsburg, Virginia, all in that newfound capital city are speaking his name. With the bounty from his years as a pirate--a life he intends to renounce and keep forever secret--he purchases a fine plantation from a striking young widow, and soon after kills the favorite son of one of Virginia's most powerful clans while defending her honor. But it is a daring feat of remarkable cunning that truly sets local tongues wagging: a stunning move that wins Marlowe command of Plymouth Prize, the colony's decrepit guardship.
But even as the enigmatic Marlowe bravely leads the King's sailors in bloody pitched battle against the cutthroats who infest the waters off Virginia's shores, a threat from his illicit past looms on the horizon that could doom Marlowe and his plans. Jean-Pierre LeRois, captain of the Vengeance--a brigand notorious even among other brigands for his violence and debauchery--plots to seize the colony's wealth, forcing Marlowe to choose between losing all or facing the one man he fears. Only an explosive confrontation on the open sea can determine whether the Chesapeake will be ruled by the crown or the Brethren of the Coast.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The initial entry in Nelson's The Brethren of the Coast series (after his Revolution at Sea trilogy) is first-rate popular action writing. In 1701 Virginia, Thomas Marlowe kills a favorite son of the colony's most powerful tobacco family, the Wilkensons, in a duel, incurring the wrath of the entire clan. Soon after, when he's given command of the colony's guardship Plymouth Prize, Marlowe must deal with the Wilkensons' vendetta, the Prize's decrepitude and inept crew, and his fascination with beautiful widow Elizabeth Tinling (whose honor precipitated the duel), before getting around to his main job, fighting Chesapeake Bay pirates (who call themselves "men on the account" and "Brethren of the Coast"). Marlowe, n Malachias Barrett, we learn, was himself a member of "the sweet trade" (i.e., a pirate). The lovely Elizabeth isn't what she seems, either. The only man in the world Marlowe fears is his ex-captain and current leader of the Brethren, Jean-Pierre LeRois, whose cruelty and cunning are fueled by blazing dementia: "His crew were still screaming, he could hear them, though he could not actually see anyone's mouth moving." The brilliant descriptions of LeRois's spells make it plain that his craziness is caused by drink and an advanced venereal condition. Lots of plot twists, some nifty seamanship and a nice collection of secondary characters add ballast to the narrative. There's a bit of sex and some sly wit as Marlowe tells Elizabeth about "careening" a ship: "`First we strip the vessel of all of her top hamper," he begins, and ends: "We cause her to roll on her side and thus expose the bottom." Of course, there's a climactic one-on-one between Marlowe and LeRois before Marlowe can become a hero. Despite the general absence of daily colonial texture, readers will gladly be swept along by a wonderful plot. Ad/promo.
