The Continental Risque
A captivating and stirring maritime adventure that will have you gripped
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- $15.99
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- $15.99
Publisher Description
An enthralling and swashbuckling naval adventure from bestselling author James Nelson you won't be able to put down. Perfect for fans of Patrick O'Brian and C.S. Forester.
"First-rate action writing" - Publishers Weekly
"Authenticity runs throughout the books, carrying total conviction" - Patrick O'Brian
"Fast paced and the plot has lots of twists..." - ***** Reader review
"Going to buy all his nautical books in time!! Love these!" - ***** Reader review
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IN THE FACE OF BETRAYAL, HE MUST UNITE HIS MEN TO FIGHT AGAINST TYRANNY...
1776: A decade of simmering tensions is finally coming to the boil. Determined to cast off the chains of British tyranny, the rebel government of Philadelphia has authorised the creation of the United States Navy - a brazen act of American aggression against the greatest maritime power in the world.
Captain Isaac Biddlecomb sets sail in the Charlemagne on a daring mission to raid the British store of arms on New Providence Island in the Bahamas. Yet his greatest enemy is an undisciplined crew on the brink of mutiny.
Beset by betrayal and treachery, Biddlecomb must find a way of uniting his men against a cruel and common foe... as the British Navy prepares to sink the Charlemagne under the merciless blasts of its guns.
The Continental Risque is the third novel in James Nelson's Revolution at Sea series. Biddlecomb's story continues in Lords of the Ocean. Have you read By Force of Arms and The Maddest Idea, his first two adventures?
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
At the outset, the final installment in Nelson's Revolution at Sea trilogy (after The Maddest Idea) seems to chart a steady course through the standard formulaic historical romance, with dashing swashbucklers, satin-skinned ingenues, crusty old sea dogs and a heinous villain belowdecks. Once on the open seas, however, Nelson proves again to be an able novelist who handles deftly the conventions of the O'Brien-dominated maritime genre and writes characters who burst out of their stereotypes. Isaac Biddlecomb, now captain of the converted merchantman Charlemagne, a newly commissioned brig-of-war in the Continental Navy of 1776, is being pursued by his archenemy, HMS Glasgow. Through a series of clever yachting maneuvers, Biddlecomb eludes the larger enemy ship, impresses the love of his life, Virginia Stanton, daughter of his old mentor, and makes himself a hero. After a brief and somewhat tedious stay on shore, though, during which the reader is treated to cameos of Samuel Adams, Benjamin Franklin and other founding fathers, the captain and his ship join the fledgling Continental fleet and the salt breeze invigorates Nelson's tale as his hero sails through various adventures in the Bahamas. Nelson's capacious knowledge of sailing and period maritime practices informs the book on every page and very nearly clutters the story with too much seamanship. But his rounded characters, tense action and battle sequences will certainly please fans of historical fiction. Editor, Tris Coburn; agent, Nat Sobel.
