Balkan Glory, Julian Stockwin
Balkan Glory, Julian Stockwin
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Balkan Glory
Thomas Kydd 23

Author: Julian Stockwin

Narrator: Christian Rodska

Unabridged: 11 hr 56 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 10/01/2020

Synopsis

'Paints a vivid picture of life aboard the mighty ship-of-the-line' - Daily Express

1811. The Adriatic, the 'French Lake', is now the most valuable territory Napoleon Bonaparte possesses. Captain Sir Thomas Kydd finds his glorious return to England cut short when the Admiralty summons him to lead a squadron of frigates into these waters to cause havoc and distress to the enemy.

Kydd is dubbed 'The Sea Devil' by Bonaparte who personally appoints one of his favourites, Dubourdieu, along with a fleet that greatly outweighs the British, to rid him of this menace.

At the same time, Nicholas Renzi is sent to Austria on a secret mission to sound out the devious arch-statesman, Count Metternich. His meeting reveals a deadly plan by Bonaparte that threatens the whole balance of power in Europe. The only thing that can stop it is a decisive move at sea and for this he must somehow cross the Alps to the Adriatic to contact Kydd directly.

A climactic sea battle where the stakes could not be higher is inevitable. Kydd faces Dubourdieu with impossible odds stacked against him. Can he shatter Bonaparte's dreams of breaking out of Europe and marching to the gates of India and Asia?

(P) 2020 Hodder & Stoughton Ltd

About Julian Stockwin

Julian Stockwin was sent at the age of fourteen to Indefatigable, a tough sea-training school. He joined the Royal Navy at fifteen before transferring to the Royal Australian Navy, where he served for eight years in the Far East, Antarctic waters and the South Seas. In Vietnam he saw active service in a carrier task force. After leaving the Navy (rated Petty Officer), Julian practised as an educational psychologist. He lived for some time in Hong Kong, where he was commissioned into the Royal Naval Reserve. He was awarded the MBE and retired with the rank of Lieutenant Commander. He now lives in Devon with his wife Kathy. More information can be found on his website at www.julianstockwin.com.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Clemens

This wonderful seafaring story is now the 23rd volume of the fantastic "Thomas Kydd" series, from the author, Julian Stockwin. At the beginning of the book you'll notice several well-drawn maps which are featuring in this masterly sea-tale, followed by a Dramatis Personae, with great real historical......more

Goodreads review by Bob

I have seen some negative comments on this and the whole series on line. First things first this is a story set in a period of continual war between two nations in Europe. On one side you have the British, who see this as a fight for survival of their way of life and on the other side are the French......more

Goodreads review by Alan

The sign of a good historical fiction novel is you aren't aware you're reading history, you're enjoying reading the fiction so much. So it is with Balkan Glory, the twenty-third in the Thomas Kydd series. It is a part of the narrative arc telling the story of the British Navy's struggle to rein in N......more

Quotes

Balkan Glory is an epic chapter in the splendid Kydd canon, weaving knotty political gambits with stirring naval actions, expressively re-creating the often harsh reality Jack Tars witnessed within their wooden walls during the Napoleonic Wars Quarterdeck

Balkan Glory utilises real events and people alongside its fictional cast of favourites who have gone from ship to ship with Kydd. Flying his commodore's flag in the frigate HMS Tyger, Kydd's ships engage in an epic clash . . . Balkan Glory is thrilling stuff indeed Warships

An impressively entertaining action/adventure novel by an author with a genuine flair for the kind of narrative storytelling style that keeps his readers compulsively engaged from cover to cover Library Bookwatch

There is the Stockwin roller coaster ride of triumphs and reverses and the play of court life against a life in a wooden warship. Once more a page turner that will keep the reader engrossed to the last page Fire Reviews

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