The Red Wolf Conspiracy by Robert Redick – A Review
August 26, 2010
I recently had recommended to me Robert Redick’s The Red Wolf Conspiracy, a fantasy epic which is almost exclusively set aboard the Imperial Merchant Ship Chathard, a 600 year old sailing ship of immerse proportions and age that sets out on a mission of mystery and intrigue with a huge crew and equally large and varied [...]
Read MoreHMS Surprise Dramatization on BBC for the Next Week
August 20, 2010
BBC is featuring a dramatization of Patrick O’Brian’s novel HMS Surprise. Very well done. Each episode is 45 minutes long and will remain on line for a week. HMS Surprise – Episode 1 HMS Surprise – Episode 2 HMS Surprise – Episode 3
Read MoreA Battle Won by S. Thomas Russell – A Review
August 11, 2010
The just released, A Battle Won by S. Thomas Russell, is classic nautical fiction – vivid, fast paced and full of drama, both on sea and land. Master and Commander Charles Hayden is a gifted naval commander with extremely bad luck. In the previous book, Under Enemy Colors, he found himself serving aboard HMS Themis, [...]
Read MoreSallee Rovers by M. Kei, A Review
July 21, 2010
Pirates of the Narrow Sea, Book 1 – Sallee Rovers by M. Kei is well written nautical adventure fiction with a twist or two, or perhaps three. The novel is not set during the Napoleonic wars and features, as the title suggests, Sallee Rovers, Barbary Coast corsairs, sailing from the Atlantic coast of what is [...]
Read MoreThe Olympias Trireme – 5th Century B.C Warship Reborn
July 17, 2010
Many historians have long suspected that the performance of the Greek triremes as reported by Esculus and others, were overstated. Some have referred to them as “mythological.” The Olympias trireme, built in 1987, designed by the naval architect John Coates, who died last week, has proven to be as fast and maneuverable as the triremes described in the ancient texts. [...]
Read MoreCaptain Don McIntyre and the Talisker Bounty Boat Recreate Bligh’s Epic Voyage
July 15, 2010
At the end of last April we posted about an expedition led by Australian Don McIntyre to recreate the epic 3,700 nautical mile voyage of Captain Bligh and his crew across the Pacific in an open boat in 1789 following the famous mutiny. McIntyre and his crew of three set out to recreate the conditions Bligh faced. The sailed [...]
Read MoreThe Merchandising Begins – Teen Sailor Jessica Watson’s Book and Album
July 15, 2010
Jessica Watson’s book True Spirit will be published in August in Australia and in October in the United States. It was also recently announced that she will be releasing an album as well. Fast work given that she only returned in the middle of May. Teen sailor Jessica Watson to release an album The young sailor claims that music helped her get [...]
Read MoreSchooner, Building a Wooden Boat on Martha’s Vineyard – A Review
July 13, 2010
In late May, we posted about the publication of a beautiful new book by Alison Shaw and Tom Dunlop, Schooner – Building a Wooden Boat on Martha’s Vineyard. We recently had the opportunity to read the book. Our review: Schooner – Building a Wooden Boat on Martha’s Vineyard details, in prose and photographs, the story of [...]
Read MoreJulian Stockwin’s Victory – A Review
July 3, 2010
We have fallen way behind in our book reviews. Until we catch up, here is a review of Julian Stockwin’s new novel, Victory, republished with permission from Astrodene’s Historic Naval Fiction. Astrodene Review: Victory by Julian Stockwin Victory starts off with a major setback for Kydd and keeps up a fast pace throughout which makes it another page turner [...]
Read MoreTrue Colours by Alaric Bond – Book Trailer
June 4, 2010
A book trailer for Alaric Bond’s new book, True Colours which we recently reviewed. True Colours
Read MoreBattle of Surigao Strait by Anthony P. Tully – a Review
May 30, 2010
A new look at the last battleship battle of World War II and perhaps of all time. A review by Steven Toby, republished with permission from the MarHst list. In this new book, Battle of Surigao Strait, author Anthony P. Tully mines some hitherto little known Japanese sources to create a more even-handed account of the Battle [...]
Read MoreFloating Gold by Margaret Muir – a Review
May 27, 2010
Margaret Muir’s new novel, Floating Gold, is a wonderful blend of classic Georgian naval fiction, a mystery/thriller and a grand treasure hunt. A rousing tale, well told. It is due to be released in the United States on May 31. It is currently available in the UK. Captain Oliver Quintrell is on the beach, [...]
Read MoreSchooner: Building a Wooden Boat on Martha’s Vineyard
May 25, 2010
I haven’t seen it yet but Schooner: Building a Wooden Boat on Martha’s Vineyard by Tom Dunlop, looks fascinating. From the publisher: Schooner takes you through the construction of Rebecca of Vineyard Haven, a sixty-foot wooden schooner designed and built by one of the few boatyards in the United States devoted exclusively to the design, construction [...]
Read MoreHMS Bounty and Privateer Lynx in Portsmouth, NH
May 24, 2010
HMS Bounty and the Privateer Lynx will be in Portsmouth, NH for the annual Tall Ships Portsmouth Festival on Memorial Day weekend from May 29-31. It sounds like a great event. The local paper reports all the details, which is all well and good. What is a shame but probably unavoidable is the description of HMS Bounty as a “”classic pirate [...]
Read MoreTrue Colours by Alaric Bond, a Review
May 18, 2010
Alaric Bond is a frequent contributor to the Old Salt blog. He is also a wonderful writer. His latest novel True Colours has recently been published. I liked it - a lot. A review: Alaric Bond’s new novel, True Colours, the third in his Fighting Sail series, is a fascinating and exciting look at a most [...]
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