Artemis: A Kydd Sea Adventure (Kydd Sea Adventures): 2 - Softcover

Stockwin, Julian

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1590131541 ISBN 13: 9781590131541

Publisher: McBooks Press, 2008

Synopsis

In this latest installment of the thrilling naval adventure series, Thomas Payne Kydd and sea-mate Nicholas Renzi are set to sail all the way to the fabled Far East aboard the 18th-century crack frigate Artemis. In this great age of fighting sailing ships, Kydd's voyage promises to be a perilous undertaking, but not even shipwreck, mutiny, or a confrontation with a mighty French frigate manages to thwart them. It is only when Kydd receives an urgent message from home-one that threatens to cut short his career and trap him on shore forever-that the real journey begins.

About this title

Review:

It's remarkable how quickly the interest in colourful naval adventure has grown in recent years. Foremost among able practitioners is Julian Stockwin and his new book, Artemis, builds on the solid achievements of the much-acclaimed Kydd; here again is the same flinty characterisation, stunning narrative skills and (most of all) considerable imaginative skill in evoking the wind-lashed atmosphere of the best nautical novels: full of sharp detail and keenly evoked atmosphere.

It's the great age of fighting sail, when the seven seas are stalking grounds for prey and prize money. Aboard the crack frigate HMS Artemis, life can be invigorating--and short. Now a fully fledged Jack Tar, Stockwin's doughty hero Kydd returns to Portsmouth and a hero's welcome after cutting a bloody swathe through French ships. But urgent family matters force him to return to Guildford where he finds himself less able to cope than he was at sea. Soon, land-bound life is chafing him, and Kydd is happily back on the Artemis setting out for the Far East, and encounters with some lethal opponents. After a grim encounter with slavers, Kydd finds himself facing his own mortality in the waters of the Great Southern Ocean. Stockwin's particular ability (among so many) is his fastidious evocation of life aboard a sailing ship and the tensions that exist between the men locked into this dangerous life. The dialogue may take a little getting used to, but it's quickly apparent that this is one of the author's key strengths: this, you feel, is how these men really spoke. Most of all, though, it's the exhilarating recreation of the sailing life and its attendant dangers that keeps the reader transfixed.--Barry Forshaw

Review:

"The Guardian (UK)" In Stockwin's hands, the sea story will continue to entrance readers across the world.

"The Guardian (UK)"

In Stockwin's hands, the sea story will continue to entrance readers across the world.

"Period dialect and seagoing argot aplenty add credibility to the adventure, and the unworldly Kydd is an apt lens for the reader's journey." --Publishers Weekly

About this edition

• Publisher: McBooks Press
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 1590131541
• ISBN 13: 9781590131541
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 336