Cindy Vallar's Blog - Posts Tagged "acre"

Assassins of Kantara by James Boschert

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


The assassins infiltrate and strike without warning. No one defies the Master and lives, but this trio deserve special treatment. No one else matters, so death will come swiftly. But not for the three.

Talon de Gilles has always known this day would come. He comprehends exactly what awaits himself, his wife Rav’an, and his friend Reza. Perhaps not the particulars, but being raised by the Hashashini (or Assassins) make the peril all too real. A familiar face where it should not be. A servant who falls ill. Stealth where it is least expected. Now, the sanctuary Muscat offers is no more, leaving Talon and his family only one choice. To survive, they must flee in a manner in which the world once again swallows them from the Master’s long reach.

But danger trails no matter how far Talon travels. Many years have passed since he made a promise to a king. The time has come to fulfill his pledge, yet the journey is fraught with danger from bandits led by a Frank; the King of Jerusalem’s fragile health has his lords embroiled in a power struggle; and Salah Ed Din, leader of the Arabs, and his army will soon strike at the holy city. Equally disheartening is news that Talon has lost his mentor, a powerful leader among the Templars.

Perhaps Acre offers a better sanctuary. After all, his friend and fellow Templar Max oversees Talon’s trading ventures. But all is not as it should be there, as Talon soon discovers. Max has been imprisoned. All of their property has been confiscated. And an enemy from the past has been amassing evidence to arrest Talon on charges of witchcraft. Time is not on his side. Word reaches Acre that Talon is coming and Max’s health quickly fades. To extricate his friend and the rest of his entourage will require cunning, stealth, and luck. Even then, nothing is assured. And where to go next in search of a safe haven?

From Muscat to Cyprus and Constantinople, this seventh book of Talon’s adventures whisks readers away on a perilous and serpentine journey. Enemies, as well as friends, from the present and the past are interwoven into a labyrinthine maze of intrigue, vengeance, and greed. Subplots from previous titles in the series come to fruition, but not without sacrifice. At the same time, Boschert lays the groundwork for the future. Fans of Talon’s previous adventures will find this story compelling. Those meet him for the first time will be grounded in the myriad twists and turns of this plot, but may want to read the earlier books first to fully grasp the many nuances of this intrepid tour de force.




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Tenacious by Julian Stockwin

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


In the year since the mutiny at the Nore, Thomas Kydd has gone from seaman to lieutenant and is now accepted as an equal among his fellow officers. His ship, the 64-gun Tenacious, is recalled from Halifax to support Admiral the Earl St. Vincent off the coast of Spain. As they sail across the Atlantic, Thomas sets his sights on a new goal of commanding his own ship, but the problem is how to achieve it. His friend Nicholas Renzi wrestles with a different dilemma, whether to continue in the navy or return to the life from which he exiled himself five years earlier.

General Buonaparte has his own plans of action. Barges large enough to land troops are being built in northern French ports and soldiers are massing on the coast. It seems he intends to put to sea, but for where? Whispers of Constantinople, of Egypt, of England are all possibilities, but where exactly is Napoleon once he successfully evades the British blockade?

This sixth entry in the Kydd Sea Adventure series incorporates a sequence of key incidents during the waning years of the French Revolution: the royals’ flight from Naples with the aid of the Royal Navy; the devastating fleet action at Aboukir Bay; a secret mission to capture Minorca; and the siege of Acre. Kydd emulates Nelson in hopes of getting noticed with a daring suggestion that evens the odds during the Minorcan expedition, and leading a contingent of seamen in a desperate bid to prevent Napoleon from reaching Constantinople. Along the way, he discovers what type of leader he wants to be and comes to terms with the consequences of betrayal.

Steadfast, stubborn, and resolute are synonyms of “tenacious,” a word that applies both to a warship and the men who serve on her. Stockwin allows his readers to stand side by side with the characters as they endure this riveting and harrowing account of a world at war.

(This review originally appeared at Pirates and Privateers: http://www.cindyvallar.com/Stockwin.h...)



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