Tom Swan and the Siege of Belgrade: Part Six

Tom Swan and the Siege of Belgrade #6

by Christian Cameron

Fifteenth Century Europe. Tom Swan is not a professional soldier. He's really a merchant and a scholar looking for remnants of Ancient Greece and Rome - temples, graves, pottery, fabulous animals, unicorn horns. But he also has a real talent for ending up in the midst of violence when he didn't mean to. Having used his wits to escape execution, he begins a series of adventures that take him to street duels in Italy, meetings with remarkable men - from Leonardo Da Vinci to Vlad Dracula - and from the intrigues of the War of the Roses to the fall of Constantinople.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Historical

96 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 18, 2015

About the author

Aka Miles Cameron. Also publishes as Gordon Kent with his father Kenneth M. Cameron.

Christian Cameron was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1962. He grew up in Rockport, Massachusetts, Iowa City, Iowa,Christian Cameron and Rochester, New York, where he attended McQuaid Jesuit High School and later graduated from the University of Rochester with a degree in history.

After the longest undergraduate degree on record (1980-87), he joined the United States Navy, where he served as an intelligence officer and as a backseater in S-3 Vikings in the First Gulf War, in Somalia, and elsewhere. After a dozen years of service, he became a full time writer in 2000. He lives in Toronto (that’s Ontario, in Canada) with his wife Sarah and their daughter Beatrice, currently age four. And a half.

Reviews

[Edward Gwynne · Rating 5 out of 5]

You guys know I love these.

[Bart · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actual rating: 4.00

[Liviu · Rating 5 out of 5]

another quality installment in the series (#12) though shorter than the previous one and ending when the main Belgrade action presumably will start which wouldn't be an issue except that I have no idea when the next installment will come since the pattern so far has been three at a time and then a months long pause, so #7 could come in the fall, could come next year and that is a little annoying

as for the book itself - the first part was slower than usual (or maybe it seemed so after the awesome #11) and the boat building and the religion getting Sarka were a bit forced imho, but the last 20 pages with the naval battle forms the best battle sequence in the series and arguably in all of Mr. Cameron historical fiction oeuvre (which is quite varied at lots of volumes and which I read all to date); intense, suspenseful and awesomely done

overall slower start (again compared to what was a masterful #11) but a superb finish; main niggle, not knowing when next installment where the main Belgrade action starts will come

[Evander · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's a very good series. Mr. Cameron is a skillful writer and historian. As a life-long reenactor he has probably used all the weapons and armours presented in his books. And it shows. You can almost feel the weight of the armour and the claustrophobic effect of the helmet. Thank God for the calm assurance given by your trusted sword :).
I also like the fact that Mr. Cameron brings into focus some less known, but no less important, events from European History. I was beginning to tire of all the roman and viking tales we got in the last decade. So, I'm glad to see the eastern Europeans get a little recognition for being "The Shield of Christianity" against the Turks and also glad to see Vlad Țepeș portrayed as the man and leader that he was and not the hollywoodian blood-sucking vampire.
In conclusion, a highly recommended series from one of my favourite writers. Please read at least 3 parts at one time to properly enjoy the story and characters. There are now 12 parts (over 1100 pages) and, oh, how I envy the people who have the pleasure to read them all in succession.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

To my opinion the Tom Swan Siege of Belgrade series is a benchmark in HF short story writing. In part 6 Tom Swan is now entering the preliminary stages of the 1456 Siege of Belgrade and the river battle. Again it is brilliant and so vivid it feels like you are actually there, before, after, and in the midst of the turmoil and the carnage.

[Daniel Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Belgrade

When the city is blockaded by more warships than you can hope to match, you build a fleet of gunboats and attack like flees on a bull

[Štěpán · Rating 3 out of 5]

For some reason, this volume did not work for me as well. There is a lot of ship-stuff and it works as a beginning of the siege of Belgrade. I tend to notice that I enjoy Tom Swan's escapades the most before the final destination and the big conclusion. This volume ends at the gates of Belgrade so I presume the last part will describe the siege. So hopefully there will be less water combat and more close-quarter combats.

[Mark Redman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Siege 6

Another well written and engaging addition to the Tom Swan series. Full of action, character driven, fast paced narrative that keeps you hooked, you get a short history lesson as well. Tom Swan is such a great character, who could ask for more. This is a short read and a bargain as well. Brilliant!

[Angela Boord · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed all the stuff about building boats but it was a little slower than some of the other installments— until the action at the end, of course. What I like about Cameron’s battle scenes are how personal they are.

[Kevin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a good writer

[John DeNoma · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series just keeps getting better!

I never new what I was missing until I picked up the first book. Now I am hooked. My new favorite author is Christian Cameron.

[Pedro Marroquín · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mejor que el anterior, aunque empieza con unas 40 páginas con el autor centrado en aburrirnos con su descripción de cómo se construían barcazas en los ríos en el siglo XV. Afortunadamente, esas barcazas son usadas para romper el cerco fluvial de Belgrado en una majestuosa batalla naval. Por fin vuelve la aventura y las peleas en las que nadie sabe nada de lo que ocurre a su alrededor, y cualquiera puede ser el enemigo. B+