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Land of Mist and Snow
Called to duty at last, Lieutenant John Nevis faces his assignment with trepidation. Boarding the USS Nicodemus —a sloop of war built in a single night at the top of the world—Nevis wonders uneasily at its strange aura of power, its cannonballs of virgin brass . . . and its uncanny ability to glide swiftly through the waters without steam or sail. As great armies clash all around them, the mission of Lieutenant Nevis and the Nicodemus crew is shrouded in an impenetrable gray mist of magic and malevolence. For a fearsome adversary awaits on roiling waves—an awesomely powerful vessel fueled by cruelty and terror; a demon raider driven by an insatiable lust . . . for blood.
320 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2006
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About the author
Debra Doyle
95 books81 followersaka Nicholas Adams (with James D. Macdonald), Martin Delrio, Robyn Tallis (with James D. Macdonald)
Debra Doyle has a doctorate in English literature. Together, she and James Macdonald have written numerous sf/f books. They live in Colebrook, New Hampshire.
Series:
* Mageworlds
* Circle of Magic
* Bad Blood
Series contributed to:
* Tom Swift IV
* Robert Silverberg's Time Tours
* Daniel M Pinkwater's Melvinge of the Megaverse
* Gene Roddenberry's Earth: Final Conflict
Debra Doyle has a doctorate in English literature. Together, she and James Macdonald have written numerous sf/f books. They live in Colebrook, New Hampshire.
Series:
* Mageworlds
* Circle of Magic
* Bad Blood
Series contributed to:
* Tom Swift IV
* Robert Silverberg's Time Tours
* Daniel M Pinkwater's Melvinge of the Megaverse
* Gene Roddenberry's Earth: Final Conflict
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
August 1, 2017
Recent Reads: Land Of Mist And Snow. Doyle and MacDonald recast the Monitor and the Merrimack as an elemental sea battle. A naval fantasy.
June 11, 2019
Fun alternative history and naval fiction.
June 16, 2013
It's an alternate history/American Civil War/naval fantasy!
Lieutenant John Neavis, kept far too long at desk work, receives his new assignment with delight: aboard the USS Nicodemus. Though it does start to look odd when he gets the cannons to be delivered and hears that they, and the cannon balls, were all ordered in brass. And virgin brass at that, never before cast into any other form. And when he heads, far to the north, to deliver them, he is ordered to give up all the iron on his person, down to the boots that have nails in them.
And Miss Columbia Abrams, after a dinner where her father's guests include Cornelius Vanderbilt, finds herself on board the same ship for certain purposes. Her dedication to the causes of Abolition and Union make her resolve to do her duty as befits a daughter of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and a graduate of Hedley Female Academy.
The captain was never a sea-going man before, and they find more and more uncanny and unpleasant things about him. On the other hand, sailing after Confederate ships, they find one ship in particular, and its captain with it, are even more uncanny and unpleasant.
An epistolary novel. Mostly the accounts are from Lt. Neavis and Miss Abrams, but other documents are interpolated to fill in the appropriate information.
Great fun.
Lieutenant John Neavis, kept far too long at desk work, receives his new assignment with delight: aboard the USS Nicodemus. Though it does start to look odd when he gets the cannons to be delivered and hears that they, and the cannon balls, were all ordered in brass. And virgin brass at that, never before cast into any other form. And when he heads, far to the north, to deliver them, he is ordered to give up all the iron on his person, down to the boots that have nails in them.
And Miss Columbia Abrams, after a dinner where her father's guests include Cornelius Vanderbilt, finds herself on board the same ship for certain purposes. Her dedication to the causes of Abolition and Union make her resolve to do her duty as befits a daughter of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and a graduate of Hedley Female Academy.
The captain was never a sea-going man before, and they find more and more uncanny and unpleasant things about him. On the other hand, sailing after Confederate ships, they find one ship in particular, and its captain with it, are even more uncanny and unpleasant.
An epistolary novel. Mostly the accounts are from Lt. Neavis and Miss Abrams, but other documents are interpolated to fill in the appropriate information.
Great fun.
September 2, 2016
This book, while not awful, was really weird. Seeing casual magic in an American civil war setting was a little off putting. There was a sense that the characters without the knowledge to perform the magic were a little superstitious and mistrusting of those who could perform it.
The magic itself, while it played an important role in the story, was not really discussed much and was almost completely shrouded in mystery, and in some cases, darkness.
Columbia's and Captain Sharp's roles were important, but seemed to just be thrown into the mix for the hell of it.
The last few sections of the story seemed very rushed and had a strong deux ex machina element which made me not really care for it.
The magic itself, while it played an important role in the story, was not really discussed much and was almost completely shrouded in mystery, and in some cases, darkness.
Columbia's and Captain Sharp's roles were important, but seemed to just be thrown into the mix for the hell of it.
The last few sections of the story seemed very rushed and had a strong deux ex machina element which made me not really care for it.
August 2, 2012
This gets a '3', because I like Civil war books and naval fiction, but it's in reality not much of either. It's really more of a fantasy novel, where two rival ships using elementals to power them are created, and have a long, running battles throughout the Atlantic.
I really liked the style (using Journal entries of the various characters), and the writing, but the plot was just a bit lacking. There was enough history to not be totally let down, though, and the main story is good, if a bit predictible.
I really liked the style (using Journal entries of the various characters), and the writing, but the plot was just a bit lacking. There was enough history to not be totally let down, though, and the main story is good, if a bit predictible.
August 29, 2008
I forced myself to finish this book because of what the back cover promised. I'm sorry, but it just never went where it had the potential to go. A ship that is possessed by a soul...or something like that. It was hard to follow, at times. It wasn't until the middle that I understood what was going on. This could have been a kick-ass and take-names book...but it was a miss. Sorry - I do not recommend this one.
June 25, 2009
Great story told through journal entries.
April 19, 2012
Finished again ... 'cause there is, apparently, something of a sequel (same 'alternate history' time and location.)
November 29, 2015
good story, but the last action pages could have had a better Walter Williams ending; it was a bit unbelievable for me to envision. also the title could have been different.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews