From a journey to the far side of the world, to navigating the Roaring 40s, the Furious 50s, and the Screaming 60s, Stockwin once again delivers a masterful and galvanizing adventure that provides us with numerous you-are-there experiences alongside Kydd. Some scenes are nightmarish. Others allow us to feel as bereft as he does. We readily identify with how changes impact existing ways of life and some professions become antiquated. The final episode in this circumnavigation of the world is riveting and disquieting, compelling us to read the next installment of Kydd’s exploits in the Royal Navy.

– Pirates and Privateers

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

A rip-roaring yarn that confirms . . . [Stockwin’s] ability to turn his vivid knowledge of eighteenth-century seafaring into first-rate global adventure.

– The Guardian

A rousingly exciting and delicious full-immersion in the perils of seafaring and society during the great Age of Sail!

– Dewey Lambdin, author of the Alan Lewrie series

Comparable to C.C. Humphreys’s Jack Absolute series and the naval tales of the great Patrick O’Brian.

– Library Journal

Stockwin's writing is enriched by his own experiences in the Royal Navy, which gives scenes of fighting and tempest an authenticity to delight anyone who shares his passion for the sea.

– Daily Telegraph

Elegantly plotted . . . the writing has the power of a broadside at close range.

– Oxford Times

Stockwin's descriptions of the bloody reality of naval combat 200 years ago are memorably vivid, and reveal a profound respect for the seamen who were willing to sacrifice their lives to help save their country.

– Yorkshire Evening Post

Likable Tom and his shipmates make a snug fit in that page-turning Forester and O'Brian tradition—thanks to retired Royal Navy author Stockwin.

– Kirkus Reviews