Word has come from the British ambassador Arbuthnot that the neutral Turks are being wooed by the French and if the ancient city of Constantinople falls into their hands, Napoleon's route to India will be completely unfettered and his plans for world domination a reality. Concerned for his safety, Arbuthnot is demanding a large fleet presence to take him off and bring the Turks to their senses. Braving treacherous currents, unreliable winds, and giant bombards, Thomas Kydd returns to sea and rescues the ambassador, but as Kydd waits for the rest of the expected fleet, the French are able to strengthen the Turkish defenses. Meanwhile Kydd's friend and confidential secretary, Nicholas Renzi, has assumed a new and dangerous role that he can never make public. He engineers a coup in the Topkapi Palace that turns the tables on the French but at the cost of both infidel nations being ejected from the Ottoman Empire. When Kydd learns of Renzi's incarceration in a Turkish prison, he knows if will take superb seamanship and sheer bravado to free his friend. 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 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 Comparable to C.C. Humphreys’s Jack Absolute series and the naval tales of the great Patrick O’Brian. ― Library Journal Well-written mixture of high-seas adventure and character-based drama . . . impossible not to enjoy. ― Booklist The vantage point of the common sailor gives the nautical novel a fresh twist. In Stockwin’s hands the sea story will continue to entrance readers across the world. ― The Guardian 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 Written with authoritative detail by a gifted storyteller who is passionate about the Great Age of Sail. ― Western Morning News 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 Stockwin continues to display his talents in transporting his audience from the 21st century to the chaotic worlds of Kydd, Renzi, and their imperiled homeland. . . . [He] goes into action with swords drawn and cannons and carronades blasting. -- Historical Novels Review Online At the age of fourteen, Julian Stockwin went to TS Indefatigable, a tough sea-training school. He joined the British Royal Navy at fifteen before transferring to the Royal Australian Navy, where he served for eight years in the Far East, Antarctic, and the South Seas. Retired as a Lieutenant Commander, he lives in Devon, England, with his wife and literary partner Kathy. Pasha A Kydd Sea Adventure By Julian Stockwin McBooks Press, Inc. Copyright © 2014 Julian Stockwin All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-1-59013-683-6 CHAPTER 1 It was as if the handsome frigate knew that she and her two-hundred-odd company were going home. After leaving the Caribbean she had quickly picked up a reliable westerly and now hitched up her skirt and flew, overtaking the broad Atlantic waves one by one in an eager swooping that had even old hands moving cautiously about the deck. Channel fever was aboard and it gripped every soul. Soon after the chaos and drama of Trafalgar, HMS L'Aurore had been sent to join an expedition to wrest Cape Town from the Dutch. Success there had not been matched by the following ill-starred attempt at the South American colonies of Spain, and after capturing the capital, Buenos Aires, they had been forced to an ignominious surrender. Their later few months of service in the Caribbean had been abruptly terminated in an Admiralty summons to return to England. No doubt her captain was wanted at the vengeful court-martial to follow. But at last the handsome frigate and her crew were homeward bound. Standing braced on the quarterdeck, Captain Thomas Kydd tried to take pleasure in the seething onrush of his fine command but he couldn't shake a feeling of foreboding. A snatch of song floated aft. The men were in good heart. They had served nobly in all three actions and could rely on liberty and prize-money to spend while L'Aurore received overdue attentions from the dockyard. Her captain, however, could only look forward to — "How now, old horse! Do I see you the only one aboard downcast at the prospect of En