John, B: Ships of War

1791 - England's cannon remain ever silent as her shipping is ruthlessly preyed upon, a detestable state of affairs soon to be remedied... England is ill prepared, Europe is in turmoil and the French Revolution is readying to sweep across the continent. A tedious uneasy peace poises on a knife's edge. Britannia rules the waves, yet as more and more ships are mysteriously lost, it is rightly thought an act of war. However, England needs more time, or all could be lost. With war looming, Lieutenant Hayden Reginald Cooper, Royal Navy, awaits in Portsmouth braving a bitter cold winter with half pay, beached in a constant state of penury. With little prospects, little "interest" and no chance of promotion or advancement, he is the perfect choice for the Admiralty: unknown, unimportant and wholly dispensable. And so it begins, a turbulent action-packed naval adventure within the murky waters preceding war, the French piracy soon to discover the grit of a lowly Lieutenant, one who has very little to lose... "Heavily spiced with action... an unbridled and no-holds-barred adventure story that is very much in the illustrious rip-roaring style of the "Hornblower" books of the great C.S. Forester..." - THE HISTORICAL FICTION COMPANY