Tag: recommendation

“Stranded on the beach with the Nazis closing in, the British army managed one of the most unlikely maneuvers in modern military history
In May of 1940, the remnants of the French and British armies, broken by Hitler’s blitzkrieg, retreated to Dunkirk. Hemmed in by overwhelming Nazi strength, the 338,000 men who gathered on that beach were all that stood between Hitler and Western Europe. Crush them, and the path to Paris and London was clear. And so, unable to retreat any farther, the Allied soldiers set up defense positions and prayed for deliverance.

Prime Minister Winston Churchill ordered an evacuation on May 26th, expecting to save no more than a handful of his men. But Britain would not let its soldiers down. Hundreds of fishing boats, pleasure yachts, and commercial vessels streamed into the Channel to back up the Royal Navy, and in a week nearly the entire army was ferried safely back to England. Assembled from interviews with hundreds of survivors who witnessed the evacuation, The Miracle of Dunkirk is a striking history of a week when the fate of Britain hung in the balance.”

Moving farther afield in recommendations this time, with a non-fiction title, but it seems appropriate with the release and success of The Little Ships. Nothing I could write can capture the bravery and amazing achievement of the men who evacuated Dunkirk more than their own stories. If you found the The Little Ships at all interesting, I encourage you to read the history that inspired it.

THE FIRST NOVEL IN THE CLASSIC SERIES OF ALAN LEWRIE NAVAL ADVENTURES1780: Seventeen-year-old Alan Lewrie is a brash, rebellious young libertine. So much so that his callous father believes a bit of navy discipline will turn the boy around. Fresh aboard the tall-mastedAriadne, Midshipman Lewrie heads for the war-torn Americas, finding–rather unexpectedly–that he is a born sailor, equally at home with the randy pleasures of the port and the raging battles on the high seas. But in a hail of cannonballs comes a bawdy surprise…

Previous book recommendations have been both science fiction and indie authors. I plan to continue that trend in the future, but thought I’d throw this particular book into the mix, even though it’s neither of those.

Many readers of the Alexis Carew series are fans of both science fiction and Age of Sail novels, as I am myself. Some, though, may have come to the series as strictly science fiction fans. If that’s you, and you like the tone and feel of Alexis Carew, then I recommend taking a look at some of the Age of Sail series out there.

Buy at Amazon

Buy on Amazon.com

When you are old enough to finally become an Earth Mars citizen, everything should be perfect. Right? Not for Liam Hoffen. He’s stuck on a mining asteroid called Colony 40, helping his father work a claim that is never going to pay out. His best friend, Nick James is set for life in James’ Rental business and Liam just discovered that the girl he’s known forever thinks he’s pretty great and now she’s leaving for the Mars Naval Academy. Liam dreams of sailing the stars. Whenever he gets the chance, he jets into space and floats, wishing to be free of the asteroid that has claimed him. What he doesn’t realize is that fate is about to change everything. Sometimes you have to lose parts of yourself to gain the stars, and Liam discovers that while it isn’t easy to literally lose parts of yourself to the pirates who attacked your home, gaining the stars is worth everything. He and Nick are about to find out what the real world has to offer and they end up meeting exciting people along the way.

This is a fun series. McFarlane has created an interesting world and he’s written several stories of varying lengths with a lot of different characters. Well worth checking out!

Buy on Amazon.com

If you’re looking for something to read while you wait for the next installment in Alexis Carew story, I heartily recommend Quartershare by Nathan Lowell: The Golden Age of Sail has Returned — in the Year 2352 When his mother dies in a flitter crash, eighteen-year-old Ishmael Horatio Wang must find a job with the planet company or leave the system–and NerisCo isn’t hiring. With credits running low, and prospects limited, he has just one hope…to enlist for two years with a deep space commercial freighter. Ishmael, who only rarely visited the Neris Orbital, and has never been off-planet alone before, finds himself part of an eclectic crew sailing a deep space leviathan between the stars. Join the crew of the SC Lois McKendrick, a Manchester built clipper as she sets solar sails in search of profit for her company and a crew each entitled to a share equal to their rating.

This isn’t a run-and-gun, space-based, shoot-em-up, but it’s an enjoyable, entertaining read. I’ve always thought that books didn’t have to be about the hero saving the world, they could just be about someone living their life in different circumstances. That’s what Quartershare accomplishes.

Lowell really captures what life onboard a deep space trader might be like. His characters are fleshed out and interesting.