Invasion: A Kydd Sea Adventure (Kydd Sea Adventures) [Hardcover]

Julian Stockwin (Author)

Book Description

Series: Kydd Sea Adventures | Publication Date: October 1, 2009

In the 10th book of the popular series, rumors fly of Napoleon’s planned invasion of England, and British naval commander Thomas Kydd is sent to liaise with American inventor, Robert Fulton, who has created “infernal machines” that can wreak mass destruction from a distance. Fulton believes that his inventions, namely the submarine and torpedo, will win the day for the power that possesses them, and Kydd must help him develop the devices. Despite his own scruples, believing that standing man-to-man is the only honorable way to fight, Kydd agrees to take part in the crucial testing of these weapons of mass destruction, which just may decide the fate of England.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Stockwin's by-the-numbers 10th Kydd sea adventure opens as commander Thomas Kydd reclaims the helm of his sloop-of-war, Teazer, bringing along old friend and confidant Nicholas Renzi. Kydd, a former rakish corsair, is assigned to join in the coastal defenses of Britain against the invasion by Napoleon's forces, but after engaging in some heavy sea action, Kydd chafes under his new post as nursemaid to the Sea Fencibles, the ragtag local defenses. Meanwhile, scholarly former spy Renzi is dispatched to Paris to secretly meet with American inventor Robert Fulton, who has designed and built a submarine for Napoleon. His mission, to bribe Fulton into switching his allegiances, steals the show as Kydd mucks around with the maritime amateurs. Stockwin doesn't stray from his successful formula in this outing; series readers should be pleased. (Oct.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

"Stockwin’s richly detailed . . . portrait of life on ship and shore in Britain’s oceanic empire is engrossing. He writes evocatively of shipboard routine, the panic and confusion of combat, and the terrifying approach of a storm at sea, and he knows how to stage enthralling action scenes."  —Publisher’s Weekly

"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."  —Historical Novels Review

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: McBooks Press; 1 edition (October 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1590132378
• ISBN-13: 978-1590132371
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #536,917 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I wanted to go to sea ever since I can remember. My mother says that as a toddler I went up to sailors on the street, and on one occasion dragged home a dead seabird because it smelled of the sea! I was entranced when my great uncle Tom Clay, a seaman in square-rigged ships who had sailed around the Horn in the "Cutty Sark", took me over this ship. As a young boy I read everything about the sea and I was especially terrified by a description of a great storm, but longed to go to sea to experience one.
I won a scholarship to a grammar school, but my mind was captivated by seeing low grey shapes far out to sea, outward bound to who knew where. I passed this sight every day on my way to school; my scholastic performance suffered!
In the hope of having the nonsense knocked out of me, my father sent me to a tough sea-training school. This only strengthened my resolve for a life at sea and at fifteen I joined the Royal Navy.
After leaving the Navy (rated Petty Officer) I practised as an educational psychologist. I worked for some time in Hong Kong, where I was commissioned into the Royal Naval Reserve.
I now live in Devon with my wife and literary partner, Kathy - and two Siamese cats.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good book, but NOT as an introduction to the series, January 28, 2010

By 

Warren Kelly (Southern Ohio) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Invasion: A Kydd Sea Adventure (Kydd Sea Adventures) (Hardcover)

Thomas Kydd is a commander in the Royal Navy, facing Napoleon's fleet across the English Channel. Invasion is imminent, and Kydd has been placed at the front of the action. Then, he's pulled off the front lines and asked to be the government liaison with an American inventor, one Mr. Robert Fulton. It's not steamboats that His Majesty's Navy is interested in, though -- it's Fulton's submersibles and his torpedoes - and how much he's told the French about them. Because the Royal Navy is outmatched, and Fulton's high-tech firepower may be what tips the scale back in their favor.

Invasion is the 10th book in Stockwin's Kydd Sea Adventures series. Right there you know there's plenty of backstory that you don't get in this book. Add to that the fact that the reader is dropped right into the middle of the action in chapter 1, as Kydd is demanding a hearing from his commanding admiral, Sir James Saumarez, to clear his name of charges leveled in previous books. I spent most of the first couple of chapters totally confused, which is part of the reason it's taken me so long to finish this book (I got it back in September!). Add to that the thick dialect that much of the dialog is written in, and this one almost got put into the DNF pile.

But that would have been a shame, because the book is actually quite good. In a series as long-running as this one, you're not going to see much characterization in individual books, but you will see a fast-moving plot with a lot of action. If you love the age of wooden ships and iron men, you will enjoy this book -- and this series, for that matter. Stockwin, a former Naval officer himself, knows his stuff; if you don't know a lot about the age of sail, you'll learn from this series.

One of the abiding themes in this particular book seems to be the changing state of warfare at the time. We see some of this in the American Revolution, with the British constantly calling the American militia's guerrilla tactics "ungentlemanly" and "against the rules of warfare." In Invasion, we see this even more, as the Royal Navy debates the idea of using weapons that will essentially make warfare less personal, and probably less glamorous as well. The idea of using stealth to surprise an enemy was frowned upon back then; today, it is practically a requirement for any battle plan.

I am embarrassed to admit that I was ignorant of Fulton's role in developing submarines back in the 1800s; in fact, when I first requested a copy of this book, I though that it was an alternate history because of that. So I learned something in reading the book, which is always a good thing, as I've mentioned before.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Stockwin's losing his way.., February 28, 2010

By 

lrrosen "ArmourAZ" (Scottsdale,AZ) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Invasion: A Kydd Sea Adventure (Kydd Sea Adventures) (Hardcover)

Having loved the earlier Kydd novels, I was disappointed with Invasion.Adventure has been sidelined. Julian S seems to have allowed his obsession with military design and development to intrude upon the normal flow and narrative of Kydd at sea, Kydd hellraising,Kydd with a comely wench, Kydd slicing an enemy's shoulder through with his cutlass...
That's why most of us buy his books.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent British Sailing adventure, November 1, 2009

By 

Clifford R. Sevakis "Cliff the Wordsmith" (Rochester Hills, MI USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Invasion: A Kydd Sea Adventure (Kydd Sea Adventures) (Hardcover)

Julian Stockwin has done it again. His character, Thomas Kydd of the British Navy survives a variety of adventures and breaks new ground in Naval fiction with story components that are striking and original. This is the tenth Kydd novel I have read and I have never been disappointed.