Stormchild (The Thrillers #4) [Hardcover]

Bernard Cornwell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1991

Having already lost a son in a terrorist attack, Tim Blackburn must now cope with the death of his beloved wife, killed in a mysterious explosion at sea. All that remains of his decimated family is his missing daughter, Nicole, last seen in the company of the mad, charismatic leader of the shadowy environmental activist group Genesis. Caspar von Rellsteb, self-proclaimed “protector of the planet,” presides over his fanatically dedicated followers with an iron fist—and Tim is determined to free his child from his grip. Aboard the sloop Stormchild, he sets out with journalist Jackie Potten in search of Genesis’s hidden lair. But the hunt is leading them into perilous waters—and the darkness awaiting Tim Blackburn on the far side of the world could destroy what’s left of his sanity and his soul.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Cornwell's fourth seagoing adventure ( Wildtrack ) features boatyard owner and solo globe-circler Tim Blackburn, devastated when his wife is killed by an explosion in the English Channel. Tim has already lost his son, who was murdered by IRA terrorists, and his daughter, Nicole, has joined a band of eco-activists led by charismatic, slightly sinister Caspar von Rellsteb. Tim is convinced that von Rellsteb plans to have a brainwashed Nicole hand over her inheritance to his group, Genesis, and, after a period of mourning, he tracks von Rellsteb to Florida, where Genesis is disrupting a environmentalist convention. Tim meets Jackie Potten, a mousy young American reporter certain that Genesis is a fascistic group and a big story. Eventually Tim and Jackie team up to sail the steel-hulled sloop Stormchild to von Rellsteb's island base off the fierce Patagonian coast of Chile. Cornwell unleashes danger and violence, from both man and nature, and terrible revelations before a lethal confrontation off Cape Horn. Lots of sailing action--which may confuse some landlubbers--and a nice, quirky love story round out this page-turner. Cornwell also wrote the Sharpe series.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews

A British yachtsman sails to Cape Horn to reclaim his daughter from eco-terrorists--in another deep-sea adventure from the author of Wildtrack and the Sharpe military series. British boatyard owner Tom Blackburn, who has lost his wife and son to separate, unrelated bombs, pulls himself out of an understandable depression and makes it his mission to find and rescue his only daughter Nicole. After her twin brother's death, the embittered Nicole threw herself into every available self- destructive activity, finally casting her lot with Caspar von Rellsteb, a green guerrilla from Canada. The charismatic von Rellsteb and his followers call themselves Genesis and specialize in sabotage of deep-sea fishing operations, but Genesis is so secretive that nobody knows how to find them or where they get their money. Blackburn's detective work puts him in touch with the mother of another Genesis member and with a flaky young American reporter, Jackie Potten, who, in turn, track down von Rellsteb's history and learn that he has inherited an estate in southernmost Chile. Blackburn sails off to South America with Miss Potten in the yacht Stormchild. Miss Potten learns to navigate and loses her pallor, but before romance can blossom there is a misunderstanding and she is replaced by Blackburn's clergyman brother. The Blackburns find the dismal, dangerous eco-camp in Tierra del Fuego and--with the help of the resourceful, returned Jackie Potter--go to war. Ridiculously exciting adventure in splendid scenery. -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 358 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins (October 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060179279
• ISBN-13: 978-0060179274
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,009,248 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Bernard Cornwell was born in London in 1944 - a 'warbaby' - whose father was a Canadian airman and mother in Britain's Women's Auxiliary Air Force. He was adopted by a family in Essex who belonged to a religious sect called the Peculiar People (and they were), but escaped to London University and, after a stint as a teacher, he joined BBC Television where he worked for the next 10 years. He began as a researcher on the Nationwide programme and ended as Head of Current Affairs Television for the BBC in Northern Ireland. It was while working in Belfast that he met Judy, a visiting American, and fell in love. Judy was unable to move to Britain for family reasons so Bernard went to the States where he was refused a Green Card. He decided to earn a living by writing, a job that did not need a permit from the US government - and for some years he had been wanting to write the adventures of a British soldier in the Napoleonic wars - and so the Sharpe series was born. Bernard and Judy married in 1980, are still married, still live in the States and he is still writing Sharpe.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Exciting Nautical Thriller!!, April 2, 2005

By 

Serene (Marina, CA, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Stormchild (The Thrillers #4) (Mass Market Paperback)

Stormchild is the story of a British boatyard owner Tim Blackburn. When his wife is killed by a bomb, the police suspect Tim's estranged daughter of the crime. (His daughter, Nicole ran away several years earlier with the Manson-like leader of an eco-terrorist group).

Tim, determined to find his daughter and deliver the news of his wife's death joins forces with a ditzy vegan reporter. Together they cut their ties to society and travel the oceans tracking Nicole. I really enjoyed Stormchild. I've read quite a few of Cornwell's historical novels and have enjoyed the blend of action and history. This novel was a refreshing change from his historical works.

Two things about this book I didn't care for. Tim's relationship with the reporter bugged me. Not a big fan of older man, younger woman relationships. Also, I felt the ending was a little too Rambo-esque for me. Up until the end, Tim had behaved logically and used logic to solve problems. I wish Cornwell had continued this theme through the end. It seemed a little silly for him to suddenly become the Terminator at the end of the book.

I would like to see a sequel to this novel. Tim and his girlfriend were fun protagonists.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Keeps you turning pages., October 30, 2007

By 

Jeff Greatorex (Santa Cruz, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Stormchild (The Thrillers #4) (Mass Market Paperback)

A nice easy read that keeps your attention. I am the type of person that lays a book down and never picks it up, not this book.
Worth the price, and a nice book to hand over to the next person.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars OK Thriller, November 23, 2005

By 

Mr. Lu. (Denver) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Stormchild (The Thrillers #4) (Mass Market Paperback)

Cornwell deviates one more time from his Historical Fiction trademark novels and offers us a thriller. The results are mixed, the book is very well researched and written as are his historical ones. On the other side the story is formulaic and predictable, there is no real mystery here. There is one female character that gets increasingly annoying as the story progresses, and her relationship with the main character is forced and out of place.

This will not go down as a classic as many of his other books may but if you need an airplane ride or something for a quiet evening `Stormchild' will do the trick.