A Sea of Troubles (John Pearce Book 9)

David Donachie's latest novel in the John Pearce series A Sea of Troubles is now available for pre-order at Amazon/uk with a release date of 29 Oct 2012. It's also available for pre-order at Amazon (US) with a release date of 15 Nov 2012.

I'm sure they'll be available through the website momentarily.

80 Winters wrote:I'm sure they'll be available through the website momentarily.

Not always possible but I usually ignore new books till both the description and cover image are available and also listed on both Amazon UK and US sites hence there will be a lot, including this one, on the Releases Calendar that are not mentioned in an article yet

We must be getting close on A Sea of Troubles as the description is out, but still waiting for the cover image. With an announced release date of 29 October 2012, and Amazon having taken orders now for several months, I'm hoping that it's on a par with the 8 proceeding novels in the series, but Donachie hasn't disappointed me yet.

Finally..........We have a cover on Donachie's new book.

Just got word that the cover art has been displayed on A Sea of Troubles which is due for release in late October 2012.

Late update.........now I see they've 'bumped' the release date to mid-November.

80 Winters wrote:Finally..........We have a cover on Donachie's new book.

It came up on the publishers web site a few days ago, but only found an angled book version which does not suit my site style. Good that a flat one is now available.

Checked this morning and while A Sea of Troubles is not shown on the website as being available on Kindle in the U.S. yet, a direct link to Amazon does show it now available in that format for about $8.00.

I 'pre-ordered this book from Amazon about 6 months ago, but haven't heard anything from Amazon that it's been shipped, so I'll give the Kindle edition a go.

I've noted there is one review on Amazon on this book (Kindle version) and the reviewer gives it 'One Star'. However, reading between the lines, it would appear they've read none of the earlier books in this series. If this is the case, I can understand 'their confusion' as this is not a series that lends itself to 'jumping in in the middle of the story'.

Hopefully, I'll have a better understanding of their comments after reading a few chapters.

Well past the halfway point and enjoying 'the ride'. However, I will say again......Donachie's John Pearce series requires a commitment to begin with the 1st book in the series By the Mast Divided and then to continue what can only be described as 'a Saga' through the progression of adventures (and misadventures) of the protagonist, his 'by chance cohorts', 'Emily", his nemesis, 'the dupe', men of power and influence, and an ever increasing cast that expands with each succeeding novel. While it's often difficult to see 'the final target' for all the smoke and distractions......it continues to hold my interest and attention for I've given up on divining what will happen next.

I'll be back with final thoughts in a bit.

Just finished A Sea of Troubles and I've little to add to my previous posting. While the cast of characters continues to expand, so does the personal aptitude of John Pearce to act credibly as 'a King's officer' and the technical knowledge required though still lacking, is 'catching up' at an ever increasing pace.

'Side stories' abound as this yarn continues to make forward (if not always steady) progress toward a resolution I've given up trying to imagine. While definitely not a 'swashbuckler' it, in my estimation, fits well in the HNF genre. Because 'life's battles' aren't always fought at sea with 'broadsides'.

I look forward to reading more of this 'saga'........in about a year.

It's in my 'kindle library' (and Hardback if it ever arrives).

I have just finished A Sea of troubles. A very disappointing effort. Once again I find Mr Donachie is not, in my humble opinion, conversant with ships anatomy. Yet again we have an armed cutter being steered by a man at a wheel. We have men out on the Yardarms (When cutters had only one yard arm capable of supporting a group of men) and other small indications of being unfamiliar with the layout of these small vessels. Couple that to a book largely bound to the shore and streets of London I find myself asking; "Are the days of great Naval novels well and truly over"? Are there any new" emerging" authors members might like to recommend??
The factual endeavours by Sam Willis and John Sugden keep the lamp shining.I enjoyed The Fighting Temeraire as an excelent insight into the life of a Line-of-Battleship but it does not match the brilliant Glorious First of June....probably the best Napoleonic Naval Book I've come across for ages.
I will admit that Donachie overcomes the difficult reference to previous books and incidents with more imagination than a lot of others who usually make up the page quota by tedious repeats for the benefit of new readers, apparently oblivious of the fact that most readers will be those following the on -going series.

Merged with existing topic

I acknowledge that your familiarity with 'ships anatomy' far exceeds that of many, if not most of us. I also have found that many of the HNF novels that I've read of late do spend much of their 'time and efforts' ashore. This is not to say that I haven't found many of them to be entertaining, if not always 'action packed', but the seemingly non-stop sea action of Hornblower, Ramage, Bolitho, et al, seem to be fewer and futher between in recent years.

As for Donachie's John Pearce series, I think it 'went ashore' very early in the series as the protagonist is a somewhat educated man, illegally pressed and focused on "justice" (not learning the 'sea-trade' which is happening minimally by "osmosis"). So I don't see it 'getting better' based on your search for HNF that more closely mirrors 'the best of earlier HNF'.

All that being said, every so often a new HNF writer emerges who fills the 'quota'. We've both read and remarked on them and their entry into the HNF genre in the last few years. Let's hope their series continue and 'don't go ashore' but for brief periods.