Napoleon's Run - Jonathan Spencer

 

Napoleon's Run

Jonathan Spencer

Rating 4 Stars

Publisher's Description

One man against an armada

London, 1798. Late one night, a junior naval officer at the Admiralty intercepts a coded despatch, marked with blood: Napoleon Bonaparte is about to launch the largest invasion fleet in history. Target: unknown.

England is vulnerable, bereft of allies, and the Sea Lords fear a direct assault on Britain. Admiralty Intelligence sounds the alarm and prepares to unleash Nelson and the Mediterranean squadron. 

But before they can, they need vital information. They need a special officer to infiltrate by land or by sea to uncover the destination of Napoleon’s armada – a man who never stops. 

Marine Lt William John Hazzard. 

But will he agree to help them? 

Betrayed by the Admiralty at the African Cape three years earlier, Hazzard has vowed never to trust them again. Bitter memories poisoned his return home, and his devoted fiancée Sarah, unable to bear his pain any longer, disappears in Naples – never to be seen again. 

But the Admiralty knows just how to get him back. 

They know where Sarah is, and her life is in danger… 

From pitched sea-battles to back-street duels in a covert war, this is the epic adventure of the new hero of Napoleonic fiction: Hazzard. Perfect for fans of Seth Hunter, Bernard Cornwell and CS Forester. 

Never give up the boat.

 

Review

Book 1 of a new series of Napoleonic historical novels featuring William John Hazzard.

Mixing historical fact with a boy's own adventure story Jonathan Spencer brings to life the tale of Napoleon's assault on Malta and the action and intrigue that takes place on the lead up to the invasion.

The story moves along at a good pace and introduces an interesting collection of characters both real and fictitious who Hazzard meets on his mission to rescue his fiancée and support Nelson's search for Napoleon's armada.

Being the first in a series means that there are a fair few loose ends that will move into book 2 but the story is engaging and keeps your interest throughout.

My one issue with the book is the use of French, Italian and other languages in the test - some of which are immediately translated into English and some which are not. I understand that this is to give the story a flavour of the settings and foreign characters but after a while it can get distracting especially if your command of foreign languages is as bad as mine.

For me this is a 5 star story but with a 1 star deduction due to the overuse of foreign languages

I'll certainly be looking out for Book 2 to see how Hazzard gets on in his quest to foil Monsieur Bonaparte