Tag: adventure

#BlogTour #BookReview The Outrageous Fortune of Abel Morgan by Cynthia Jefferies @AllisonandBusby @cindyjefferies1

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Outrageous Fortune BT Poster

I’m delighted to be hosting today’s stop on the blog tour for The Outrageous Fortune of Abel Morgan by Cynthia Jefferies alongside my tour buddy, Amy at Passages to the Past. The Outrageous Fortune of Abel Morgan was published in paperback on 22nd August 2019 and is also available in hardcover and as an e-book.

Thanks to Anne at Random Things Tours for inviting me to take part in the tour and to Allison and Busby for my review copy. I hope you enjoy reading my review of The Outrageous Fortune of Abel Morgan. Look out for more reviews by the fabulous book bloggers also hosting stops on the tour.

The Outrageous Fortune of Abel MorganAbout the Book

1660, England. War is at an end, yet for Christopher Morgan his personal conflict rages on. Haunted by the tragic death of his wife, Christopher is desperate to escape the pain her memory brings, although looking into the eyes of his young son, Abel, he cannot help but be reminded of what he has lost. Over time, father and son develop a strong bond until they are callously torn apart when Abel is snatched by smugglers and sold overseas.

From the shores of Constantinople to the coast of Jamaica, time and tide keep them apart. Christopher will sail across oceans to find Abel, never losing faith that one day they will be reunited, and, as the years pass, Abel will learn that fortune favours the brave.

Format: Paperback (384 pp.)    Publisher: Allison & Busby
Published: 22nd August 2019     Genre: Historical Fiction

Purchase Links*
Publisher | Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.com | Hive
*link provided for convenience, not as part of any affiliate programme

Find The Outrageous Fortune of Abel Morgan on Goodreads

My Review

Alternating between events from the point of view of Christopher and his son, Abel (the latter told in first person), The Outrageous Fortune of Abel Morgan involves epic globetrotting adventures. The story is like a spirited mashup of Treasure Island, Kidnapped, Moonfleet and Pirates of the Caribbean. Along the way, there’s an encounter with a mysterious and malevolent stranger, a trader in information who, although playing a role in both Abel’s and Christopher’s lives, doesn’t feature in quite the significant way I expected.

It’s hard not to feel sympathy for Christopher, in despair at the death of his wife and the unexplained disappearance of his beloved son whom he fears may be either dead or enslaved. His feelings of guilt at the course of events cause him to indulge in a lot of soul searching as he travels the world in the hope of finding his son. Christopher even finds it difficult to recognize his own good nature when performing charitable deeds towards others.

Despite initial indications to the contrary, Abel does become the recipient of ‘outrageous’ good fortune, partly down to luck and partly down to several bold moves on his part as well as a willingness to grasp opportunities. Towards the end of the book, when it appears he has everything he should want from life, some of the actions he takes seem quite out of character and he became somewhat harder to like.

The story takes the reader from the moorland village of Dario in the West Country – the location of the splendidly named Rumfustian Inn and the haunt of smugglers – to the court of Charles II, to the maze-like streets and minarets of Constantinople, to Ireland and the Caribbean island of Jamaica. At times, I felt the pace of the book as a whole didn’t quite match the intensity of some of the action-packed scenes depicted, such as those involving Abel’s privateering adventures in the Caribbean.

Featuring smugglers, pirates, narrow escapes from death, joy, despair and every emotion in between, The Outrageous Fortune of Abel Morgan is a spirited, globetrotting historical adventure.

In three words: Lively, entertaining, adventure

Try something similar: The Traitor of Treasure Island by John Drake (read my review here)

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Cynthia JefferiesAbout the Author

Cynthia Jefferies is a long-established writer for children, whose work has been translated into more than a dozen languages. She was born in Gloucestershire and her love of history was encouraged by regular family outings to anything of interest, from great cathedrals to small museums. Having moved to Scotland and back to Stroud, she has always made time to write and her abiding interest in Restoration England has never left her. The Outrageous Fortune of Abel Morgan is her first historical novel for adults.

Website | Twitter | Goodreads

 

#BlogTour #BookReview The Traitor of Treasure Island by John Drake @EndeavourQuill

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The Traitor of Treasure Island Blog Tour Promo Banner

Welcome to today’s stop on the blog tour for The Traitor of Treasure Island by John Drake. Thanks to Hannah at Endeavour for inviting me to take part in the tour and for my review copy.

The Traitor of Treasure Island (ebook) is available to pre-order for the discounted Kindle price of £1.99/$2.99 until 19th August 2019.

The Traitor of Treasure IslandAbout the Book

Buried for nearly three hundred years and now brought triumphantly to light by Dr Livesey, this is, at last, the true story of what happened on the fateful Treasure Island…

The truth about Captain Flint and his fabled death.

The truth about Long John Silver and his coveted wife.

And the truth about Jim Hawkins, that double-dealing turncoat of the first order: the traitor of Treasure Island.

Format: Paperback, ebook (341 pp.)    Publisher: Endeavour Quill
Published: 19th August 2019         Genre: Historical Fiction

Pre-order/Purchase Links*
Amazon.co.uk  ǀ  Amazon.com
*links provided for convenience, not as part of any affiliate programme

Find The Traitor of Treasure Island on Goodreads

My Review

Although John Drake’s reimagining of Robert Louis Stevenson’s much-loved classic can be enjoyed by those who’ve never read Treasure Island, readers who have will be best placed to recognise the author’s changes and flights of imagination. The latter include romantic attachments, illegitimate parentage and the resurrection of a notable figure.

Having said that, many of the best known characters from the original book remain such as Jim Hawkins, Long John Silver, Squire Trelawny, Dr. Livesey, Blind Pew and Ben Gunn. In some cases, however, they think and act rather differently than in Treasure Island. The author also introduces a ‘heroine in peril’ and a side story of cunning and ruthless revenge.

In his Q&A on YouTube (Part 1 and Part 2), John Drake explains he never really liked the character Jim Hawkins in Treasure Island and decided to make him ‘seriously bad’ in his reimagining of Stevenson’s original. Jim Hawkins certainly goes from ‘hero to zero’ being depicted as a coward, liar, womaniser and traitor. The author even gets his final revenge by setting Jim on the path to a future career in a now rather discredited profession. In the author’s hands, Dr. Livesey becomes the hero of the piece and the narrator (via his journal) of much of the action.

The author’s in-depth historical knowledge and extensive research is evident in the details of navigation, weaponry and procedures aboard a sailing ship of the time, and also in the action scenes. As such The Traitor of Treasure Island will appeal to fans of naval adventure fiction by the likes of Alexander Kent, Patrick O’Brien or C.S. Forester as well as to those familiar with Stevenson’s original.

The Traitor of Treasure Island is a swashbuckling, action-packed story complete with maps of buried treasure, mutinous crew and adventure on the high seas. In the words of Squire Trelawny: “For the thrill of it! For setting out into the wide seas and the world of wonders”.

I received a review copy courtesy of publishers, Endeavour Media.

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In three words: Entertaining, action, adventure

Try something similar…Flint and Silver by John Drake (the first of his three prequels to Treasure Island)

John DrakeAbout the Author

John Drake trained as a biochemist to post-doctorate research level before realizing he was no good at science. His working career was in the television department of ICI until 1999 when he became a full-time writer.

John’s hobby is muzzle-loading shooting, and his interests are British history and British politics (as a spectator), plus newspapers, TV news, and current affairs. He is married with a son and two grandchildren.

Connect with John

Twitter  ǀ  Goodreads

The Traitor of Treasure Island Blog Tour Schedule