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Nathan Peake #3
The Price Of Glory
The third novel in this epic, thrilling series of war and villainy on the high seas, featuring Captain Nathan Peake.Nathan Peake charts a perilous course through the treacherous seas off Brittany and into the even more dangerous waters of post-Revolutionary Paris. There he encounters two of the most beautiful and scandalous courtesans in history - and their little toy soldier, laughingly dubbed Captain Cannon, who is about to win enduring fame as Napoleon Bonaparte. Returned to the command of the frigate Unicorn , Nathan is sent to join another young glory-seeker, Captain Horatio Nelson, in a bid to wreck Bonaparte's plans for the invasion of Italy. But Nathan has his own private agenda - to find his lost love amid the chaos of war - and as the fighting spreads from the mountains to the sea, he discovers that glory comes at a higher price than all the gold in the vaults of Genoa.
448 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2010
30 people are currently reading
110 people want to read
About the author
Seth Hunter
12 books28 followersA pseudonym used by Paul Bryers
Seth Hunter is the pseudonym of the author of a number of highly acclaimed and prize-winning adult and children's novels. He has written and directed many historical dramas for television, radio and the theatre and adapted and directed films by playwrights such as Arthur Miller and Michael Bulgakov. He is a member of The Writers Guild of Great Britain, the Director's Guild and PEN. THE TIME OF TERROR is the first novel in a trilogy of historical naval adventures. He lives in London.
Seth Hunter is the pseudonym of the author of a number of highly acclaimed and prize-winning adult and children's novels. He has written and directed many historical dramas for television, radio and the theatre and adapted and directed films by playwrights such as Arthur Miller and Michael Bulgakov. He is a member of The Writers Guild of Great Britain, the Director's Guild and PEN. THE TIME OF TERROR is the first novel in a trilogy of historical naval adventures. He lives in London.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
February 22, 2017
Best book since Patrick O'Brian.
The latest installment of the Nathan Peake series has Nathan in Paris once again as an American shipping captain. He meets the infamous Napoleon Bonaparte who happens to look like a street scrub. As the story unfolds, we learn that Bonaparte turns out to be one of the most successful military leaders of the time.
This story has plenty of action, intrigue and high seas adventure. In addition to Bonaparte, we also meet the famous British Captain Horatio Nelson in the earlier years of his career. It is interesting has the author portrays these famous figures of history.
I'm a big fan of the naval historical fiction of this time. Mr. Hunter's books are somewhat familiar stories that I have read but with a little different take from other authors (like O'Brian). Mr. Hunter mixes up the story a bit to where it is not all nautical parlance. The character Nathan is not the perfect captain. In fact, Nathan admits to himself Lieutenant Tully is really the better sailor. The historical aspects of the story are also interesting. It's like getting a "behind the scenes" look at the progression of events leading up to the ascension of Bonaparte becoming the emperor of France and Britain's reaction to how these events unfold.
This book is a good read but not quite 5 stars. There are some murky parts of the plot that I had kind of hard time following. Then there is Sara who is Nathan's romantic interest. Sara and Alex and are becoming what I call non-characters in the story. We learn about them early on in the series and then they are largely ignored as the series progresses although references are made to them during the story. The author has utilized a multiple POV in the previous books but doesn't make use of it since Book 1 as it pertains to these characters.
In the end, though this story is great adventure and is a fun read! I'm really enjoying the series.
The latest installment of the Nathan Peake series has Nathan in Paris once again as an American shipping captain. He meets the infamous Napoleon Bonaparte who happens to look like a street scrub. As the story unfolds, we learn that Bonaparte turns out to be one of the most successful military leaders of the time.
This story has plenty of action, intrigue and high seas adventure. In addition to Bonaparte, we also meet the famous British Captain Horatio Nelson in the earlier years of his career. It is interesting has the author portrays these famous figures of history.
I'm a big fan of the naval historical fiction of this time. Mr. Hunter's books are somewhat familiar stories that I have read but with a little different take from other authors (like O'Brian). Mr. Hunter mixes up the story a bit to where it is not all nautical parlance. The character Nathan is not the perfect captain. In fact, Nathan admits to himself Lieutenant Tully is really the better sailor. The historical aspects of the story are also interesting. It's like getting a "behind the scenes" look at the progression of events leading up to the ascension of Bonaparte becoming the emperor of France and Britain's reaction to how these events unfold.
This book is a good read but not quite 5 stars. There are some murky parts of the plot that I had kind of hard time following. Then there is Sara who is Nathan's romantic interest. Sara and Alex and are becoming what I call non-characters in the story. We learn about them early on in the series and then they are largely ignored as the series progresses although references are made to them during the story. The author has utilized a multiple POV in the previous books but doesn't make use of it since Book 1 as it pertains to these characters.
In the end, though this story is great adventure and is a fun read! I'm really enjoying the series.
December 16, 2025
Too much intrigue for my taste. More sailing and less spying would have been better.
April 11, 2022
A welcome series about a different kind of naval hero, certainly not the standard variety of the late 18th century. Nathan Peake is captain of the HMS Unicorn where his command is frequently exposed to the ravages of hurricanes, or the danger of predatory French warships. In addition, which is a plus here, Peake is occasionally called upon by the Admiralty for secret missions even though they have found him to be reckless in carrying out their orders. Nathan, an introspective individual, realizes that he is actually more comfortable in his role as British agent; he has an innate sense of expanding beyond his naval career which he intuitively feels is not his true calling.
Peake's latest assignment sends him to revolutionary Paris to gather intelligence on the competing spheres of influence of the Spanish and French in respect to the territory west of the Mississippi River, later to become the Louisiana Purchase. A compelling historical character is Gilbert Imlay, an American and land speculator, who was interested in New Orleans and the western territory. It is possible that he worked at various times for the Americans, British, French and others as a diplomat/spy or businessman moving effortlessly between foreign interests with charm and alacrity. Imlay is used as a continuing thread in the series as is the fictional Sara, a French countess and Nathan's lover, who was thought to have perished by guillotine, but miraculously survived. This is a very enjoyable read with plenty of action and expertly drawn characters whether they be fictional or historical.
Peake's latest assignment sends him to revolutionary Paris to gather intelligence on the competing spheres of influence of the Spanish and French in respect to the territory west of the Mississippi River, later to become the Louisiana Purchase. A compelling historical character is Gilbert Imlay, an American and land speculator, who was interested in New Orleans and the western territory. It is possible that he worked at various times for the Americans, British, French and others as a diplomat/spy or businessman moving effortlessly between foreign interests with charm and alacrity. Imlay is used as a continuing thread in the series as is the fictional Sara, a French countess and Nathan's lover, who was thought to have perished by guillotine, but miraculously survived. This is a very enjoyable read with plenty of action and expertly drawn characters whether they be fictional or historical.
February 23, 2021
This series just gets better and better! Captain Nathan Peake is a great hero, and the late eighteenth century naval battles really come alive with this writing. There is a lot of intrigue, too, and interactions with famous figures from history that are skillfully written into the tale. Folks like Napoleon and Admiral Horatio Nelson. Pe3ake is also trying to track down and rescue Sara amidst all the other drama, now that he knows she survived the guillotine at the very last min ute thanks to a mob uprising in Paris. He will sail to Brittany, and then the coast of Italy, venturing into enemy territory in His Majesty's service--but also on a romantic quest.
October 20, 2024
Nathan Peake is still wearing two hats as a frigate captain and occasional spy. Lots of politics locally in Great Britain and on the continent. With an interesting factual basis, we meet Buonaparte, as an artillerist, and several other historic figures, Nelson for one, in this good story about France before Napolean. Some lively sea and land action enliven the plot as Peake seeks his lost love.
June 2, 2018
A great read can’t wait to read the next
February 17, 2020
Great historical background.
March 1, 2012
Among the successors to C. S. Forester (still the gold standard), Seth Hunter ranks high: Right behind Dewey Lambdin's early books and just ahead of Jay Worrall and S. Thomas Russell. Hunter is in good company. "The Price of Glory" is the third in five (so far) novels about Nathan Peake, a young and lucky captain in the king's navy during the wars of the French Revolution and Napoleon. Peake is in command of HMS Unicorn, which is part of a small force meant to land several thousand French emigré troops in support of a royalist rebellion against France's republican government. The year is 1795, so it is early in the war. The cause is very nearly hopeless from the beginning despite Peake's professionalism. The situation is complicated by the rumored presence of his lost love, Sara, a French countess and almost-victim of the Terror, among the rebels.
The first novel in the series, "The Time of Terror," established the relationship between Nathan and Sara; the second novel, "The Tide of War," dealt with how Peake became a captain. His family's situation also occupies space in the books, being both a bit of a detour, but also fairly interesting as a sidelight. The first novel was set in the midst of the revolution; the second novel took place in the Caribbean and was nautical in nature. The third novel begins with a sea-borne assault on the French revolutionary government, but changes in setting to the revolutionary center of France as Nathan Peake, posing as an American merchant/captain, becomes an agent of his government's intelligence apparatus, complete with a dirk in his boot. (There is a good scene in which Nathan has lunch with the young Napoleon at a time when Napoleon was "on the beach" and attempting to sell his plan for an invasion of Italy.)
I like the series well enough to hunt for the fourth and fifth books. it will be interesting to see whether Nathan returns to sea in the Unicorn.
The first novel in the series, "The Time of Terror," established the relationship between Nathan and Sara; the second novel, "The Tide of War," dealt with how Peake became a captain. His family's situation also occupies space in the books, being both a bit of a detour, but also fairly interesting as a sidelight. The first novel was set in the midst of the revolution; the second novel took place in the Caribbean and was nautical in nature. The third novel begins with a sea-borne assault on the French revolutionary government, but changes in setting to the revolutionary center of France as Nathan Peake, posing as an American merchant/captain, becomes an agent of his government's intelligence apparatus, complete with a dirk in his boot. (There is a good scene in which Nathan has lunch with the young Napoleon at a time when Napoleon was "on the beach" and attempting to sell his plan for an invasion of Italy.)
I like the series well enough to hunt for the fourth and fifth books. it will be interesting to see whether Nathan returns to sea in the Unicorn.
August 4, 2012
It's not easy coming up with original stories and characters from the British Navy in the late 18th Century, a period well-covered by writers of historical fiction. Hunter is a terrific storyteller with a great understanding of the period and the ability to create very real and likeable characters. My local library seems to be dropping the series after this volume, but I've got the fourth ordered.
April 5, 2014
It may come as no surprise that I've read a fair bit of historical fiction in my time, but I have to say this book has taken the prize, after many years for the most entertaining! Swashbuckling derring-do adventure, excellent salting of historical figures, a wholly believable and likeable protagonist, all set in amongst a swirling backdrop of post-revolutionary France, Georgian London, and, of course, the high seas. The best piece of fiction I've read in a long time.
June 10, 2013
It may come as no surprise that I've read a fair bit of historical fiction in my time, but I have to say this book has taken the prize, after many years for the most entertaining! Swashbuckling derring-do adventure, excellent salting of historical figures, a wholly believable and likeable protagonist, all set in amongst a swirling backdrop of post-revolutionary France, Georgian London, and, of course, the high seas. The best piece of fiction I've read in a long time.
December 20, 2013
thoroughly enjoyable, superbly informative and incredibly entertaining. This was probably worth a four and a half but you get the impression that sometimes the story becomes secondary to the History lesson that Hunter so clearly wants to give you. Elequently written I'm probably being a bit picky, I wish, once again I'd started with number one in the series.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews