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Fighting Sail #5
The Patriot's Fate
It is 1798 and Ireland rises up against years of repression and injustice. Rebels, supported by a mighty French invasion fleet, prepare to claim their land but find themselves countered by a powerful British battle squadron. Separated by chance and circumstance, two friends and former allies witness developments from opposing sides while storms, political intrigue, and personal dynamics abound. The Patriot's Fate maintains a relentless pace that climaxes in thrilling naval action and the noblest of sacrifices.
287 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 26, 2012
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About the author
Alaric Bond
24 books39 followersAlaric Bond has written for television, radio and the stage but now focuses on historical nautical fiction with twenty published novels, fifteen of which are in his acclaimed ‘Fighting Sail’ series.
Set in ‘Nelson’s Navy’ of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars, these have no central hero but feature characters from all ranks and stations; an innovative approach that gives an exciting and realistic impression of life aboard a warship of the period.
Hellfire Corner is the first in an intended new series and marks a change in emphasis, although future ‘Fighting Sail’ instalments are planned.
Set in ‘Nelson’s Navy’ of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars, these have no central hero but feature characters from all ranks and stations; an innovative approach that gives an exciting and realistic impression of life aboard a warship of the period.
Hellfire Corner is the first in an intended new series and marks a change in emphasis, although future ‘Fighting Sail’ instalments are planned.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
September 2, 2012
Alaric Bond’s The Patriot’s Fate, the fifth in his Fighting Sail series, is an exciting nautical adventure that is also a rich and fascinating voyage through the history, politics and complex divided loyalties of Britain at the end of the eighteenth century.
Many novels in the genre follow the model used by C.S. Forester, Patrick O’Brian and so many others, where the focus is the career of a single Royal Navy officer. The Patriot’s Fate, like the other books in Bond’s Fighting Sail series, is told through multiple perspectives, ranging from the ship’s captain, to the junior officers and warrants, to Jack Tars and the ship’s boys. The approach gives a much broader sense of what is going on aboard ship. It works particularly well in The Patriot’s Fate because it allows parallel and overlapping story lines that keep the novel moving along briskly.
In The Patriot’s Fate, Bond has been careful in choosing his history. The climax of the book is the Battle of Tory Island in October of 1798. Just over two months before an admiral named Nelson ruined Napoleon’s plans in Egypt at Aboukir Bay. The famous Battle of the Nile, as it has become known, is completely and refreshingly absent from The Patriot’s Fate. The story of that battle is wonderful but it has been retold so often, in so many other novels, that as a reader I felt grateful to be taken elsewhere. While the Battle of Tory Island was far smaller that the Battle of the Nile, it was no less consequential, leading directly to the Treaty of Union between England and Ireland.
In 1798 the Society of United Irishmen, lead by the charismatic Wolfe Tone, is ready to rise again against the British. The French are again assisting the Irish by sending ships and troops. As a French fleet of troopships and men-of-war bears down on the coast of Ireland, a single British frigate must delay them until help arrives to stop the invasion. By the vagaries of chance and heritage, friends and shipmates find themselves on opposite sides of the conflict. The sense of conflicting loyalty to friends, country and cause is especially gripping as the guns begin to fire.
Bond is especially good at creating believable and engaging characters. Readers of his past books will be pleased to be reunited with Captain Sir Richard Banks, Lieutenant Tom King, the Mannings and the unfortunate Irishman, Micheal Crowley, among others. New readers will be pleased to make their acquaintance. New characters like Betsey, the surgeon’s wife, clever and capable, if just a touch lacking in virtue, are also great fun.
The Patriot’s Fate is a gripping tale that is extremely difficult to put down. It left me sorry that it had ended and hungry for more. Highly recommended.
Many novels in the genre follow the model used by C.S. Forester, Patrick O’Brian and so many others, where the focus is the career of a single Royal Navy officer. The Patriot’s Fate, like the other books in Bond’s Fighting Sail series, is told through multiple perspectives, ranging from the ship’s captain, to the junior officers and warrants, to Jack Tars and the ship’s boys. The approach gives a much broader sense of what is going on aboard ship. It works particularly well in The Patriot’s Fate because it allows parallel and overlapping story lines that keep the novel moving along briskly.
In The Patriot’s Fate, Bond has been careful in choosing his history. The climax of the book is the Battle of Tory Island in October of 1798. Just over two months before an admiral named Nelson ruined Napoleon’s plans in Egypt at Aboukir Bay. The famous Battle of the Nile, as it has become known, is completely and refreshingly absent from The Patriot’s Fate. The story of that battle is wonderful but it has been retold so often, in so many other novels, that as a reader I felt grateful to be taken elsewhere. While the Battle of Tory Island was far smaller that the Battle of the Nile, it was no less consequential, leading directly to the Treaty of Union between England and Ireland.
In 1798 the Society of United Irishmen, lead by the charismatic Wolfe Tone, is ready to rise again against the British. The French are again assisting the Irish by sending ships and troops. As a French fleet of troopships and men-of-war bears down on the coast of Ireland, a single British frigate must delay them until help arrives to stop the invasion. By the vagaries of chance and heritage, friends and shipmates find themselves on opposite sides of the conflict. The sense of conflicting loyalty to friends, country and cause is especially gripping as the guns begin to fire.
Bond is especially good at creating believable and engaging characters. Readers of his past books will be pleased to be reunited with Captain Sir Richard Banks, Lieutenant Tom King, the Mannings and the unfortunate Irishman, Micheal Crowley, among others. New readers will be pleased to make their acquaintance. New characters like Betsey, the surgeon’s wife, clever and capable, if just a touch lacking in virtue, are also great fun.
The Patriot’s Fate is a gripping tale that is extremely difficult to put down. It left me sorry that it had ended and hungry for more. Highly recommended.
July 10, 2015
Focused on the Irish uprising during the period. The characters are surprisingly well thought out and sympathetic. Both sides had good and bad folk and Bond describes all in an effective way.
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October 4, 2013This is the fifth book in Alaric Bond's Fighting Sail series, all of which I reviewed on my old blog.
The story, like all of Bond's novels in this series, has a unique flavor and setting compared to so many others in this genre. The backdrop of The Patriot's Fate is the Irish uprising of 1798, with the climactic action taking place during the Battle of Tory Island. Being someone who is interested in Irish history, considering my own heritage, I particularly looked forward to this volume in the series.
As usual in Bond's stories, we meet new characters and embrace familiar, old ones. He cleverly places one of his Irish characters upon the French ship Hoche, so the reader experiences action from both the Irish and the British sides throughout the narrative.
Also like Bond's other books, The Patriot's Fate moves smoothly along at a pleasant pace, and the final battle plays out over the last quarter of the story, keeping readers who prefer a good sea battle happy and satisfied.
I read the e-book version of the novel, and if I have one complaint, it is in the number of typos throughout the text. While I have certainly read e-books with more such errors, running into them always jars me out of the story, and thus annoys me.
The story, like all of Bond's novels in this series, has a unique flavor and setting compared to so many others in this genre. The backdrop of The Patriot's Fate is the Irish uprising of 1798, with the climactic action taking place during the Battle of Tory Island. Being someone who is interested in Irish history, considering my own heritage, I particularly looked forward to this volume in the series.
As usual in Bond's stories, we meet new characters and embrace familiar, old ones. He cleverly places one of his Irish characters upon the French ship Hoche, so the reader experiences action from both the Irish and the British sides throughout the narrative.
Also like Bond's other books, The Patriot's Fate moves smoothly along at a pleasant pace, and the final battle plays out over the last quarter of the story, keeping readers who prefer a good sea battle happy and satisfied.
I read the e-book version of the novel, and if I have one complaint, it is in the number of typos throughout the text. While I have certainly read e-books with more such errors, running into them always jars me out of the story, and thus annoys me.
September 8, 2015
Started slow, then picked up quickly at the end. Fun read.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews