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Carlisle & Holbrooke Naval Adventures #4
Holbrooke's Tide
It is 1758 and the Seven Years War is at its height. The Duke of Cumberland’s Hanoverian army has been pushed back to the river Elbe while the French are using the medieval fortified city of Emden to resupply their army and to anchor its left flank.George Holbrooke has recently returned from the Jamaica Station in command of a sloop-of-war. He is under orders to survey and blockade the approaches to Emden in advance of the arrival of a British squadron. The French garrison and their Austrian allies are nervous. With their supply line cut, they are in danger of being isolated when the French army is forced to retreat in the face of the new Prussian-led army that is gathering on the Elbe. Can the French be bluffed out of Emden? Is this Holbrooke’s flood tide that will lead to his next promotion?Holbrooke’s Tide is the fourth of the Carlisle & Holbrooke naval adventures. The series follows the exploits of the two men through the Seven Years War and into the period of turbulent relations between Britain and her American colonies in the 1760s.
342 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 8, 2019
434 people are currently reading
51 people want to read
About the author
Chris Durbin
15 books70 followersChris Durbin grew up in the seaside town of Porthcawl in South Wales. His first experience of sailing was as a sea cadet in the treacherous tideway of the Bristol Channel, and at the age of sixteen, he spent a week in a topsail schooner in the Southwest Approaches. He was a crew member on the Porthcawl lifeboat before joining the navy.
Chris spent twenty-four years as a warfare officer in the Royal Navy, serving in all classes of ship from aircraft carriers through destroyers and frigates to the smallest minesweepers. He took part in operational campaigns in the Falkland Islands, the Middle East and the Adriatic. As a personnel exchange officer, he spent two years teaching tactics at a US Navy training centre in San Diego.
On his retirement from the Royal Navy, Chris joined a large American company and spent eighteen years in the aerospace, defence and security industry, including two years on the design team for the Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carriers.
Chris is a graduate of the Britannia Royal Naval College at Dartmouth, the British Army Command and Staff College, the United States Navy War College (where he gained a postgraduate diploma in national security decision-making) and Cambridge University (where he was awarded an MPhil in International Relations).
With a lifelong interest in naval history and a long-standing ambition to write historical fiction, Chris has embarked upon creating the Carlisle & Holbrooke series, in which a colonial Virginian commands a British navy frigate during the middle years of the eighteenth century.
The series will follow its principal characters through the Seven Years War and into the period of turbulent relations between Britain and her American Colonies in the 1760s. They’ll negotiate some thought-provoking loyalty issues when British policy and colonial restlessness lead inexorably to the American Revolution.
Chris now lives on the south coast of England, surrounded by hundreds of years of naval history. His three children are all busy growing their own families and careers while Chris and his wife (US Navy, retired) of thirty-seven years enjoy sailing their classic dayboat.
Chris spent twenty-four years as a warfare officer in the Royal Navy, serving in all classes of ship from aircraft carriers through destroyers and frigates to the smallest minesweepers. He took part in operational campaigns in the Falkland Islands, the Middle East and the Adriatic. As a personnel exchange officer, he spent two years teaching tactics at a US Navy training centre in San Diego.
On his retirement from the Royal Navy, Chris joined a large American company and spent eighteen years in the aerospace, defence and security industry, including two years on the design team for the Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carriers.
Chris is a graduate of the Britannia Royal Naval College at Dartmouth, the British Army Command and Staff College, the United States Navy War College (where he gained a postgraduate diploma in national security decision-making) and Cambridge University (where he was awarded an MPhil in International Relations).
With a lifelong interest in naval history and a long-standing ambition to write historical fiction, Chris has embarked upon creating the Carlisle & Holbrooke series, in which a colonial Virginian commands a British navy frigate during the middle years of the eighteenth century.
The series will follow its principal characters through the Seven Years War and into the period of turbulent relations between Britain and her American Colonies in the 1760s. They’ll negotiate some thought-provoking loyalty issues when British policy and colonial restlessness lead inexorably to the American Revolution.
Chris now lives on the south coast of England, surrounded by hundreds of years of naval history. His three children are all busy growing their own families and careers while Chris and his wife (US Navy, retired) of thirty-seven years enjoy sailing their classic dayboat.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
January 30, 2021
This is the fourth in Chris Durbin's Carlisle and Holbrooke naval adventures set during the Seven Years War (so half a century before the Napoleonic era milieu of most age-of-sail stories) and the author has really hit his stride. What started off as workmanlike but nautically plausible and engaging stories with likeable characters is in danger of becoming something really quite exceptional through Durbin's increasing command of the language: he is approaching the sort of bell-like clarity of expression that very few writers achieve. I very much look forward to reading the next in the series.
November 7, 2021
Another Gripping Yarn!
Another excellent, thrilling tale of naval battles and intrigue from Chris Durbin. These books are an easy, enjoyable, thrilling read and what is more are historically based, with the historical details noted in the epilogue. There is an accompanying website which explains the many naval and nautical terms that give the books their wonderful authenticity. A very enjoyable read.
Another excellent, thrilling tale of naval battles and intrigue from Chris Durbin. These books are an easy, enjoyable, thrilling read and what is more are historically based, with the historical details noted in the epilogue. There is an accompanying website which explains the many naval and nautical terms that give the books their wonderful authenticity. A very enjoyable read.
March 3, 2019
It seems to me that in this 4th entry in the Capt. Carlisle/ Lieutenant (now Commander) Holbrook series, Mr. Durbin continues to improve as a storyteller. The current book is pretty much at a level with the Hornblower books. In addition, the author has described an operation that actually took place (clear from the historical note at the back) while Mr. Forester seems to have made up most of his plots. Alas, a sidelight is that reading this account demonstrates just how poorly American secondary schools have done in teaching modern European history. I was actually learning for the first time about the involvement of Austria and George II's Continental possessions in the "French and Indian" War.
Another even more interesting sidelight is for those with thorough familiarity with naval fiction in English, Cdr. Holbrook goes to the very same Frisian islands where Mr. Childers's "Riddle of the Sands" takes place 150 years later. I recognized place names and other features from that much later period, although I don't recall that Childers's characters ever explored so large a lagoon as the Dollart. The action is nonstop with authentic details of place and time. I'm wondering, because Carlisle plays such a minor role in this book, how the author plans to reunite his two protagonists, but I guess we need to wait for the next volume for htat.
Anyway, a formidable new entry in the Age of Sail naval genre with authentic period detail, tactics, and seamanship. Most of the maneuvers in this volume are clear and easily visualized, improved yet another notch from volume 3. I'm planning on sticking with this series, although I'm wondering how the author will handle events after the peace of 1763. Will the action slow down? I hope not!
Another even more interesting sidelight is for those with thorough familiarity with naval fiction in English, Cdr. Holbrook goes to the very same Frisian islands where Mr. Childers's "Riddle of the Sands" takes place 150 years later. I recognized place names and other features from that much later period, although I don't recall that Childers's characters ever explored so large a lagoon as the Dollart. The action is nonstop with authentic details of place and time. I'm wondering, because Carlisle plays such a minor role in this book, how the author plans to reunite his two protagonists, but I guess we need to wait for the next volume for htat.
Anyway, a formidable new entry in the Age of Sail naval genre with authentic period detail, tactics, and seamanship. Most of the maneuvers in this volume are clear and easily visualized, improved yet another notch from volume 3. I'm planning on sticking with this series, although I'm wondering how the author will handle events after the peace of 1763. Will the action slow down? I hope not!
February 23, 2023
Although this is part of a series about two naval officers, this book is exclusively about George Holbrooke as Master and Commander of a sloop in the seas around Denmark and Holland. It covers a fairly obscure but interesting part of the seven years war in which England took a keep in East Frisia (now Germany).
Holbrooke is a man learning his trade of being an officer, first too chummy with his subordinates, and taking too much control, then learning to delegate and trust his officers with their duties. He takes some risks, and faces some criticism, but overall does a solid job. Some luck, some cleverness, some assistance from others, and some solid courage and conviction win the say, but not to an extraordinary degree.
Holbrooke is no Hornblower, much less Aubrey. He's still learning and has his limitations and lack of confidence, but is a solid and capable leader. The events and actions are plausible and realistic, many taken from history. I am happy with this series overall.
Holbrooke is a man learning his trade of being an officer, first too chummy with his subordinates, and taking too much control, then learning to delegate and trust his officers with their duties. He takes some risks, and faces some criticism, but overall does a solid job. Some luck, some cleverness, some assistance from others, and some solid courage and conviction win the say, but not to an extraordinary degree.
Holbrooke is no Hornblower, much less Aubrey. He's still learning and has his limitations and lack of confidence, but is a solid and capable leader. The events and actions are plausible and realistic, many taken from history. I am happy with this series overall.
November 17, 2021
This book deaks with the first expedition of the sloop "Kestrel" under the command of Commander George Holbrooke. Kestrel's first duty was to patrol the Ems estuary in the Baltic and command the entrance to the city of Emden in East Frisia (Austrian Netherlands) which was currently garrisoned by French and Austrian soldiers who were there as allies of the emperor. Kestrel was on her own with no help from any other ships. Holbrooke takes several prizes and is doomed to watch the coming and goings of naval shipping in that area while awaiting the arrival of a squadron commanded by Commodore Charles Holmes dut to arrive in several months.
July 24, 2020
I've said it before...
...and I'll say it again... Natural successor to Patrick O'Brien. All the atmosphere of baffling sailing terms, t'gallants, strange tidal flows, unusual clouds and all that stuff but put together so elegantly you almost believe you have some idea what's going on but the joy of it is it doesn't matter because the storyline and historical context drives along brilliantly. Obviously I'll read and enjoy them all and hope for more when I finish the series so far...
...and I'll say it again... Natural successor to Patrick O'Brien. All the atmosphere of baffling sailing terms, t'gallants, strange tidal flows, unusual clouds and all that stuff but put together so elegantly you almost believe you have some idea what's going on but the joy of it is it doesn't matter because the storyline and historical context drives along brilliantly. Obviously I'll read and enjoy them all and hope for more when I finish the series so far...
September 2, 2023
The latest installment of this series takes us to a new battlefield where Holbrook is now in full command. His mission was to maintain a blockade and disrupt the French forces on the continent. The author skillfully describes the action, but that's not the only draw of the story. The intricate details of navigation, the crew's execution of the plan, and the overall setting all contribute to its brilliance.
What makes this series so appealing is how the author creates a challenging environment for the main character to conquer. This draws us in and leaves us craving more.
What makes this series so appealing is how the author creates a challenging environment for the main character to conquer. This draws us in and leaves us craving more.
December 19, 2020
The likes of Alexander Kent's Bolitho books.
Great read, captivating. The Author explains the intricacies of 18th century Naval warfare and historical facts while spinning an entertaining tale to keep our interests. On a par with Kent's Vomit to series. May he churn out as many books, which as the character list grows (influence you know) possibilities expand.
Thank you Chris for the enjoyable read.
Great read, captivating. The Author explains the intricacies of 18th century Naval warfare and historical facts while spinning an entertaining tale to keep our interests. On a par with Kent's Vomit to series. May he churn out as many books, which as the character list grows (influence you know) possibilities expand.
Thank you Chris for the enjoyable read.
September 20, 2019
Good reading!
Durban’s style is easy and evocative, mostly true to the period in conversation and historical facts and background. You won’t get Disquieting modernized conversations, yet his characters are not laboriously bound in 19th century vernacular. His tales move along and there is plenty of action to go along with the necessary exposition.
Durban’s style is easy and evocative, mostly true to the period in conversation and historical facts and background. You won’t get Disquieting modernized conversations, yet his characters are not laboriously bound in 19th century vernacular. His tales move along and there is plenty of action to go along with the necessary exposition.
September 18, 2023
Superb historical novel.
I give it five stars, as the story combines high adventure with historical facts. Having recently visited Portsmouth, England, and sailed the English Channel and the North Sea, on a cruise , has given me an appetite for more reading and study of the British Navy's exploits in the eighteenth century.
I give it five stars, as the story combines high adventure with historical facts. Having recently visited Portsmouth, England, and sailed the English Channel and the North Sea, on a cruise , has given me an appetite for more reading and study of the British Navy's exploits in the eighteenth century.
July 5, 2019
As usall a very good read look forward to next installment keep up the good work Chris well recommended all you books
As us all a good fast moving story well recommended like all your other books Chris look forward to your next offering
As us all a good fast moving story well recommended like all your other books Chris look forward to your next offering
March 1, 2020
A Great Series
I’ve enjoyed the first four books very much, (this being the fourth). Great storytelling and the epilogues tie in the real history which I found very interesting. If you like naval fiction you will enjoy this author, Chris Durbin.
I’ve enjoyed the first four books very much, (this being the fourth). Great storytelling and the epilogues tie in the real history which I found very interesting. If you like naval fiction you will enjoy this author, Chris Durbin.
June 19, 2021
Another great sea adventure!
I Can almost feel the sea under my feet as I read these adventures. Although I know the time were hard I would have very much liked to have sailed with these men of the seas!
I Can almost feel the sea under my feet as I read these adventures. Although I know the time were hard I would have very much liked to have sailed with these men of the seas!
September 8, 2021
History made easy.
Reasonably accurate history with a good yarn holding everything together. The detail lends credibility to the story. I look forward to even more from this author. The source material is unlimited.
Reasonably accurate history with a good yarn holding everything together. The detail lends credibility to the story. I look forward to even more from this author. The source material is unlimited.
March 4, 2019
Young man makes good
The writing in this series is very good. The historical background really Ste a wonderful stage. Characters are extremely well drawn.
The writing in this series is very good. The historical background really Ste a wonderful stage. Characters are extremely well drawn.
March 23, 2019
A good read.
While this installment is not a high stakes page turner, it is well written , with very few typos and a satisfying conclusion.
While this installment is not a high stakes page turner, it is well written , with very few typos and a satisfying conclusion.
April 11, 2019
I do like sea stories
Whether they are sailing, steam, combustion, electric or nuclear power. I also prefer naval although do read land and air action.
Whether they are sailing, steam, combustion, electric or nuclear power. I also prefer naval although do read land and air action.
April 13, 2019
Brilliant, cant wait for number 5.
April 20, 2019
Enjoyed the story
Great job on this, Character development is good, something becoming less common in the genre. Like th interaction with the Austrians as well.
Great job on this, Character development is good, something becoming less common in the genre. Like th interaction with the Austrians as well.
March 29, 2020
Good read
If you like seafaring historical fiction this is very good. Excellent attention to detail while keeping it fast paced. I’d recommend it.
If you like seafaring historical fiction this is very good. Excellent attention to detail while keeping it fast paced. I’d recommend it.
June 2, 2020
Chris Durbin is a good story teller with a good view of the days of sail.
January 8, 2021
Book 4
Very good read ,especially if you are a sailor. Would like to see a chart of the action areas. Cornwell’s Sharpe novels are a companion series !
Very good read ,especially if you are a sailor. Would like to see a chart of the action areas. Cornwell’s Sharpe novels are a companion series !
February 22, 2021
Great story telling
Another great saga, in which allows your imagination to thin wild at what life was like in the Royal Navy in the 18th century. Well done Chris.
Another great saga, in which allows your imagination to thin wild at what life was like in the Royal Navy in the 18th century. Well done Chris.
May 11, 2021
Very good accurate account of sea battles
July 20, 2021
Great series colonial captain and his followers make significant contributions to the naval parts of the seven years war.
November 3, 2021
Engaging
Another great read, action, diplomacy, comradeship,
all combined in another great read,could hardly put it down once I started reading.
Another great read, action, diplomacy, comradeship,
all combined in another great read,could hardly put it down once I started reading.
October 28, 2022
Another excellent installment in the series
Very enjoyable, an interesting idea to split up the two lead characters. Will the next book focus on Carlisle I wonder.
Very enjoyable, an interesting idea to split up the two lead characters. Will the next book focus on Carlisle I wonder.
October 11, 2023
4.2 stars.
August 28, 2025
On a re-read, this is tremendously better. It is annoying that it's only about Holbrooke, but since I came into the novel expecting that, I'm able to focus on his growing skill set, people management skills, and also bathe in the ridiculous technical details of Seapower. It helps that the author keeps using highly obscure but real battles and successes.
February 26, 2024
A great sea based series
I really enjoyed this, the fourth , in the series. I have read so many books about the Trafalgar era. This was new to me and I loved the style and development of the characters blending into the historical time frame. Thankyou Chris Durbin
I really enjoyed this, the fourth , in the series. I have read so many books about the Trafalgar era. This was new to me and I loved the style and development of the characters blending into the historical time frame. Thankyou Chris Durbin
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews