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Dancing
Kent, England, 1762. Bloody smuggling wars are raging on England's southern coast. It's a time of daring men and bold women, and deadly skirmishes between rival gangs and the law.
John Smith, a man both hanged and drowned, returns to his home village, swearing vengeance on the landowner who killed his father. There is no quarter asked or expected when Smith begins to carve out his place among the Free Traders of Kent.
With guile and violence, he is determined to make his mark. What he doesn't know is that the Preventative Service has sent Ambrose Grant - their most effective man - to hunt him down. Soon, the two cross paths with life-changing consequences.
A riveting adventure set in mid-18th century England, Dancing is the first book in Malcolm Archibald's The Rise Of An English Lawbreaker series.
John Smith, a man both hanged and drowned, returns to his home village, swearing vengeance on the landowner who killed his father. There is no quarter asked or expected when Smith begins to carve out his place among the Free Traders of Kent.
With guile and violence, he is determined to make his mark. What he doesn't know is that the Preventative Service has sent Ambrose Grant - their most effective man - to hunt him down. Soon, the two cross paths with life-changing consequences.
A riveting adventure set in mid-18th century England, Dancing is the first book in Malcolm Archibald's The Rise Of An English Lawbreaker series.
331 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 10, 2022
61 people are currently reading
24 people want to read
About the author
Malcolm Archibald
131 books71 followersMy primary interest is historical, either fiction or non fiction, but I can enjoy most anything from Jane Austin to Kipling to J K Rowling. I have been very quiet on this site, but I think I might be a bit more active now.
I also enjoy the stimulation of meeting people and finding out about them.
I also enjoy the stimulation of meeting people and finding out about them.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
January 25, 2022
Another winner for Mr Archibald
This introduction to Malcolm Archibald's new series is a winner from start to finish. 'John Smith' survives a hanging as a young boy but only to be pressed into brutal service with the Royal Navy. When we next meet him, Smith is a grown man with an agenda. The author has an almost incomparable skill in bringing his historical dramas to life in superbly graphic fashion, seen here in various seafaring action scenes and land based scenes that often left me quite breathless.
Smith teams up with Bess, a woman of rather dubious background and together they take on smugglers, 'freetraders', the revenue men, the local militia, and most deviously, the man responsible for Smith and his father's hanging. His devilish scheme is superbly brought to life in this first class page-turner which left me wanting more of the adventures of Smith and Bess. Despite them being on the wrong side of the law, Malcolm Archibald has very skilfully turned this couple into the most unlikely of heroes, and I'm sure other readers will, like me, find themselves rooting for Smith's schemes to bear fruit. With swords, fists, guns, cudgels and more, little is left to the imagination
as one by one, Smith's enemies are brought down until his revenge is complete. A superb introduction to what I hope will be another long running series from Mr Archibald, one to rival his terrific Windrush series. A definite 5 stars from me.
This introduction to Malcolm Archibald's new series is a winner from start to finish. 'John Smith' survives a hanging as a young boy but only to be pressed into brutal service with the Royal Navy. When we next meet him, Smith is a grown man with an agenda. The author has an almost incomparable skill in bringing his historical dramas to life in superbly graphic fashion, seen here in various seafaring action scenes and land based scenes that often left me quite breathless.
Smith teams up with Bess, a woman of rather dubious background and together they take on smugglers, 'freetraders', the revenue men, the local militia, and most deviously, the man responsible for Smith and his father's hanging. His devilish scheme is superbly brought to life in this first class page-turner which left me wanting more of the adventures of Smith and Bess. Despite them being on the wrong side of the law, Malcolm Archibald has very skilfully turned this couple into the most unlikely of heroes, and I'm sure other readers will, like me, find themselves rooting for Smith's schemes to bear fruit. With swords, fists, guns, cudgels and more, little is left to the imagination
as one by one, Smith's enemies are brought down until his revenge is complete. A superb introduction to what I hope will be another long running series from Mr Archibald, one to rival his terrific Windrush series. A definite 5 stars from me.
February 27, 2022
A masterly crafted and brilliantly conceived tale of daredevilry.
A simple blackguard hero? John Smith, if that is his name? Hung, not dead and, he’s back. However, this is more than just a story of revenge, it is an intelligently plotted novel with the scenes knowledgably set – I sensed I was there. I felt anger at the injustice of the ‘system’, Lords treatment of the ordinary people, and revelled in the nail biting adventure from the safety of my armchair, unable to put this book down, unable to fathom where the story would take me; completely sucked in.
This is not a swashbuckler, it is a story of an ordinary man standing up for himself, his family and his class. Always, John Smith, in his smuggler persona, offers more depth than his obvious ability in violence and his craft of sailing, learned after being pressed in the Royal Navy. Smith is not charismatic, as we might expect of privateer heroes, so much as a quixotically, visionary man, honed by injustice. A simple man, deluded or quite simply mad? Maybe, but he is certainly surprising.
Slowly the persona of John Smith is revealed as the depths of his cunning is brought to light. And, there is a love interest. The Lady of the Manor or a feisty woman of dubious pedigree who always has Smith’s back?
The plot grows in intriguing complexity as the backdrop of a peasants hard life is colourfully and realistically drawn. However, as in the best of crafted novels, the ending is both explosive and endearingly and intriguingly set up for a sequel.
This was the first book by Archibald I have read and I loved it. I have already bought the next one and when you discover a great author it is wonderful to see that there are so many books for me to look forward to.
Dancing – 5 stars all the way.
A simple blackguard hero? John Smith, if that is his name? Hung, not dead and, he’s back. However, this is more than just a story of revenge, it is an intelligently plotted novel with the scenes knowledgably set – I sensed I was there. I felt anger at the injustice of the ‘system’, Lords treatment of the ordinary people, and revelled in the nail biting adventure from the safety of my armchair, unable to put this book down, unable to fathom where the story would take me; completely sucked in.
This is not a swashbuckler, it is a story of an ordinary man standing up for himself, his family and his class. Always, John Smith, in his smuggler persona, offers more depth than his obvious ability in violence and his craft of sailing, learned after being pressed in the Royal Navy. Smith is not charismatic, as we might expect of privateer heroes, so much as a quixotically, visionary man, honed by injustice. A simple man, deluded or quite simply mad? Maybe, but he is certainly surprising.
Slowly the persona of John Smith is revealed as the depths of his cunning is brought to light. And, there is a love interest. The Lady of the Manor or a feisty woman of dubious pedigree who always has Smith’s back?
The plot grows in intriguing complexity as the backdrop of a peasants hard life is colourfully and realistically drawn. However, as in the best of crafted novels, the ending is both explosive and endearingly and intriguingly set up for a sequel.
This was the first book by Archibald I have read and I loved it. I have already bought the next one and when you discover a great author it is wonderful to see that there are so many books for me to look forward to.
Dancing – 5 stars all the way.
January 28, 2022
The ruse of war
A very engrossing novel by Mr. Archibald. Revenge provides an intricate plot. A fascinating range of characters well developed as the novel progresses. Vivid scenes created with words. The beginnings of a fascinating new series. Recommended as a good read.
A very engrossing novel by Mr. Archibald. Revenge provides an intricate plot. A fascinating range of characters well developed as the novel progresses. Vivid scenes created with words. The beginnings of a fascinating new series. Recommended as a good read.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews