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Craven's War #9
Standoff
French armies combine to create an overwhelming force.
An astonishing and daring breakout at Almeida plunges Craven into battle and is set to humiliate Wellington’s war efforts. The situation worsens as the fighting moves south to the siege of Badajoz, French armies attempt to combine their forces to create an army so powerful it threatens to crush the Anglo Portuguese army once and for all. All hope lies in stopping the vast French force at the Portuguese border.
‘Standoff is the ninth novel in the ‘Craven’s War’ series, telling the exciting adventure of one rogue’s journey through the Napoleonic Wars as he tries to stay alive and make his fortune.
An astonishing and daring breakout at Almeida plunges Craven into battle and is set to humiliate Wellington’s war efforts. The situation worsens as the fighting moves south to the siege of Badajoz, French armies attempt to combine their forces to create an army so powerful it threatens to crush the Anglo Portuguese army once and for all. All hope lies in stopping the vast French force at the Portuguese border.
‘Standoff is the ninth novel in the ‘Craven’s War’ series, telling the exciting adventure of one rogue’s journey through the Napoleonic Wars as he tries to stay alive and make his fortune.
283 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 30, 2022
45 people are currently reading
4 people want to read
About the author
Nick S. Thomas
144 books73 followersNick S. Thomas, is a novelist, martial arts instructor and military history enthusiast. Author of the bestselling 'Battle Earth' series and is co-founder of the prestigious Academy of Historical Fencing.
Nick has worked full time as an author for over a decade and also still designs his own novel art, as well as that of his brothers, fellow novelist Michael G Thomas.
As well as the pursuit of historical materials to transcribe, translate and interpret, Nick enjoys writing works of historical fiction, fantasy, and science-fiction. He is also an avid military history enthusiast. A collector and restorer of WW2 military vehicles, as well as antique edged weaponry.
Nick has worked full time as an author for over a decade and also still designs his own novel art, as well as that of his brothers, fellow novelist Michael G Thomas.
As well as the pursuit of historical materials to transcribe, translate and interpret, Nick enjoys writing works of historical fiction, fantasy, and science-fiction. He is also an avid military history enthusiast. A collector and restorer of WW2 military vehicles, as well as antique edged weaponry.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
July 9, 2022
I'm finally swearing off Craven. I enjoyed the first few "books" (I use the word advisedly; see below) in the series, presenting historical reality laced with an irreverent cynicism (Richard Sharpe meets M*A*S*H). But the last several "books" only seem to emphasize the tedium of war, with endless repetition of dialogs on the topics of honor, patriotism, dedication, just war, courage, etc. Each "book" seems to cover these ad nauseum.
Craven is at heart a rogue and con man. So is the author, Nick S. Thomas. These are not books, which should have a beginning and end (which may or may not hint of more to come), so I call them "books": episodes strung together in a serial, as if some algorithm determined the when to end the "book" so as to save what comes next for a future edition. If Thomas didn't repeat all the tedious dialogs about honor, etc., in each edition, he would simply have little short stories and vignettes. Even descriptions and nearly entire sentences are repeated within a page in order to pad the content. What Thomas has given us in nine editions thus far could easily, and more entertainingly, have been accomplished in two, possibly three volumes.
The con is further perpetrated by charging higher than typical prices for the electronic versions and not hiring a competent editor to ensure they are properly presented. I understand that the printed text is scanned, and errors will crop up. But there are far too many in these editions to make me believe a second pair of eyes had scanned them before publication. I am not complaining about differences between British versus American spellings or subject/verb agreements, but obviously wrong words, or missing words. Thomas (he can blame his publisher if wants, I will blame him) cons us into spending more to line his pockets than his work deserves.
Don't get me wrong. I believe artists and crafters of all sorts deserve to be justly compensated for their efforts and contributions, and most of them don't come close to receiving what they should. But Nick S. Thomas isn't worth it. [And don't get me going on the atrocious "Fletcher" series, since I only read one and couldn't stomach it.]
Craven is at heart a rogue and con man. So is the author, Nick S. Thomas. These are not books, which should have a beginning and end (which may or may not hint of more to come), so I call them "books": episodes strung together in a serial, as if some algorithm determined the when to end the "book" so as to save what comes next for a future edition. If Thomas didn't repeat all the tedious dialogs about honor, etc., in each edition, he would simply have little short stories and vignettes. Even descriptions and nearly entire sentences are repeated within a page in order to pad the content. What Thomas has given us in nine editions thus far could easily, and more entertainingly, have been accomplished in two, possibly three volumes.
The con is further perpetrated by charging higher than typical prices for the electronic versions and not hiring a competent editor to ensure they are properly presented. I understand that the printed text is scanned, and errors will crop up. But there are far too many in these editions to make me believe a second pair of eyes had scanned them before publication. I am not complaining about differences between British versus American spellings or subject/verb agreements, but obviously wrong words, or missing words. Thomas (he can blame his publisher if wants, I will blame him) cons us into spending more to line his pockets than his work deserves.
Don't get me wrong. I believe artists and crafters of all sorts deserve to be justly compensated for their efforts and contributions, and most of them don't come close to receiving what they should. But Nick S. Thomas isn't worth it. [And don't get me going on the atrocious "Fletcher" series, since I only read one and couldn't stomach it.]
July 3, 2022
Stand-off; a good title!
Craven continues to succeed. Many lessons learned as life goes on. Soldiers all and part of a “family. “ For some it is the only family they know. Looking forward to the next chapter.
Craven continues to succeed. Many lessons learned as life goes on. Soldiers all and part of a “family. “ For some it is the only family they know. Looking forward to the next chapter.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews