Armada

by Robert Carter

Forget Captain Sparrow! Time travel to the real Caribbean of 400 years ago. See galleons filled with Mexican gold. Watch as Queen Elizabeth's ministers, Burleigh and Walsingham use Drake and Hawkins to humble the power of Phillip II of Spain. Feel the hopes and fears of Tudor England in this rich drama with all the historical detail of Patrick O'Brien and the storytelling of James Clavell.

The Virgin Queen, Elizabeth of England, has reigned for ten heretical years but her country remains locked in bloody rivalry with the great superpower of Catholic Spain.

Two brothers are torn apart by war. One fights his way from imprisonment to reclaim his Spanish lover. The other wins the daughter of the Queen’s first minister but John and Richard Tavistock are embroiled in England’s naval battles with Spain and one returns to England, intent on returning to rescue the other , a cannon maker, who is captured in Mexico. Richard, in London, tries to get a ship to return to Mexico, but hears rumours that his brother John has become a Catholic and is now making cannons for the Spanish ... All are caught up in the ruthless intrigues of the Court and Inquisition. All play their part in turning the destiny of nations.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Nautical

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

I was born in Staffordshire, near Etruria, the place made famous by Josiah Wedgwood, but was brought up in Sydney, Australia and later in Lancashire, England. I studied astrophysics at Newcastle University, where I started the student science fiction society. Writing novels has always played a part in my life, and I've tried to see the world enough to be able to write fiction with the help of personal experience.

After university, the US oil industry was booming so I went to Dallas, Texas, later on I worked on rigs in various parts of the Middle East and the war-torn heart of Africa. I was aboard the Ron Tappmeyer, a rig that blew out in the Persian Gulf, killing 19 men. It was dangerous work, but well-paid, and it took me to places that outsiders rarely see, like the Rub-al-Khali of Arabia and hard-to-reach parts of equatorial Africa.

When I left the oilfields, I spent time on travel, first to East Berlin and Warsaw, then to Moscow and Leningrad. From there I took the Trans-Siberian railway to Japan. In Hong Kong, I worked on a road survey, took tea with the heir of the last king of Upper Burma near Mandalay, and on the path to Everest base camp just happened to run into Sir Edmund Hillary. After traveling around most of India, Sri Lanka and Indonesia, I returned home and took up a job with the BBC. Four years later, I left BBC TV to write. I finally settled in London, but I still like to head off to interesting parts when time allows.

Reviews

[Zitong Ren · Rating 2 out of 5]

Armada is a historical novel, that is overall quite well written and fleshed out. It has true historical figures such as Sir Francis Drake and their achievements. The pacing of the book is a bit odd at times and the ending felt far too rushed with it ending quickly after what was a short summary of the events after the defeat of the Armada. For much of the book, it is very draggy and despite the time passing, years at a time which is strange enough and messes horribly with the pacing. Not a bad book, but it has bad pacing and mediocre characters and writing. You want a good historical novel, go read something like Pillars of the Earth. 6/10.

[James Titterton · Rating 1 out of 5]

I got about halfway through this book and gave up. It's an achievement that the author has made a story of grand intrigue, privateers and slavery quite so flat and boring. Avoid!

[Matthew Roy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my favorite books in the universe. I am 9 and think it is amazing. An amazing clash between space, fantasy, tech, and sort of mystery-ish stuff!

[Ann-marie Amee · Rating 3 out of 5]

The internal narration to explain the history was very tedious for me.

[Verfaille Dirk]

Ein zutiefst glaubwürdiger Roman.

[Dave · Rating 3 out of 5]

Needs to be read quickly and it's easy to loose track of the bit part characters.
And yeah the ending could of been expanded.

[Ralph · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Armada" is a well-written, well-plotted historical novel, populated with fully fleshed characters both plucked from the pages of history and fashioned by the author's fecund imagination. More importantly, though, the book is well researched, is filled with the nuances of everyday life in another age, and does not appear to sacrifice much (if any) historical fact for the sake of a good rousing tale. "Armada" is set during the Elizabethan Era, when Spain and England were implacable enemies, as much the result of competition for world domination and New World gold as it was sexual tension and religious differences between Spain's Phillip and England's "Virgin Queen." Two brothers are set upon different paths by an event well documented in the historical records, one returning to England, the other, a master cannon-maker, being captured by the Spanish. Author Robert Carter does an excellent job in weaving his fictional tale through the life of notorious real-life English hero Sir Francis Drake and the events which led to the defeat of the Spanish Armada. The narrative voice is authoritative and driving, pulling the reader into a long-lost world of exciting adventure and dark intrigues; the dialogue retains an authentic ring, true to the times without being incomprehensible to the modern reader. Dangerous journeys, exciting sea battles, political conspiracies, personal tragedy, historical verisimilitude, and great writing -- "Armada" will appeal to fans of historical fiction, adventure novels, nautical tales, and students of Elizabethan history.

[Alyn Lunt · Rating 5 out of 5]

great book.