Sailor of Liberty (The Philippe Kermorvant Thrillers, 1)
1793: France is in the grip of a fanatical regime and the age of Madame Guillotine as terror rules and heads fall. Philippe Kermorvant, son of an English aristocratic mother and a French nobleman, arrives in his father’s homeland, touching Brittany soil for the first time. He has been serving as a successful officer in the fledgling United States and Russian Navies. Kermorvant’s ideals align with the new French Republic. However, seeing their justice put into macabre reality challenges his acceptance of their methods. His loyalty to the republic leads him into a life-and-death battle on the high seas, which ends in a dramatic cliff-hanger, a decision that will change his life forever.
Kermorvant is an appealing action-hero who will take the reader on a politically sensitive path from his toxic homecoming on French soil to brilliantly described battles on the high seas. His troubled family background provides tense inner conflicts as he strives to follow loyally the republic ideals as held by his father. I liked the determined character of his sister-in-law, Leonore, who gives so much of herself to hold the family and their lands together. She is just one example of the complex family relationships his life is filled with. The author conveys a vast amount of knowledge about this period of French history, refreshingly told from the French perspective. The action at sea and naval history is revealed at a pace, never drowning out the excitement and drama of the unfolding action, and is easy to visualise. An excellent, opening book to this thriller series from a master storyteller. I look forward to reading the next in this series and following Philippe as he takes the next step. Highly recommended.
