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New Releases From Fireship Press 2013
George Cadwalader, The Unmarked Road: Marine Gunnery Sergeant John "K-Bar" Caleb has survived everything the
Vietnam War could throw at him, as his many Bronze Stars attest
until a grenade explosion sends him to Philadelphia's Naval Hospital.
There he violently relives his battles in recurring nightmares,
undermining the doctors' efforts to save his mangled arm and hand. In
a final gamble Caleb is sent for treatment in the hospital's psych
ward, where the windows are barred and the walls show marks where men
before him have tried to claw their way out. To regain his life again,
Caleb must come to terms with everything he has seen, everything he has
done, and all that he has lost in a prolonged conflict between
conviction and conscience. (Historical Fiction)
J. F. Holden-Rhodes, Smart and Faithful Force: A superb account of the contributions of a truly fascinating character in the history of our
nation and the Marine Corps, Henry Clay Cochrane, a hero, reformer and innovator. This is a must
read for those interested in understanding the historical evolution of
the Marine Corps into the renowned fighting force it has become. "Jim Holden-Rhodes rescues the history of the Marine Corps from the
post-Civil War "dark Ages' or organizational stagnation. The career of
Henry Clay Cochrane shows that a few brave reformers pushed the Marine
Corps to higher standards of appearance, discipline, training and
marksmanship. As it entered its imperial years, 1898-1933, the Marine
Corps showed that its soaring self esteem was justified by it's fighting
skills. Cochrane showed the way." ...Allan R. Millett, Author, Semper
Fidelis: The History of the United States. (Nautical nonfiction)
Kenneth Leland, 1812 The Land Between Flowing Waters: Four families struggling to survive in the time of the 1812 war. The
Benjamins found freedom from slavery in Upper Canada and now, must defend their new homeland from impending American invasion. The Babcocks are pacifist Quakers
who have found a place of peace, security and tolerance in the British
province, yet they too are threatened as the war begins to flow around
them. For Kshiwe, Kmonokwe and their children, 1812 is just
another season of fear among First Nations people facing extinction. In the shadows of Tecumseh and Brock, all join in the fight to survive. (Historical Fiction)
Marina Neary, Wynfield's Kingdom: Re-released with stunning new covers. Welcome to 1830s Bermondsey, London's
most notorious slum, a land of gang wars, freak shows, and home to every
depravity known to man. Dr. Thomas Grant, a disgraced physician,
adopts Wynfield, a ten-year old thief savagely battered by a gang leader
for insubordination. The boy grows up to be a slender, idealistic opium
addict who worships Victor Hugo. By day he steals and resells guns from
a weapons factory. By night he amuses filthy crowds with his adolescent
girlfriend-a fragile witch with wolfish eyes. Wynfield senses that
he has a purpose outside of his rat-infested kingdom; but he never
guesses that he had been selected at birth to topple the British
aristocracy. (Historical Fiction)
Marina Neary, Wynfield's War : Re-released with stunning new covers. From the slums of Bermondsey, Wynfield finds
himself in the spring of 1854 in the Crimea where he experiences a chaotic military campaign. Under the influence of an
unlikely patron-the ruthless Lord Lucan,known to his Irish tenants as
"the exterminator," Lucan plans to mold Wynfield into a brainwashed ally
for his upcoming Crimean campaign. In Crimea Wynfield catches a
glimpse of the personal war between Lorn and Cardigan, which
results in the blunder known as the Charge of the Light Brigade, and
discovers the darker side of the saintly Florence Nightingale. Having seen so many
heroes trampled and so many cowards exalted, Wynfield must choose sides
and, in so doing, shape the course of the rest of his life. (Historical Fiction)
Frank Payton, Hawkwood's Sword: Vividly portrays the life of a mercenary on the battle
fields in 14th century Italy and France. A tough and resilient hero
Captain John Hawkwood commands like-minded fighting men gathered from
England and all over Europe Alongside the German and European
mercenaries lead by Albrecht Sterz, they make war for whomever pays them
the most. Hawkwood is one of the best at his trade: courageous, a
practiced fighter, but also chivalrous. The various lords of Lombardy
and the Papal states pay him to sack cities and ambush their enemies,
but who of these counts and nobles can themselves be trusted? Hawkwood
must rely on his sword and finely tuned instincts to protect his life
and that of his men from treachery and betrayal on all sides. (Historical Fiction)
John Sawney, The Ruin: A gritty tale of Dark Age Britain, where heroes are few
and the lives of thousands hinge upon the whims of greedy and unscrupulous
men. In fifth century Britannia, the Roman colony has all but disappeared; the
west and north remain wild and lawless. Plague ravages the countryside. Eiteol,
a cloddish nobleman, manages to save the dictator Vertigern from an
assassination attempt and the pair must flee for their lives. Deep
down Eiteol knows that Vertigern is a monster, and that he should abandon him to his fate. But
for reasons he does not understand, Eiteol finds himself bound to the man whose life
he has saved. Their desperate search for shelter drives them into the
barbarous west—where money has no value, the law has no power, and murder is a
daily reality. (Historical Fiction)
Jess Wells, A Slender Tether: Amidst the turbulent weather of Europe’s Little
Ice Age, A Slender Tether offers three compelling tales of
self-discovery, woven into a rich tapestry of 14th century France.
Christine de Pizan, daughter of a disgraced court physician and
astrologer, grapples with her ambition to be the first woman writer of
France. A doctor finds an unusual way to cope with the death of his
wife. And opportunity alternates with disasters in the lives of four
commoners, yoked by necessity: a paper-maker struggling to keep his
business, a falconer with a mysterious past, a merchant's daughter
frantic to avoid an arranged marriage, and a down-on-his-luck musician
with a broken guitar and the voice of an angel. (Historical Fiction)
Selected Titles From Fireship Press, 2012
View all 2012 releases on a single page, or on right hand side bar.
Alaric Bond, The Patriot's Fate: The acclaimed fifth novel in Bond's popular "Fighting Sail" series. It is 1798
and Ireland rises up against years of repression and injustice. Rebels,
supported by a mighty French invasion fleet, prepare to claim their land
but find themselves countered by a powerful British battle squadron. In The Patriot's Fate Bond
maintains a relentless pace that climaxes in thrilling naval action and
noble sacrifice." (Nautical Fiction)
James Bochert, When Jungle is Silent :
Set in Borneo of the 60s during a little known war called “the
confrontation,” this story tells of the British soldiers who fought in
one of the densest jungles in the world. Jason, a young soldier of the
Light Infantry, is stationed in Penang, an idyllic island off the
coast of Malaysia until his regiment is sent to Borneo. Fighting erupts along the
border of Sarawak and Jason has to learn to survive in a world gone
mad. (Historical Fiction)
James Bochert, Assassination in Al Qahirah: The third novel in The Talon Series
offers a riveting tale of courage, comradeship, sacrifice, and
treachery in the time of the Crusades. Embroiled in a world
seething with old enmities, intrigues and treachery at the highest
level, harried from every quarter by hired assassins and mercenaries,
they are forced to join up with unlikely allies. (Historical Fiction)
Tinney Sue Heath, A Thing Done: In 1216 the noble families of Florence hold great power, but they do not
share it easily. When a
Jester's prank-for-hire sets off a brawl, those tensions erupt
violently, dividing Florence into hostile factions. Corrado, the Jester,
whose prank began it and who is now pressed into unwilling service by
both sides must use all his wit and ingenuity to keep himself
alive and to prevent the nobles from destroying the city in a brutal civil war. (Historical Fiction)
Marc Liebman, Big Mother 40: An exciting, fast moving book about helicopter rescue operations in the Vietnam era as a Navy Helicopter pilot and a Navy Seal and their teams
perform their duties in extremely hazardous conditions. Although
fiction, Liebman's knowledge of Navy Helicopter and Navy SEAL operations
and the planning is evident
throughout the book. (Historical Fiction)
Steven Maffeo, The Perfect Wreck-- Old Ironsides and HMS Java: A Story of 1812:
December 29, 1812 - The date of one of the most dramatic sea battles in
naval history. HMS "Java" and the USS "Constitution" (the famous "Old
Ironsides") face off in the War of 1812's most spectacular blue-water
frigate action. (Nautical Fiction)
Jack Martin, Hail Columbia!, Alphonso Clay Mystery: In 1869, four years after the Civil War has ended, Southerners bristle
under the authority of a military government. Embittered Confederate
veterans secretly form the Ku Klux Klan to fight what they perceive as
their unjust oppression by the North.
Grant turns to his most trusted agent, Major Alphonso Brutus Clay, to
find a solution to end the clan's violent activities in the South. (Historical Fiction)
Roger Paine, Clear Lower Deck, A Collection of My Naval Yarns: Former Royal Navy officer Roger Paine charts the ups and
downs of life, both ashore and afloat. Together with recipes for rum
punch and rum Christmas cake, plus the traditional RN toasts for each
and every day of the week, this delightfully irreverent, and
occasionally indiscreet collection of "yarns" is here to be savored and
treasured. Shortlisted for a Mountbatten Maritime Media Award, 2010 (Nautical Nonfiction)
B.N. Peacock, The Tainted Dawn: The Great War: August 1789 --1815, Book I.
The Rights of Man. Liberty. Equality. Idealism. Patriotism. A
new age dawns. And yet, old hostilities persist: England and Spain
are on the brink of war. France, allied by treaty with Spain, readies
her warships. Three youths - the son of an English carpenter, the son
of a naval captain, and the son of a French court tailor - meet in
London, a chance encounter that entwines their lives ever after. (Nautical Fiction)
Kim Rendfeld, The Cross and the Dragon:
A tale of love in an era of war and blood feuds. Francia, 778: Alda
has never forgotten Ganelon's vow of vengeance when she married his
rival, Hruodland. Yet the jilted suitor's malice is nothing compared to
Alda's premonition of disaster for her beloved, battle-scarred
husband. (Historical Fiction)
Mary Donnarumma Sharnick, Thirst:
Venice, July, 1613: A suspicious drowning in the Lagoon and a deadly
assault on a bridge shatter the dreams of Captain Lorenzo Contarini and
his fiancée, la Signorina Caterina Zanchi, members of two noble
Venetian families. While Caterina’s severe injuries banish her from
society, her parents remove their other daughter, Leonora, from the
convent to become Lorenzo’s hasty wife. Lorenzo begins an investigation into
his half-sister’s death. (Historical Fiction)
V. E. Ulett: Captain Blackwell's Prize: A small audacious British frigate does battle
against a large but ungainly Spanish ship. British Captain Blackwell
intercepts the Spanish La Trinidad and outmaneuvers and outguns
the treasure ship then boards her. Fighting alongside the Spanish
captain sword in hand is Mercedes, a beautiful woman. The Spanish
captain is killed in the fray and his ship damaged beyond repair. Its
survivors and treasure are taken aboard the British ship, Inconstant. (Nautical Fiction)
Jason Vail, Lone Star, The Voyage of the Wasp : A new Alternative History novel. October 11, 1776. The American rebellion has failed. George Washington
is dead. The few surviving revolutionaries, led by Andrew Jackson, have
fled to Spanish territories and the wasteland called Texas. But Jackson
is not content to be a Spanish subject. He dreams large. Texas must be
free and independent from the corrupt old empires of Europe. (Cortero Fiction)
Fireship Press
Follow Us
2013 Releases
2012 Releases
Michael Fowler and Nancy McKemie: What's The Reason for All That Sneezing and Wheezing?
Roger Paine: Clear Lower Deck: A Collection of My Naval Yarns
Jack Martin: Battle Hymn of the Republic: An Alphonso Clay Mystery of the Civil War
Steven E. Maffeo: The Perfect Wreck - Old Ironsides and HMS Java: A Story of 1812
