Command A King's Ship

Multi-million copy seller Alexander Kent, brings us another adrenalin-fuelled maritime page-turner full of swashbuckling action and derring-do. Fans of Patrick O'Brian and C. S. Forester will not be disappointed!
'The battle scenes are described so vividly that Alexander Kent must surely have been there himself in a previous incarnation' -- The Nautical Magazine
'As ever, Kent evokes the blood and smoke of battle in crimson-vivid prose' -- Mail on Sunday
'A tale of angry passion, envy and adventure' -- Bookseller
'Great story, great characters, plenty of action' -- ***** Reader review
'As usual, the master writer has done it again' -- ***** Reader review
'Could not put the book down once started'-- ***** Reader review
'Wonderful' -- ***** Reader review

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1784: at a time when most of the fleet is laid up, His Majesty's frigate Undine weighs anchor at Spithead to begin a voyage to India and far beyond. As her new captain, Richard Bolitho is glad to go, despite the nature of his orders and the immensity of the voyage - for he is leaving an England still suffering from the aftermath of war.

But he is to learn that signatures on proud documents do not necessarily make a lasting peace, and finds himself involved in a conflict as ruthless as the one which had given him his first command during the war with France.

In an uneasy peace, the expansion of trade and colonial development in little-known areas of the East Indies soon push aside the pretence and bring the guns' fury into the open.

There is no set line of battle or declared cause to rally Undine's small company, but the dangers and the endless demands have to be faced by the man who commands the only King's ship available.

Bolitho's adventures continue in Passage to Mutiny.