THUNDERER: Coming Next!
When I first started to write the Kydd Series little did I realise that my original conception of perhaps a dozen titles would more than double. The more I delved into the historical record the greater scope I found for Kydd, Renzi and the rest of the fearless crew for adventures up to and beyond the Battle of Trafalgar. This year sees the publication of the 24th title in the series, Thunderer. As the cover reveals, in this book Kydd is given a 74 gun ship-of-the-line.
Here’s a taster of the book :
1812. Arriving back in England after his successes in the Adriatic, Captain Sir Thomas Kydd is bestowed with honours. In London he’s greeted by the Prince Regent who, despite Kydd’s protestations that he’s happy with his present command, insists he be given a bigger ship – HMS Thunderer, a 74-gun ship of the line. But she’s old, and being part of a standing fleet Kydd’s chances of further fame and distinction are slim indeed.
Winning over his new command is fraught with challenges. A mighty battleship but a hostile crew, abysmal levels of gunnery and sail-handling capabilities are intolerable to a fighting captain like Kydd. With the ship short of men and no incentives to attract more, can he ever bring Thunderer to a proper state of fighting preparedness?
Kydd is sent to reinforce the Baltic squadron as Bonaparte’s vast army invades Russia. News reaches him of French victory at the Battle of Borodino. The road to Moscow is now open. With his new command Kydd is thrown into a last desperate bid to prevent Bonaparte establishing a bridgehead from which to finally encircle and crush Britain’s stricken ally.
About half of my writing year is taken up with research and while Covid curtailed my location research travels for the time being fortunately I had been to many of the locations in this book on previous trips. My by-now very extensive personal library of books and journals was well thumbed in the course of writing but one title in particular proved indispensible, the splendid four-volume ‘The Seventy-Four Gun Ship’ by the peerless Jean Boudriot.
Collectors Set
As usual there is a Collectors Set being offered but don’t delay reserving a copy if you’re interested to avoid disappointment. It is strictly limited to 500 Sets. Contact admin@julianstockwin.com with your details. Should you wish to pre-pay for a Collectors Set go to https://julianstockwin.com/kydd-series-collectors-set/ for the payment details.
Julian Stockwin 
I discovered the Hornblower Saga because of the Warner’s film shown on TV when I was a kid. Then as an older adult, your stories thrilled me as more naval adventures of the British during that time period. I just finished reading in order the entire series and was disappointed I was out of new stories. What’s the publication date for “Thunderer”?
Great story telling. Any chance of a film in theses super hero times?
Great to hear you enjoyed the series so far, Ronald! THUNDERER is out October 7. And fingers crossed for a TV series or film at some point…
Looking forward to read new adventure. With fictional character copy rights it’s a shame the two best captains can’t at least pass as ships in the night. sort of a cameo.
Keep them coming.
Looking forward to your new book. When do you expect the paperback for:To the Eastern Sea to be released. It was to be released on February 9th this year. Bookdepository reports: Awaiting publication .May be I should cancel my order for the paperback and order the paperback instead? What do you think? Happy Easter. Peter Pfeiffer Phuket Thailand
The paperback of TO THE EASTERN SEAS came out in Sept. Perhaps the BookDepository is out of stock. You could try Wordery https://wordery.com/search?term=To+the+Eastern+Seas+Stockwin – Good luck! J
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I hope Kydd gets involved in the War of 1812 somehow!
You’ll have to wait and see…
As always Julian, Looking forward to receiving it Julian, Alan
Hope you enjoy the read, Alan
Please Note my new email address is mikeandkate132@gmail.com. Please send all future notifications to my new address.
Many thanks for your excellent books, I haven’t missed any.
Keep them coming,
Mike
Delighted you’re enjoying my Kydd tales, Mike. Can you tell me your old email address so I can amend our records. Thanks!