This historical swashbuckling romp around the Caribbean was a delight. A great cast of characters take us through thrills and spills on land and sea.

This was a great story of pirates and their enemies in the Caribbean in the late 1770s. Some great characters and a story of non stop action. Enemies becoming friends and help coming from unexpected directions. A very enjoyable read of swashbuckling and daring do on the high seas.

This was a great read. It was full of adventure and It made me feel as though I was apart of the crew. This "Rag Tag" band of misfits were something. I really enjoyed this book and if sailing and adventures on the high seas are your thing then this book is for you.

I didn't enjoy this book. I was expecting more excitement.

A thoroughly rousing tall ship tale centered around the Caribbean. Westerbrook thoroughly knows his tall ships, artillery, points of sail, strategy, and tactics. The ship battles are thrilling, the villains despicable, the various captains given personality, motive, and maneuverability of their own.

I also enjoyed the female characters, who are given plenty of agency; I expect that "Beauty", Captain Fallon's first mate and later captain on her own, would not have been given as much respect as she is here, but this is a sea-faring adventure yarn, so I'm perfectly willing to go with it. Especially as Beauty is not Captain Fallon's love interest, who is a terrific character on her own.

The twists and turns of the story kept me guessing. The butcher's bill is high, as you'd expect in ship to ship warfare, especially with pirates, and the slippery French playing havoc with their putative Spanish allies.

The people of color in this story also get treated with far more respect than was historically accurate, and again I am totally willing to go with it.

Westbrook writes with dashing verve, offering plenty of historical detail about famous ports and pirate haunts as well as the ships that sailed in and out of him. I look forward to more tall ship action stories from his pen.

This was a truly fascinating adventure on the high seas! There is action, epic sea battles, mystery, adventure and betrayal. Fans of Clive Cussler will enjoy this historical romp through the 16th century Caribbean at the height of the golden age of piracy.
The only thing that I struggled with was the abundance of unfamiliar nautical terminology, but if you have an e-reader, the dictionary is just a click away.
Overall I would highly recommend this book!

"He's not afraid of action, blood, history or politics," wrote a pre review of this yarn based on the high seas of the Caribbean.
It is the 1770s and Captain Nicholas (Nico)Fallon, who was previously a Royal Naval Officer, is now the brave and intelligent Captain of the Sea Dog. Based in Bermuda he sails across the seas transporting salt- known as White Gold, a valuable commodity for trade in these waters and islands. His boss Ezra Somers sees Nico as a loyal employee and views his potential for a future business partnership. Family links are further added as Ezra's beautiful daughter Elinore is in love with the Captain.
Soon the waves are lapped by the British, who now find themselves in conflict with both France and Spain joining as allies against the British Navy. There is also the threat of pirates - particularly Wicked Jak Clayton.
Life on the Caribbean islands is atmospherically described and the many sea battles (not usually something I would enjoy reading) are detailed and sympathetic to the fears and comradeship of the sailors.
My only criticism might be the retrospective insertion of contemporary themes which slightly jarred.
Nico's first mate is a woman, Beauty (who had grown up with Nico on Bermuda). She is feisty young woman with one wooden leg and a lesbian lover. All totally feasible for the 18th century but somewhat felt placed (perhaps with a film version in mind?) There is also debate about the benefits of limes for scurvy and disgust at slavery.
Overall it's a page turner which draw me into the developing plot. I learnt a lot about sailing the high seas and the trading methods that traversed the continents with new sources of wealth.
It's certainly no thigh slapping Captain Jack Sparrow, so in many respects much more entertaining.

Nicholas Fallon is captain of the Sea Dog, and he is very good at what he does. When he learns of Wicked Jack Clayton is terrorizing the shipping lines, he throws his lot in to help bring the man down. Sea battles, traitors, cowardly allies, and life or death fights follow.

The story put me in mind of Rafael Sabatini's pirate novels, only with more blood and A LOT more swearing. So, I was left feeling divided by the story. On the one hand, it is a nice start to a series about a character, Fallon, who is a believable privateer. However, the swearing was a major turn off, although it probably is accurate for the time period.

Fallon is a good captain, one who cares about the crew. He is very clever, which was an excellent quality for a captain. To be honest, though, none of the side characters were memorable at all, save for Clayton. Overall, the story is paced well and written well.

For readers who enjoy a sea adventure and don't mind the constant use of the 'F' word, this may be the series for you.

Westbrook's first novel in a projected series in the vein of Forester and O'Brian is a winner--mixing the right amount of nautical detail with drama and politics on land. I will be interested to see how this series develops.