Another insightful review of Britannia's Reach

I was much flattered by reading the most recent 5-Star review of Britannia's Reach on amazon.co.uk. It was filed by M.J. Willis and, by pure coincidence, reflects on the theme of my blog posting yesterday on the Mephistophelean bargain at the core of the story. Mr. Willis's review reads as follows:

"Antoine Vanner once again spins an enthralling yarn based around the fascinating and relatively

little known ironclad era. Commander Nicholas Dawlish returns, this time in charge of a ragtag

collection of gunboats and monitors making for a breakaway state up a remote South American river. Just as in his previous mission, Dawlish has to contend with determined enemies on the water and dubious allies ashore, and the moral high ground has been left back in England. This is no straightforward tale of derring do - Vanner's hard-edged, driven character skirts dangerously close to being out of his depth, and it's not at all clear that Dawlish has picked the right side. Moreover, this is a tale that has lots to say to a modern audience about Western adventurism and the effect of cold material interests on the least privileged. This is both heart-pounding adventure and a nuanced exploration of the nature of power and money."

Another recent review, by J.Harvey, reads:

"An enjoyable and entertaining read. Well written and obviously a lot of research has gone into this book. Can't wait until the next episode of the Dawlish Chronicles. Please, please, just this once, can 'Old Nick' come out on top?"

And Dawlish will be appearing in is next adventure around the end of this year. He won't be finding it easy to fulfill Sir Richard Topcliffe's Machievellian orders but on this occasion he'll have the lovely and resourceful Florence by his side to sustain him!