The Maddest Idea
The Isaac Biddlecomb Series, Book 2
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The Maddest Idea
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Narrated by:
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John Lee
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By:
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James L. Nelson
About this listen
The Maddest Idea continues the powerful saga of the American Revolution with another stirring, dramatic maritime adventure.
In the late summer of 1775, General George Washington discovers that his cache of gunpowder has dwindled to a mere nine shots per man. A desperate plan is hatched—to send a ship under the command of Captain Isaac Biddlecomb to Bermuda to capture the British powder known to be there. But the plan is a trap, set by a traitor among the patriots, and one from which even Biddlecomb cannot escape. Washington dispatches his aide-de-camp, Major Edward Fitzgerald, to hunt the traitor down, while Biddlecomb must rely on cunning and seamanship to free his men and the ship and to capture the gunpowder that is the lifeblood of the fight for liberty.
Divided by an ocean but bound by the cause, as well as by their own private fears, Biddlecomb and Fitzgerald must take on a common enemy—the greatest military power on earth.
This is a powerful saga of the American Revolution—a stirring maritime adventure in the epic, true-to-life tradition of Patrick O’Brian.
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- By: C. S. Forester
- Narrated by: Christian Rodska
- Length: 8 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 1,912
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 1,713
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,697
Shaking off this label, a shy and lonely 17-year-old, Horatio Hornblower, embarks on a memorable career in Nelson's navy on HMS Justinian. In action, adventure, and battle he is forged into one of the most formidable junior officers in the service.
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5 out of 5 stars
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First rate historical fiction
- By Jason on 04-30-17
By: C. S. Forester
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Badge of Glory
- By: Douglas Reeman
- Narrated by: David Rintoul
- Length: 10 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 31
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 28
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 28
It was an age of empire, an age of contrast, and an age of dramatic change - and one which would determine the destinies of nations as well as of men. Captain Philip Blackwood of the Royal Marines rejoins his ship, HMS Audacious, in August of 1850, anxious to get back into action. "Per Mare - Per Terram" is the marines' motto. In the torturous heat of Africa, where they are sent to stamp out the remaining strongholds of slavery, and later, in the bitter war of the Crimea, Philip Blackwood and his men learn to obey it without question.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Good story
- By Thomas Crawford on 05-29-23
By: Douglas Reeman
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Under Enemy Colors
- By: S. Thomas Russell
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 15 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 617
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 458
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 458
At the time of the French Revolution, one of Britain's most skillful naval officers, Charles Saunders Hayden, is a young lieutenant, the son of an English father and a French mother. His abilities and his loyalty to the king of England are beyond dispute, yet his career seems doomed by his "mixed" heritage and lack of political connections. Consequently, Hayden is assigned to an aging frigate, the Themis, under the command of Captain Josiah Hart, a man known as "Faint Hart" throughout the service.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Perfect for first timer
- By Blackmac on 08-07-08
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Master and Commander
- Aubrey/Maturin Series, Book 1
- By: Patrick O'Brian
- Narrated by: Patrick Tull
- Length: 16 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 7,306
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 5,722
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 5,692
This, the first in the splendid series of Jack Aubrey novels, establishes the friendship between Captain Aubrey, Royal Navy, and Stephen Maturin, ship's surgeon and intelligence agent, against the thrilling backdrop of the Napoleonic wars. Details of life aboard a man-of-war in Nelson's navy are faultlessly rendered: the conversational idiom of the officers in the ward room and the men on the lower deck, the food, the floggings, the mysteries of the wind and the rigging, and the road of broadsides as the great ships close in battle.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Choice of Narrators
- By Frank R. Adams on 04-23-10
By: Patrick O'Brian
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The King's Coat
- By: Dewey Lambdin
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 13 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 733
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 628
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 621
It is 1780, and 17-year-old Alan Lewrie is a brash, rebellious young libertine. So much so that his callous father believes a bit of naval discipline will turn the boy around. Fresh aboard the tall-masted Ariadne, Midshipman Lewrie heads for the war-torn Americas, finding - rather unexpectedly - that he is a born sailor, equally at home with the randy pleasures of the port and the raging battles on the high seas. But in a hail of cannonballs comes a bawdy surprise.
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5 out of 5 stars
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"Sex, Swords, Sailing Ships"
- By Andrew on 05-16-10
By: Dewey Lambdin
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To Risks Unknown
- By: Douglas Reeman
- Narrated by: David Rintoul
- Length: 12 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 42
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 38
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 38
The year: 1943. Now there was to be no more retreat for Britain and her Allies. At last the war was to be carried into enemy territory. And from captured bases and makeshift harbours in North Africa, the Royal Navy's Special Force was to be the probe and the spearhead of the advance. To this unorthodox war came the corvette H. M. S. Thistle and her commanding officer, John Crispin.
By: Douglas Reeman
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Flint & Silver
- A Prequel to Treasure Island
- By: John Drake
- Narrated by: Tim Gregory
- Length: 11 hrs and 49 mins
- Abridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 132
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 118
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 118
A swashbuckling triumph of storytelling, Flint and Silver provides a thrilling ride back to the rich and wondrous world of Long John Silver and his fiendish nemesis Joseph Flint in this prequel to the beloved classic Treasure Island.
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4 out of 5 stars
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where are the other two books in the series??
- By Scott Pruitt on 05-31-18
By: John Drake
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The Bright and Breaking Sea
- Kit Brightling Series, Book 1
- By: Chloe Neill
- Narrated by: Danielle Cohen
- Length: 10 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 63
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 53
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 53
Kit Brightling, rescued as a foundling and raised in a home for talented girls, has worked hard to rise through the ranks of the Isles' Crown Command and become one of the few female captains in Queen Charlotte's fleet. Her ship is small, but she's fast - in part because of Kit's magical affinity to the sea. But the waters become perilous when the queen sends Kit on a special mission with a partner she never asked for. Rian Grant, Viscount Queenscliffe, may be a veteran of the Continental war, but Kit doesn't know him or his motives....
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4 out of 5 stars
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It's really good, but not quite great
- By Mariya Joldzic on 11-29-20
By: Chloe Neill
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Under the Black Ensign
- By: L. Ron Hubbard
- Narrated by: Marisol Nichols
- Length: 1 hr and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 36
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 33
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 33
Long before Captain Jack Sparrow raised hell with the Pirates of the Caribbean, Tom Bristol sailed to hell and back Under the Black Ensign. That’s where the real adventure begins. Bristol’s had plenty of bad luck in his life. Press-ganged into serving aboard a British vessel, he’s served under the threat of the cruel captain’s lash on his back. Then, freed from his servitude by pirates, his good fortune immediately takes a bad turn...as the pirates accuse him of murder - and leave him to die on a deserted island.
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4 out of 5 stars
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A fun Pirate adventure!
- By Miles Forman on 12-08-22
By: L. Ron Hubbard
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Bloody Jack
- By: L. A. Meyer
- Narrated by: Katherine Kellgren
- Length: 7 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 3,456
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,766
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2,769
Life as a ship's boy aboard HMS Dolphin is a dream come true for Jacky Faber. Gone are the days of scavenging for food and fighting for survival on the streets of 18th-century London. Instead, Jacky is becoming a skilled and respected sailor as the crew pursues pirates on the high seas. There's only one problem: Jacky is a girl. And she will have to use every bit of her spirit, wit, and courage to keep the crew from discovering her secret.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Sometimes it clicks
- By Terry on 12-09-09
By: L. A. Meyer
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Burning Bright
- Extraordinaries Series, Book 1
- By: Melissa McShane
- Narrated by: Cat Gould
- Length: 12 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 225
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 202
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 199
Elinor is an Extraordinary and the only one in England capable of wielding fire in over 100 years. As an Extraordinary she is respected and feared, but to her father she represents power and prestige for himself. Mr. Pembroke, having spent his life studying magic, is determined to control Elinor and her talent by forcing her to marry whom he chooses, a marriage that will produce even more powerful offspring.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Amazing story and narration!
- By sweetliks on 07-06-17
By: Melissa McShane
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Event
- By: David L. Golemon
- Narrated by: Richard Poe
- Length: 16 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,085
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 973
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Story4 out of 5 stars 967
In the summer of 1947, an unidentified object crashed in Roswell, New Mexico. There were no survivors. Now it's happened again. But this time, two creatures have emerged from the wreckage alive.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A Great Series.
- By Frank on 07-29-13
By: David L. Golemon
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'Slaves of Sleep' and 'The Masters of Sleep'
- By: L. Ron Hubbard
- Narrated by: Rene Auberjonois
- Length: 5 hrs and 29 mins
- Abridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 37
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 28
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 28
Young, wealthy, and good-looking, Jan Palmer leads the kind of life most of us would die for. He has it all - except for one thing: happiness. Trapped under the weight of his responsibilities to his family, his business, and his life, he wishes only to escape to another world. But you have to be careful what you wish for. Waking out of a deep sleep, Jan finally finds escape - into a living nightmare.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Incredible. Spellbinding. Hubbard is a genius!
- By Freddie Ulan on 07-22-18
By: L. Ron Hubbard
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Sea of Poppies
- Ibis Trilogy, Book 1
- By: Amitav Ghosh
- Narrated by: Phil Gigante
- Length: 18 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 754
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 518
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 519
At the heart of this vibrant saga is an immense ship, the Ibis. Its destiny is a tumultuous voyage across the Indian Ocean, its purpose to fight China's vicious 19th-century Opium Wars. As for the crew, they are a motley array of sailors and stowaways, coolies and convicts.
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5 out of 5 stars
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ignorance may be bliss
- By Evelyn M Kloepper on 07-27-09
By: Amitav Ghosh
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The House of the Four Winds
- One Dozen Daughters, Book 1
- By: Mercedes Lackey, James Mallory
- Narrated by: Emily Sutton-Smith
- Length: 10 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 357
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 318
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Story4 out of 5 stars 319
The rulers of tiny, impoverished Swansgaard have twelve daughters and one son. While the prince’s future is assured, his twelve sisters must find their own fortunes. Disguising herself as Clarence, Princess Clarice intends to sail to the New World. When the crew rebels, Clarice/Clarence, an expert with rapier and dagger, sides with the handsome navigator, Dominick, and kills the cruel captain. Dominick leads the now - outlawed crew in search of treasure in the secret pirate haven known as The House of the Four Winds.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Solid story, but this one is popcorn
- By Phillip on 09-19-14
By: Mercedes Lackey, and others
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Into the Storm
- Destroyermen, Book 1
- By: Taylor Anderson
- Narrated by: William Dufris
- Length: 16 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 4,331
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 3,339
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 3,337
Pressed into service when World War II breaks out in the Pacific, the USS Walker---a Great-War vintage "four-stacker" destroyer---finds itself in full retreat from pursuit by Japanese battleships. Its captain, Lieutenant Commander Matthew Patrick Reddy, knows that he and his crew are in dire straits. In desperation, he heads Walker into a squall, hoping it will give them cover---and emerges somewhere else.
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3 out of 5 stars
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It just never grabbed me.
- By Lore on 05-01-12
By: Taylor Anderson
What listeners say about The Maddest Idea
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Jerry and Mary
- 09-11-22
Relatable characters
What I like about these stories is that the characters are not perfect. They are well developed and not burdened by the immutable laws of political correctness. I don’t understand most of the naval terminology but appreciate the fact that James Nelson knows it very well and adds to the realism of the action. I think I’m usually in the right part of the ship when the action begins. Characters are well developed and not one dimensional. The narrator is excellent and I’ll listen to the complete series.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- J. Miller
- 04-29-22
Every Day is Talk like a Pirate Day!
Arrrrggghh! Shiver me timbers, haul out! Lower the top gallants! What fun! I love this genre and even if you don't know what they are talking about, you can still feel as if you are right in the middle of a sea battle. Great story, history comes to life, and a terrific narration.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Ian G. Drake
- 04-03-22
Another fun story
This is a very original story line in a genre in which it's difficult to be original. hope to listen to more in the series.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Happy Reader
- 10-01-23
Even Better than the1st in the Series
Really top-drawer adventure. The author really knows how to tell a story. This is becoming one of my favorite series of historical novels about the age of sail. Great stuff!!!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Kileigh Ryan
- 04-26-22
favorite
it keeps u in suspense the entire book up to the last chapter masterfully written heavy on the sailing terminology which speaks to an old sailor's heart!!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- GravelGertie
- 01-28-23
WOW. WOW. WOWWW!
IT KEEPS GETTING BETTER AND BETTER! 2nd in the Isaac Biddlecomb series and WHAT an ending!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- K. B.
- 10-15-23
Outstanding!
There’s only one Patrick O’Brien, but James Nelson runs pretty close. John Lee’s narration is superb (@ 1.2x speed). Plenty of action, adept plotting.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Jim Moss
- 07-16-24
historical and fictional blending
liked story and very much the teader. good suspense, accurate historical rendering not much else to say 5 star in every aspect
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