Britannia's Wolf by Antoine Vanner is set during the Russo-Turkish War of 1877. Perhaps unusually for the first book in a new series about the Royal Navy, The Dawlish Chronicles, the entire book is spent with the principal character seconded to a foreign power, Turkey, but this worked well.
Dawlish has to retake his future command from a rebellious Turk, but he is soon in command of an ironclad and, despite the language and cultural difficulties, getting the ship ready for sea and bringing some esprit de corps to it's crew. Throughout the book there are some well written action scenes both at sea and ashore as Dawlish and his men seek to stem the relentless Russian advances despite some of the political intriguing that was expected in the levant at the time. The rivalries that started this war are ones that still echo through to modern times and as I have not studied this period before it was a pleasure to read about the origins of these conflicts. However, be warned that at the time little concern was showed for civilians and the narrative graphically brings to life some of the atrocities that marked this conflict.
There is a lot to this well written novel which is of a good standard for a self published work and the text flowed smoothly holding my attention well. Although it is not set in the Age of Sail will I want to read more of Dawlish's adventures? Yes I will. Recommended.
Description of: Britannia's Wolf
Author: Antoine Vanner
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