Southern Seahawk (Audible Audio Edition) Randall Peffer Jonathan Davis Audible Studios Books
Download As PDF : Southern Seahawk (Audible Audio Edition) Randall Peffer Jonathan Davis Audible Studios Books
Southern Seahawk, the first novel in the Seahawk Trilogy, grows from the true story of Commander Rafael Semmes' rise to infamy, becoming the Union's Public Enemy Number One. In June, 1861, Semmes' Confederate cruiser Sumter makes a daring escape through the Federal Blockade of the Mississippi. So begins the commander's career as the Southern Seahawk. With a hand-picked crew of Southern officers and mercenary seamen, Semmes seizes eight enemy ships in four days, a record never surpassed by any other captain of a warship.
By the time the cruises of the Sumter and her successor Alabama end, Semmes will have taken and burned more than 80 prizes, making him the most successful maritime predator in history. For two and a half years Semmes eludes a pack of pursuers and almost single-handedly drives marine insurance rates so high in the North, that many Yankee ships refuse to sail until he is caught. Back in Washington, Semmes' predations fuel feuds within the Lincoln cabinet and incite the spy games of historical figures like courtesans Rose Greenhow, Betty Duval, detective Allan Pinkerton and the commander s mistress.
Southern Seahawk (Audible Audio Edition) Randall Peffer Jonathan Davis Audible Studios Books
President Reagan famously said of the Sandinistas in Nicaragua that they were terrorists, making it clear that the line between terrorists and rebels is a thin one.Set in the opening months of the US Civil War, Southern Seahawk focuses on a small ship--which for a while constituted the entirety of the navy of the Confederacy--which slipped out of New Orleans, and began to play havoc, intercepting, seizing, and sometimes destroying, ships from the north importing or exporting goods. This had an immediate impact, both on public opinion, but more importantly on the insurance companies without which no one would finance a ship load of merchandise.
Fighting internal battles in Lincoln's administration, spies in Washington, and an attempted coup by naval officers, ships set out to find the Confederate "pirates." The ensuing drama forms the heart of Southern Seahawk.
Well done...although it's apolitical viewpoint made it difficult for me--slavery is barely mentioned, thus making the moral ambiguity work...as long as you don't think too hard about what the two sides are fighting for. But in the end, the good characters, and insight into a part of the Civil War I knew nothing at all about won me over. Looking forward to the second and third volumes of the trilogy.
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Southern Seahawk (Audible Audio Edition) Randall Peffer Jonathan Davis Audible Studios Books Reviews
I'm a big fan of all things nautical and of 's free books. Recently I've been reading about privateers and a couple of books about Confederate privateers of the Civil War. (The trial of the crew of the Savannah was one) When I saw Southern Seahawk on the free list I snapped it up. HORRIBLE. Written as if by someone with a middle school grasp of plotting and character development. It's no Gone With The Wind but it was soon gone from my .
This is a story written to the 1850's pirate within the author himself. It's not written in a style which would make it easy for today's readers to interpret. I'm at 40 percent of the story; I've had lots of sailing background and can interpret much of what has been written. But I'm stopping here at this point because I'm not entertained, I feel like I've been thrown overboard without a line tossed to me. Besides, I'm not sure how much authentic Civil War history is in this book. I do feel, however, that this is a great achievement for the author.
I do recommend this book even with a 3 star rating.
For me reading historical fiction is like "...a spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down". So, I am a general fan of historical fiction with this book being no exception. In this case though the medicinal history is sweet enough. Had the book used a little less sugary fiction, it might have better served the reader.
I was unaware of most of this civil war naval history and development during the civil war except for the Mississippi River, New Orleans,the Blockade, and the Monitor vs Merrimack. For me, this history of a Confederate buccaneer and crew successfully terrorizing the southern shipping lanes, while true, was almost unimaginable consider the odds against them. The technology of combining coal, steam and sail must have been extremely difficult to master. Finding the strategic island ports capable to provide coal in the Caribbean must have been very difficult in the 1860's. I liked how the book described the receptions and interactions with the local colonial powers that owned the island colonies. Each interaction reflected the European hope of how the US Civil war should turnout for their needs. I found these parts engaging and enlightening.
Yet, the fiction intended to blend the facts together was awkward and disconnected. The author did not create characters that got me involved emotionally with their plight. I did not relate to them, like them, hate them, or fear them. They were caricatures of main characters.
So overall I DO think the book is worth reading for its historical perspective and knowledge. I WISH the fiction could have been more engaging.
Randall Peffer's historical novel, "Southern Seahawk" is the story of a handful of men from the north, a few from the south and two women during the beginning of the American Civil War. The story brings together the usual suspects, unrequited love from the point of view of women and men, the competition between men, and the dilemma of men facing their own failures and successes.
To say that the plot in this novel is gripping doesn't begin to describe the tensions in every paragraph, page, and chapter. Author Peffer is truly amazing--the protagonists mentioned above lead complicated lives, e.g., a northern sea captain gone south for his devotion to the cause, one who is incidentally struggling with a great failure in having lost his ship in a historical storm. Captain Ralph Semmes also leaves behind a young mistress who has lured him away from his wife and children.
The story is even more complicated as during his absence the mistress takes on prostitution and espionage. AND there are many many tightly woven stories in this novel, all of which will bolt you to the edge of your seat alternately cheering and hissing the heroes and villains. A great deal of this fast moving tale is Captain Semmes's work and reputation as a seahawk, i.e. pirate, blockade buster for the south often against his own former classmates from West Point.
You're guaranteed you won't be able to put this book down - I read it in one weekend (while dirty dishes waited in the sink). Randall Peffer doesn't tell you things, he takes you there so you can see for yourself. His knowledge of the period and its people (including President Lincoln) and their personalities is awesome, his knowledge of sailing and steam-driven ships is stunning.
Reading this book, you'll feel as though you've climbed up into the rigging, coaled up the boiler, and loaded the cannons yourself. As but one example from hundreds in Southern Seahawk, the following sample takes you below decks when they're close to losing the ship
"He scowls, stomps toward the engine room hatch. Even from yards away he can hear the grinding of machinery. As he starts down the ladder the withering heat hits him. The Sumter's engine space always seems hot as an oven, but here in the tropics the place is an absolute Hades. The draft of the fire boxes sucks a half-gale of wind down the hatchway . . . A ragged silhouette is cranking a pipe wrench on a fuming joint in a steam-return line. In the background, flames roar from a half-dozen open fire boxes. Blackened figures, wearing nothing but head rags and their small shorts heave shovel-loads into the monster's mouth. Piston rods beat up and down. An oiler with his long-spout squirts down shaft bearings . . . He doesn't look up, keeps at the pipe joint, spits out a mouthful of black phlegm onto the pipe where it sputters up and down until it vaporizes."
If you like American historical fiction of the civil war period, in particular that involving ships at sea, one read of "Southern Seahawk" and you will join the fans of Randall Peffer. Add this book to your must read shelf.
President Reagan famously said of the Sandinistas in Nicaragua that they were terrorists, making it clear that the line between terrorists and rebels is a thin one.
Set in the opening months of the US Civil War, Southern Seahawk focuses on a small ship--which for a while constituted the entirety of the navy of the Confederacy--which slipped out of New Orleans, and began to play havoc, intercepting, seizing, and sometimes destroying, ships from the north importing or exporting goods. This had an immediate impact, both on public opinion, but more importantly on the insurance companies without which no one would finance a ship load of merchandise.
Fighting internal battles in Lincoln's administration, spies in Washington, and an attempted coup by naval officers, ships set out to find the Confederate "pirates." The ensuing drama forms the heart of Southern Seahawk.
Well done...although it's apolitical viewpoint made it difficult for me--slavery is barely mentioned, thus making the moral ambiguity work...as long as you don't think too hard about what the two sides are fighting for. But in the end, the good characters, and insight into a part of the Civil War I knew nothing at all about won me over. Looking forward to the second and third volumes of the trilogy.
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