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Books > Fiction > Genre fiction > War fiction > General
Lieutenant-Colonel Sharpe, sidelined on the Royal staff,
magnificently siezes command at the final moment of the great
victory. It is 1815. Sharpe is serving on the personal staff of the
Prince of Orange, who refuses to listen to Sharpe's reports of an
enormous army, led by Napoleon, marching towards them. The Battle
of Waterloo commences and it seems as if Sharpe must stand by and
watch the grandest scale of military folly. But at the height of
battle, as victory seems impossible, Sharpe takes command and the
most hard-fought and bloody battle of his career becomes his most
magnificent triumph. Soldier, hero, rogue - Sharpe is the man you
always want on your side. Born in poverty, he joined the army to
escape jail and climbed the ranks by sheer brutal courage. He knows
no other family than the regiment of the 95th Rifles whose green
jacket he proudly wears.
“Papa explains the war like this: ‘When the elephants dance, the chickens must be careful.’ The great beasts, as they circle one another, shaking the trees and trumpeting loudly, are the Amerikanos and the Japanese as they fight. And our Philippine Islands? We are the small chickens.” Once in a great while comes a storyteller who can illuminate worlds large and small, magical and true to life. When the Elephants Dance introduces us to the incandescent voice of Tess Uriza Holthe, who sets her remarkable first novel in the waning days of World War II, as the Japanese and the Americans engage in a fierce battle for possession of the Philippine Islands. The Karangalan family and their neighbors huddle for survival in the cellar of a house a few miles from Manila. Outside the safety of their little refuge the war rages on—fiery bombs torch the beautiful Filipino countryside, Japanese soldiers round up and interrogate innocent people, and from the hills guerillas wage a desperate campaign against the enemy. Inside the cellar, these men, women, and children put their hopes and dreams on hold as they wait out the war, only emerging to look for food, water, and medicine. Through the eyes of three narrators, thirteen-year-old Alejandro Karangalan, his spirited older sister Isabelle, and Domingo, a passionate guerilla commander, we see how ordinary people must learn to live in the midst of extraordinary uncertainty, how they must find hope for survival where none seems to exist. They find this hope in the dramatic history of the Philippine Islands and the passion and bravery of its people. Crowded together in the cellar, the Karangalans and their friends and neighbors tell magical stories to one another based on Filipino myth and legend to fuel their courage, pass the time, and teach important lessons. The group is held spellbound by these stories, which feature a dazzling array of ghosts, witches, supernatural creatures, and courageous Filipinos who changed the course of history with their actions. These profoundly moving stories transport the listeners from the chaos of the war around them and give them new resolve to fight on. With When the Elephants Dance Holthe has not only written a gripping narrative of how Alejandro, Isabelle, Domingo and their community fight for survival, but a loving tribute to the magical realism that infuses Filipino culture. The stories shared by her characters are based on the same tales handed down to Holthe from her Filipino father and lola, her grandmother. This stunning debut novel is the first to celebrate in such richness and depth the spirit of the Filipino people and their fascinating story and marks the introduction of a talented new author who will join the ranks of writers such as Arundhati Roy, Manil Suri, and Amy Tan.
The Taskforce and Mossad join forces against a fanatical
organisation in this action-fuelled thriller from New York Times
bestseller and former special forces officer, Brad Taylor. When the
former head of Israeli intelligence is killed on a paragliding
trip, it's the latest in a series of 'accidental' deaths befalling
key members of the American and Israeli governments. Mossad bring
in terrorist hunters Aaron and Shoshana to investigate - and they
know just who to call. Taskforce operator Pike Logan has been out
of action for too long, so he jumps at the chance to take on the
mission. An Iranian-funded militia group has claimed responsibility
for the deaths. But something doesn't add up. Logan will have to
wade deep into the complex religious and political currents of the
region - and his findings could have disastrous consequences for
the entire world... Reviews for End of Days: 'End of Days is a
stunning triumph' Providence Journal 'A whirlwind of high
adventure, and edge-of-your-seat plot twists' Mystery &
Suspense Magazine 'Taylor [is] one of today's finest storytellers'
TheRealBookSpy
Could you find the courage to do what's right in a world on fire?
Pulitzer-winning journalist and bestselling novelist (Freeman)
Leonard Pitts, Jr.'s new historical page-turner is a great American
tale of race and war, following three characters from the Jim Crow
South as they face the enormous changes World War II triggers in
the United States. An affluent white marine survives Pearl Harbor
at the cost of a black messman's life only to be sent, wracked with
guilt, to the Pacific and taken prisoner by the Japanese . . . a
young black woman, widowed by the same events at Pearl, finds
unexpected opportunity and a dangerous friendship in a segregated
Alabama shipyard feeding the war . . . a black man, who as a child
saw his parents brutally lynched, is conscripted to fight Nazis for
a country he despises and discovers a new kind of patriotism in the
all-black 761st Tank Battalion. Set against a backdrop of violent
racial conflict on both the front lines and the home front, The
Last Thing You Surrender explores the powerful moral struggles of
individuals from a divided nation. What does it take to change
someone's mind about race? What does it take for a country and a
people to move forward, transformed?
A Call To Arms, the fourth novel in the award-winning Cutler Family
Chronicles by William C. Hammond, features the epic saga of the
seafaring Cutler family of Hingham, Massachusetts, and an ever
expanding cast of characters, including real historical figures
Captain Edward Preble, Lieutenant Stephen Decatur, Lieutenant
Richard Somers, Samuel Coleridge, Bashaw Yusuf Qaramanli, and
Admiral Horatio Lord Nelson. Interwoven with these historical
characters is a fast-paced and gripping plot that takes the reader
from Java in the Dutch East Indies to New England at the start of
the nineteenth century, and on to Gibraltar, Tripoli, Malta,
Sicily, Alexandria, and Cairo. Set primarily in the Mediterranean
Sea during the First Barbary War (1801-1805), A Call To Arms offers
the reader intriguing and often startling insights into a young
republic's struggle to promote its principles of liberty, equality,
and free trade in a world ravaged by the Napoleonic Wars in Europe
and ruthless piracy in both the Mediterranean and Far Eastern
waters. The US Navy answers the call of an aroused nation, and the
fate of the young republic turns on the actions of a few heroic
officers, sailors, and Marines.
Recruit new soldiers, face new foes, and explore the mysteries of
the Carpathian Mountains in two new campaigns, one competitive and
one for solo or cooperative play. High in the Carpathian Mountains
stands the crumbling Castle Fier. Once home to a powerful warlord,
the castle cast a dark shadow across the nearby villages, until
crusaders attacked with sword and flame to put an end to its
menace. Though history passed into folklore, the ruins of Castle
Fier remained shunned by all as a cursed site. Now, horrors have
been seen moving at night. An army gathers. Something has awoken in
the ruins. With the political situation in the surrounding region
becoming increasingly unstable, France, Prussia, Britain, and the
other powers have dispatched their best agents to investigate the
ruins, eliminate any threats, and acquire any treasures that could
prove useful in the ongoing fight against the harvestmen... and
each other. The Carpathians: Castle Fier is a supplement for The
Silver Bayonet: A Wargame of Napoleonic Gothic Horror, in which the
special units must fight their way through the ruins of a menacing
haunted castle. It features two campaigns - one competitive and one
for solo or cooperative play - as well as new monsters to fight,
soldiers to recruit, and treasure to unearth.
All is not well on Zanatu: the idyllic Polynesian island is in
rebellion, and the British Navy sends Lieutenant St Vincent
Halfhyde to find out why. Halfhyde steams to investigate, braving
typhoons and coral reefs along the way. But things go from bad to
worse once he steps foot on the island, as angry natives armed with
guns assault the British sailors. The natives swear allegiance to a
mysterious god named John Frumm, who has appeared among them,
promising wealth and prosperity. As the island slides toward
anarchy, Halfhyde struggles to rescue the beleaguered members of
Her Majesty's Colonial Service and find the elusive Frumm before it
is too late.
With the Sepoy Mutiny still threatening British lives in India,
Commander Phillip Hazard volunteers to accompany a special army
force to rescue the besieged British garrison at Ghorabad. Hazard
and the men of the Shannon's Naval Brigade are put under the
command of Colonel Cockayne, a cavalry officer whose own wife and
daughter are among those caught in the siege.
The Crimean War has ended at last, and Phillip Hazard finds himself
in China, serving under the fiery Commodore Keppel. The British
pull off a rousing victory against a Chinese junk fleet at Fatsham
Creek, but later Hazard is dismayed to hear of the Great Mutiny in
India. Worried that his two sisters are caught up in the brutal
conflict, he joins British relief forces fighting to reach the
besieged northern Indian towns of Cawnpore and Lucknow.
Spring 1855, the height of the Crimean War, and the siege of the
Russian city of Sebastopol continues. In a desperate attempt to cut
the Russians' supply line at the Sea of Azoff, the Allies commit
15,000 troops, five batteries of artillery, and virtually every
ship of their Black Sea fleets. Commander Phillip Hazard and HMS
Huntress undertake the crucial mission of marking a new channel for
the Allies' attack under the formidable shore batteries guarding
the Straight of Yenikale.
A gripping, morally complex debut novel, an astonishing feat of empathy and imagination about boys caught in a deadly conflict.
With the Russian city of Sebastopol still standing strong against
the allies' siege, the British must search for unlikly help among
the self-reliant mountain people of Circassia. Commander Phillip
Hazard is dispatched with a select handful of his crew to seek out
the bloodthirsty guerill leader Serfir Pasha and win him over as an
ally.
Royal Navy Lieutenant St Vincent Halfhyde is once again despatched
to Africa. This time his mission is to help capture a British
traitor who carries secret blueprints of British warships. Assisted
by a Scotland Yard detective and a handful of sailors, Halfhyde
must outwit the clever Germans, who are determined to take the
traitor and his secrets back to the Fatherland.
For nearly two hundred years, the Crusades have raged across the
Holy Land. Now, the Kingdom of God in Jerusalem is foundering, and
support from Europe has waned. The city of Jerusalem has been in
Muslim hands since Saladin, and more key cities fall with each
passing decade. Louis de Garonne has resolved to change that.
Pursuing his boyhood dreams into the Order of the Knights Templar,
and across the sea to the shores of Outremer, he hopes to breathe
new life into the Holy Crusade and to see the recapture of both the
city of Jerusalem and the venerated True Cross, both of which
Saladin captured nearly a century ago. However, Louis faces his own
personal battles. At every turn, conflicts arise and threaten to
undermine his dreams. He discovers love that could unravel his
commitment to the Templar Order. His loyalty to the Crusade is
challenged by disorder among the crusading armies. His convictions
about right and wrong are threatened by human nature itself. Will
Louis overcome these challenges to realize triumph in his quest?
Dive into an epic fantasy full of crunching revolutionary action,
twisted magic, and hard choices in dark times. The war is over. The
enemy won. Jia's people learned the hard way that there are no
second chances. The Egril, their ancient enemy, struck with magic
so devastating that Jia's armies were wiped out. Now terror reigns
in the streets, and friend turns on friend just to live another
day. Somehow Tinnstra - a deserter, a failure, nothing but a coward
- survived. She wants no more than to hide from the chaos. But
dragged into a desperate plot to retake Jia, surrounded by people
willing to do anything to win the fight, this time Tinnstra will
need to do more than hide. If Jia is to get a second chance after
all, this time she will need to be a hero. With all the grit of Joe
Abercrombie, Mark Lawrence and Ed McDonald, this is a debut epic
fantasy with the sharpest of edges. * * * * * * * * * * Readers
can't put down We Are the Dead: 'The next Game of Thrones' Glen
Cook, author of The Black Company 'Tarantino crossed with David
Gemmell' Peter McLean, author of Priest of Bones 'A powerful debut'
Gavin Smith, author of The Bastard Legion 'So much bloodshed and
actions, Shackle's debut is fast-paced, grim, and unputdownable'
Novel Notions 'This is a fantastic story that I think everyone
would enjoy. Every aspect, from prose to characters to plot is just
superbly crafted' Goodreads reviewer, 'Utterly gripping, original
fantasy that really must be counted amongst the best in the genre'
Goodreads reviewer, 'If you are looking for a fantasy read with
phenomenal magic, battle scenes that are so vividly described that
you experience them through all of your senses, villains who are
entirely despicable, and a compelling story filled with crushing
heartbreak and glorious redemption, then you need to pick up WE ARE
THE DEAD right now' Goodreads reviewer, 'A fantastic tale of
rebellion against an occupying force . . . I really loved how this
one all pulled together, and seeing the rebellion from different
viewpoints was a real treat' Goodreads reviewer, 'This is a fast
paced and intense story that never lets up in its brutality and
dark environment' Goodreads reviewer, 'From start to finish this
will keep you on the edge of your seat . . . This is an outstanding
debut, you don't want to miss it' Goodreads reviewer, THE LAST WAR
Book One: We Are the Dead Book Two: A Fool's Hope Book Three: Until
the Last
* The daring exploits of the first special forces unit of WWII
*World War II tale of adventure *Available in paperback for the
first time The first special service forces of WWII were known as
the Devil's Brigade. Ferocious and stealthy combatants, they were
handpicked U.S. and Canadian soldiers trained in mountaineering,
airborne, and close-combat skills. They numbered more than 2,300
and saw action in the Aleutians, Italy, and the south of France.
Co-written by a brigade member and a WWII combat pilot, the book
explores the unit's unique characteristics, including the men's
exemplary toughness and their ability to fight in any terrain
against murderous opposition. It also profiles some of the
unforgettable characters that comprised the near-mythical force.
"Not lyrical, but accurate, Insubrecus. All these stories and
reports of Romans, Belgae, Krauts, and whatnot have become a knot I
do not have time to unravel, so I'm just going to slice it open!"
Caesar announced. "Tomorrow at dawn, this army marches on the
Aeduan capital. . .we march on Bibracte!" With these words, Gaius
Iulius Caesar sent his army on what most of his officers considered
a suicide mission with the Helvetians and their German allies
across their line of retreat and the army trapped against the
impregnable walls of Bibracte, the fortress-capital of their
treacherous Gallic allies, the Aedui. "The Helvetian Affair" is the
second book of the Gaius Marius Chronicle, the memoir of a retired
Roman soldier, Gaius Marius Insubrecus, a legionary who fought with
Caesar throughout his Gallic campaigns and the Roman civil wars.
"The Helvetian Affair" recounts Insubrecus' coming of age as a
Roman soldier in the legionary camps outside the city of Aquileia,
and serving his patron, Caesar, as he conducts a lightening
campaign to prevent the fierce and ruthless attempt by the Helvetii
to conquer Celtic Gaul and threaten the Roman province. The
narrative recreates a colorful and culturally complex portrait of
ancient northern Italy and the Rhone valley, as Romans, Celts and
Germans struggle for supremacy in the hills and dark forests of
western Gaul.
Operation: Jericho takes the reader into the world of clandestine
warfare, focusing on two Arab American brothers who face a
formidable enemy in Afghanistan. Much like the story of Jericho in
the book of Joshua, two spies are sent into a terrorist training
camp to determine if there is any righteous people among the
population. The brothers must escape only to return and destroy the
village codenamed: Jericho in an attempt to strike a major blow
against all enemies in the War on Terror.
"A rousing frontier saga."-The Washington Post "(Cooper's) sympathy
is large, and his humor is as genuine--and as perfectly
unaffected--as his art."-Joseph Conrad The Last of the Mohicans
(1826) is the most popular of James Fenimore Cooper's
Leatherstocking Tales. The continuing adventures of the peerless
frontiersman Hawkeye, also known as Natty Bumppo among other
monikers, is an unforgettable saga of the frontier life of early
America. Set during the French and Indian Wars of mid-eighteenth
century, this hair-raising historical novel opens as the French
army is attacking Fort William Henry, a British fort in Western New
York commanded by the withdrawn Colonel Munro. In the forest
between Fort William Henry and another distant British outpost,
Munro's daughters Alice and Cora, are escorted through the
dangerous terrain by Major Heyward and a Huron Indian named Magua.
When the group crosses their path with the white frontiersman Natty
Bumppo and his Indian companions, Heyward is warned that they are
being betrayed by Magua, and the group is not being led to Fort
William Henry. Magua runs to the woods, and the group is lead to
safety by Natty and the two remaining members of the Mohican tribe,
Chingachgok and his son Uncas. Next morning, the group is attacked
by a gang of the Huron tribe, and all are captured with the
exception of Natty Bumppo and the mohicans. In the ensuing events
of this extraordinary novel, the conflicts of battle, love, and
race are unfolded against a thrilling adventure story. This classic
of American literature has been adapted into numerous films,
including the 1992 version starring Daniel Day-Lewis. With an
eye-catching new cover, and professionally typeset manuscript, this
edition of The Last of the Mohicans is both modern and readable.
Mr. Midshipman Easy (1836) is a novel by Frederick Marryat.
Inspired by the author's experience as a captain in the Royal Navy,
Mr. Midshipman Easy is a tale of bravery, foolishness, and the
manifold reasons for men to take to the high seas. Frequently
funny, often profound, Marryat's novel is an underappreciated
classic of nineteenth century fiction that has been adapted twice
for British cinema. "'Then, father, all I have to say is, that I
swear by the rights of man I will not go back to school, and that I
will go to sea. Who and what is to prevent me? Was not I born my
own master?-has any one a right to dictate to me as if I were not
his equal? Have I not as much right to my share of the sea as any
other mortal? I stand upon perfect equality,' continued Jack,
stamping his right foot on the floor." Fueled by his father's
philosophical ideas on liberty and equality, Jack Easy decides he
will prove himself in a place where all men are equals. Despite his
bravery, he soon finds that ideals will get one nowhere in the
service of the Royal Navy. Working below deck with the African cook
Mephistopheles Faust, Jack learns the secrets of the ship and
encounters a lesson in discipline he will never forget. As he rises
through the ranks and makes a name for himself during the fierce
fighting of the Napoleonic Wars, Jack discovers new depths to his
fortitude that would never have showed themselves had he stayed on
land. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset
manuscript, this edition of Frederick Marryat's Mr. Midshipman Easy
is a classic of British literature reimagined for modern readers.
The Swabian Affair presents the third books of a memoir written by
a retired Roman soldier, Gaius Marius Insubrecus, who served Caesar
during his wars in Gaul. As a youth, Insubrecus is caught between
two worlds: the heroic myths of his people, the Gah'el, and the
harsh realities of their conqueror, Rome. Insubrecus tries to
escape assassins sent after him from Rome by hiding in the Roman
army, right at the time that the new governor, Gaius Iulius Caesar,
launches his legions into Gaul to stop a Germanic invasion led by a
mystic warrior king called Ariovistus. Insubrecus is plunged into a
world of violence, intrigue and betrayal, as he tries to serve his
new patron, Caesar, and to stay alive, while pursued by a Roman
cutthroat and Germanic warriors.
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