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The author's style ensures the reader is much absorbed and kept on edge, whilst the hero is at sea and ashore - The Nautical Magazine more
The story shows incredible attention to detail and was gripping from the start - Shropshire Star more
His display of seamanship savvy is one of the best in the genre - Cdr Ty Martin more
It's terrific stuff and once more Stockwin fails to disappoint - Western Morning News more
Book Eight fully lives up to the readers' expectations developed by the previous stories - BroadlyBoats more
Another cracking good yarn from this master author of the sea - Bookshelf more
This is the Great Age of fighting sail brought to life - Marine Society more
Reports from SHIPMATES reviewers :
Prior to publication Shipmates won an Advance Review Copy of THE ADMIRAL'S DAUGHTER. Here's what they had to say:
This book is full of adventure! - Ian Hogben more
A year is too long to wait for another - Allan Smith more
DAUGHTER will win many more fans for Thomas Kydd - Graham Davenport more
It's a ripping yarn that scuds along! - Rosemary Fitzgerald more
This book is a strong candidate for Stockwin's best yet - M Burton Hopkins Jr more
This book is excellent! - David Messer more
A rollicking tale! - Terry Hoyle more
Julian has really come up with a cracking great story ! - Robert Squarebriggs more
Well, I feel like Christmas is over or the summer holidays have ended. What a fantastic read! The title told us we were in for a romance, but what a twist! In this book Julian took us straight into the sea action and continues to delight us with the technical accuracy of his writing. He brought the Cornish coast alive and the independence of the inhabitants was perfectly captured. This book will win many new fans for Thomas Kydd! - GD
Once again, Julian's style of writing grabs the imagination of the reader. I never realised that history was so enthralling - Julian has the ability to draw you in and keep you there from start to finish. This book is full of adventure - dangerous stormy seas, smuggling, privateers, spies - and a tragic twist of fate. The tales of Kydd just get better and better! - IH
I think this is the real Kydd watershed; the book that will set Kydd for all his further adventures. We've seen Kydd's supporters, but now he really makes his first enemy. Kathy needs to tie the author to his chair and "start" him - as a year is too long to wait for the next one... - AS
I believe this could be Stockwin's best book. It features strong characters that we have come to admire; situations which keep us on the edge of our seats; politics, scoundrels, evil men, friendships strained and loyalties maintained. Exquisite foreshadowing make the events of THE ADMIRAL'S DAUGHTER as anticipatable as a Greek tragedy. But what comes next? Dammit, must wait another year! - BH
In this book Kydd has to grow up fast and face some hard decisions...You really feel for him - in his embarrassment in his new situations as a captain and entering society, his excitement in tracking down "Bloody Jacques" and his sorrow...You wait for a new instalment in a story and sometimes you are disappointed, but not with Kydd. This book is excellent! - DM
Stockwin weaves a rollicking tale through high society and smuggling skullduggery. But like the British weather, never take anything for granted, things can change in an instant and this yarn doesn't disappoint - there's a twist in its tail... - TH
From the opening lines to the final denouement the pace and contest of DAUGHTER left me breathless with tension, sad, and pleasantly full in equal measure. The historical minutiae is fascinating. In quick form, the power behind the people is laid out in an intricate backdrop to the main adventure. Kydd has grown in stature and depth, the naivety is dispelled, but the core of him remains throughout - RF
He brings the sea alive and draws the reader straight into the scene so much that you really feel that you're there and have to stop reading and look about to realise you aren't actually. Yet again Stockwin leaves the reader panting for the next book at the conclusion of this one - RS
The superbly balanced narrative is devoted to detailed and tension-laden descriptions of the hazards of sailing-ship handling, fighting at sea, rescuing at sea, boat-handling, crew-handling, along with the challenges of high society faced by a "simple sailor" when attending shindigs in superior establishments ashore. The Nautical Magazine
Although this is the eighth book in the Kydd series it was very easy to read on its own with no background on the other books. The story shows incredible attention to detail and was gripping from the start...Commander Kydd is a so well written and rounded character that he is completely believable and very likeable. Like the character details, the research that must have gone into the descriptions of sailing in these times is amazing and Stockwin's writing transports you onto the decks of the ships with him and his crew. Everything about this book is quality; from the cover to the last detail. I was completely overwhelmed by it. Shropshire Star
Stockwin tells his story with crispness and clarity His characters are simply but well-drawn, and events happen at a pace to keep the reader involved. As always, his display of seamanship savvy is one of the best in the genre, and in this outing his descriptions of the topography and sailing conditions of the southwest English coast bear the unmistakable mark of someone who knows the territory intimately.Naval History [USNI]
It's terrific stuff and once more Stockwin fails to disappoint as he strips away the trappings of modern life and opens a portal into an early nineteenth century world of men of war, privateers, smugglers and intrigue. Each January best-selling author Julian Stockwin leaves his Devon home to carry out detailed location research for his next book in the epic adventure series featuring Thomas Kydd. The former computer software designer's journeys have taken him to places ranging from the Caribbean to Gibraltar and beyond. But for his latest ripping yarn, his travels have been much closer to home - to the ports and rocky coasts of the West Country. It is the first time that one of his books has been based in home waters and he succeeds in doing justice to what he has found to be as wild and exotic location as any. Western Morning News
Book Eight fully lives up to the readers' expectations developed by the previous stories Kydd has returned to England, seas with which he is not familiar. He gains command once more in a vessel he knows well. His social adventures paint a picture of society of the times and his fortunes rise and fall in an absorbing adventure amongst privateers, smugglers and violent storms. BroadlyBoats
Another cracking good yarn from this master author of the sea Stockwin manages to balance Kydd's time at sea and ashore nicely, given the home waters setting. And his description of life in early nineteenth century England is fascinating, as is Kydd's attempt to blend into polite society. Coastal Britain, as described in this book, is a fascinating subject, with its complex coves, tides, currents and variety of geography. All are dangerous and have claimed many a vessel over the centuries. Stockwin's descriptions bear out the fact that such intimate detail can only be achieved by personal experience, from a true seaman's eye and perspective. They are the signature of his work. Bookshelf
This is the Great age of fighting sail brought to life This is the eighth title from Julian Stockwin, and finds Kydd sailing in home waters, where his challenges are also of a more domestic kind, involving the eponymous Admiral's Daughter, Persephone, and the trials that beset naval officers who have come up through the ranks rather than been born to high society...Kydd may be contending with smugglers and spies around the south-west coast rather than braving the perils of war, but a treacherous coastline can be just as difficult for a seaman. There is also a showdown with a renegade privateer, although that is not quite the climax of the tale... The Marine Society