Welcome to the interactive extension of the Capt. Nicholas Fallon Books series. Explore the content for a more insightful engagement with the stories.
Welcome to the interactive extension of the Capt. Nicholas Fallon Books series. Explore the content for a more insightful engagement with the stories.
The year is 1798.
Great Britain’s war with France and Spain extends to the Caribbean, and island nations become economic pawns as they are fought over, won and surrendered. Sugar is white gold, but slaves are black gold, and the slave rebellion in Saint-Dominque shifts the balance of agricultural power to Spanish Cuba.
Captain Nicholas Fallon and his crew of Rascals are thrust into this precarious and political maelstrom by the discovery of a simple red ribbon floating on the sea. Theirs becomes a world of secret agents, fierce sea battles and daring rescues against improbable, if not impossible odds.
It will take all of Fallon’s strategic cunning and the daring seamanship of his female first mate, Beauty McFarland, to defeat not only the French and Spanish but an arch enemy who is soulless and amoral and yet known as The Holy One.
The Black Ring has a modern storyteller’s voice and critics are proclaiming it a worthy successor to the first book of the Fallon trilogy, The Bermuda Privateer.
reviews
for The Black Ring
““Bill Westbrook’s follow-up to The Bermuda Privateer is buoyed by details of history and seamanship that will delight any fan of saltwater yarns and explosive action.”
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““The Caribbean in 1798 is rich in sugar, salt and coffee while Great Britain, France and Spain vie for control of the trade. Captain Nicholas Fallon, aboard his schooner Rascal, sets sail from Bermuda for Cuba to drop off a senior British intelligence officer to determine if a slave rebellion would be possible on the island, where slavery is widespread. Upon secretly landing in Cuba, Captain Fallon soon learns about the cruelty of this institution. Captain Fallon must also face the pirate known as “The Holy One” who deals in the slave trade while attacking ships in the Caribbean, searching for slaves to trade on the islands.
The background to this exciting nautical tale, the second in a series, consists primarily of the slave trade, slave rebellions, and its effect on the economy of the Caribbean. I enjoyed the first book, The Bermuda Privateer, and found this novel continued to provide a thorough and worthwhile read. The author’s novels are character-driven and don’t use many nautical terms that are understood only by those who sail. He brings the characters and their interactions to life with realistic dialogue. The action is solidly paced and engaging throughout. The period detail blends together the historical facts with the fictional characters.””
Learn more about the next Nicholas Fallon adventure.
