The Price of Glory

July 11, 2011
Continuing his salty soap opera of Royal Navy Capt. Nathan Peake, Hunter sets his third book in the series (after The Tide of War) during the French Revolution. Peake, a character in the mold of Captains Hornblower, Aubrey, and Ramageâmen of honor, audacity, and ingenuityâparticipates in a failed royalist uprising in France, risking his ship and crew and receiving the unwelcome attention of the Admiralty, who as punishment send him to Paris to resume his previous job: undercover work. This time he must spy on his old enemy, the amoral double agent Gilbert Imlay. Peake becomes involved with a pair of France's most notorious courtesans, meets a bitter Corsican named Buonaparte, hopes to find his former lover, once condemned to the guillotine, and deals with a murderous secret policeman out for his blood. Sea battles, duels, gold treasure, and rumors of the Holy Grail stack the decks of this lively swashbuckler with suspense, action, intrigue, and colorful historical detail, but the miraculous escapes, coincidences, and characters from previous books give it the feel of a never-ending serial. Though Peake is a likable rogue, he lacks the intellect of Hornblower, the insight of Aubrey, and the audacity of Ramage.