In the Stormy Red Sky
Drake’s Republic of Cinnabar Navy (RCN) novels have frequently been described as Captain Horatio Hornblower adventures in space. Yet Drake himself credits their inspiration to Patrick O’Brian’s much-heralded Aubrey/Maturin sea tales, with Captain Daniel Leary standing in for Commodore Jack Aubrey, and Leary’s confidante and spy Adele Mundy filling the role of Aubrey’s sidekick, Stephen Maturin. In this eighth installment of the series, Leary and Mundy team up again for another go-round of space-opera-style exploits in a story Drake models after the Roman Empire’s Crisis of the Third Century. During a lull of peace between the Republic of Cinnabar and their longtime nemesis, the Alliance, Leary and Mundy are sent on a routine escort mission to the backwater planet of Zenobia. Yet the peace is soon to be disrupted by the neighboring Palmyrenes plotting a Zenobia invasion. As with most RCN novels, the highlights here are political intrigue, Adele’s wily spycraft, and the pyrotechnics-filled space battles between Leary’s sail-equipped starship and his latest foes. Drake fans won’t be disappointed. --Carl Hays--This text refers to theMass Market Paperbackedition.