True Colors
Ozgur K. Sahin
Historical Sea Stories
After thwarting a Spanish invasion, privateer Captain Roy Toppings finds himself face to face with the object of his misguided vendetta. However, details revealed in the aftermath of the battle and subsequent raids on weakened Spanish colonies shed new light on the circumstances of the death of Roy’s beloved sister: someone is attacking French shipping as part of a conspiracy’s larger design, and Constance may have been a casualty of their secrecy. Unexpected allies emerge as Roy, Coya, and Ajuban uncover more of this syndicate’s operations, even the destruction of Coya’s home. Navigating between profit, self-interest, and justice, all must re-examine their purpose and decide if the truth is too high a price to pay for revenge.
Uncaged Review: Captain Roy Toppings makes a bold decision to temporarily split his loyal, devoted crew into two groups, a bold decision by far yet all for more treasure. Ajuban is appointed acting ship captain by Roy himself to direct La Mongosta while Roy takes hold and is master of “The Constance.” Roy also has another secret venture not told to anyone but a loyal few, to find the murderer of his beloved sister, Constance, who his ship is named after too. Roy almost becomes crazed and directs all his misguided attention to his most hated brother-in-law and his sister’s late husband, Pablo Francisco. As Roy hunts down and finally finds the man, his vengeance holds no bounds, and he ends up killing him instead. Roy realizes that his shipmates are at odds and the split between his faithful sailors puts him even more on opposing sides, possibly putting everyone on both ships in danger of losing their very lives.
This is truly a very intriguing historical sea-faring story that definitely grabs you from the get-go! The tale is wonderfully told and the attention to detail is quite masterful! As you get more in-depth into the book you can almost smell the sea, the graphic description of ships and even see the vivid depictions of not just places, but the characters, which are beautifully written! In truth, most of the time these nautical ventures bore me, but amazingly so, not this book! I might have read the first book a while ago, but I was still able to remember it. Unfortunately, to really understand the characters’ machinations and if you are demanding to read a series in order, then it might help to read the first book. Still, the book magically transports you to picturesque places that would be well worth the visit! Mr. Ozgur Sahin definitely pens a fantastically penned novel that is well researched and lovingly crafted, so that it would seem that he might have even spent some time on a vessel himself and if he hasn’t, then this is very well-done! Reviewed by Roslynn Ernst
4.5 Stars
