Description:
In a dense star cluster, the solar winds blow fiercely. The star-sailing ship HMSS Daring runs at full sheet on a secret mission from the Emperor himself: to hunt down and destroy a festering pirate threat. Armed with a letter of marque allowing them to collect the bounty of enemy vessels, the crew has been told to find the pirates' base by any means necessary.
Dashing second-in-command Liam Blackwood and plucky quartermaster Amelia Virtue lead the infiltration of shady civilian merchant networks to gather intelligence, all while keeping Daring's true identity hidden. But trouble begins when Daring's enigmatic captain makes a series of questionable choices and rumblings of discontent ripple up from the crew. Liam and Amelia must discover the truth about their commander, their mission, and the real enemy threat before they fall prey to the very pirates they're supposed to be tracking.
Brief description:
Bennett R. Coles has a degree in naval history and served fifteen years as an officer in the Royal Canadian Navy. His first novel, Virtues of War, won the Cygnus Award grand prize for science fiction and spawned two follow-up novels, as well as a short story in the 2017 anthology Infinite Stars. He lives in Victoria, British Columbia, with his wife and two sons.
Review Quotes:
“The big ship energy is real.”
- Barnes amp Noble Sci-Fi amp Fantasy Blog
“A rollicking read.”
- Scifi Pulse
"Bennett R. Coles ranks among my go-to list in SF. Entertaining and intelligent storytelling and terrific characters. In Winds of Marque, Coles may well have invented a whole new subgenre that has me scrambling for a description--Steam Space? Whatever you call it, a blast to read." - Steven Erikson, New York Times bestselling author
“The kind of authentic-feeling space navy action that you'd expect from a master like Jack Campbell.” - Michael Mammay author of Planetside