Book of the week - Seth Hunter, Time of Terror

Time of Terror is apparently the first novel in a trilogy by Seth Hunter, coming from Headline. It features Nathan Peake, British naval officer and spy during the war with Revolutionary France. It is 1793, and Peake, Commander of the brig-sloop Nereus based at Rye in East Sussex, is unhappy with his commission and is desperate for some real action. When revolutionary France declares war on England, he gets his chance. The French have killed their king and are about to embark on that violent period of bloodletting known as the Terror. Peake is entrusted with a vital mission to wreck the French economy by smuggling millions of French banknotes across the Channel and into the heart of Paris. But opposition to the Terror mounts and Peake is soon forced to leave Paris and find the storm-tossed British squadrons in the Atlantic.

The novel is being pushed as potentially collectible by most of the UK modern firsts dealers, and indeed Headline first printings in hardback are often relatively small. I can’t find anything out about Seth Hunter, which makes my wonder whether this might be a pseudonym – time will tell. Goldsboro books have a 100 copy stamped and numbered limited edition (signed and lined) at £25, or a simple signed copy should be available at around half that price. No reviews as yet that I can find, and how well it is written will be crucial!