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The Abalone Ukulele: A Tale of Far Eastern Intrigue Kindle Edition
Three ordinary men—a disgraced Korean tribute courier, a bookish naval officer, and a polyglot third-class quartermaster—must foil Japanese subversion and, with sub rosa assistance from Asiatic Station, highjack that gold to finance a Korean insurrection. Three ordinary women complicate, and complement, their efforts: an enigmatic changsan courtesan, a feisty Down East consular clerk, and a clever Chinese farm-girl.
It is a tale that wends through the outskirts of Peking to the Yukon River; from the San Francisco waterfront to a naval landing party isolated on a Woosung battlefield; from ships of the U.S. Asiatic Fleet moored on Battleship Row to a junk on the Yangtze; and from the Korean gold mines of Unsan to a coaling quay in Shanghai. Soon a foreign intelligence service, a revolutionary army, and two Chinese triads converge on a nation’s ransom in gold . . .
Praise for The Abalone Ukulele
“A masterclass in historical fiction. With painstaking research and a gift for story spinning, Crossland brings to brilliant life a sprawling epic of greed, gold, and redemption. Crossland’s gift for converting historic details into character and narrative makes The Abalone Ukulele an immersive read.” —Joseph A. Williams, author of Seventeen Fathoms Deep and The Sunken Treasure
“Crossland’s tale of shenanigans, greed, nobility, [and] slivers of grace propels across a geography spanning Shanghai, the Klondike gold fields, and San Francisco’s wharves. His characters are elemental, with a commedia dell'arte quality . . . . Clues to a mystery are sprinkled skillfully throughout, keeping the reader turning the page.” —Loretta Goldberg, author of the award-winning novel, The Reversible Mask
“Maritime historical fiction in the tradition of Patrick O'Brian.” —Steve Robinson, author of No Guts, No Glory
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherThe Spring
- Publication dateJune 29, 2021
- File size1772 KB
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Editorial Reviews
Review
-- Joseph A. Williams, Author of Seventeen Fathoms Deep and The Sunken Treasure
*****
"Crossland's tale of shenanigans, greed, nobility, slivers of grace, propels across a geography spanning Shanghai, the Klondike gold fields, and San Francisco's wharves. His characters are elemental, with a commedia dell'arte quality. Occasionally details intrude on flow, but clues to a mystery are sprinkled skillfully throughout, keeping the reader turning the page."
-- Loretta Goldberg, Author of the award-winning novel, The Reversible Mask
*****
... Crossland's skill in spinning this yarn is quite commendable. He captures the chaos that was Shanghai in 1913 quite well, incorporating the competing military factions vying for power, the various criminal syndicates, the attempts to maintain law and order, and life in the bustling city itself. A haven for many bluejackets stationed on the USS Pluto, Madam Guan's "Lesser Shanghai Indian Club and Garter Society" on the Lane of Lingering Joy will be an important component in a quite complicated plot.
-- Dr. David Winkler, Staff Historian at the Naval Historical Foundation and current Charles Lindbergh Chair of Aerospace History at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum
*****
This book is an interesting fictional read concerning a place and time at the forefront of a series of events that would envelop the world in war, the outcome of which still governs the world we live in. If Far Eastern history is of an interest to you, this is a must read.
-- Charles H. Bogart, "PowerShips" (The Magazine of Engine-Powered Vessels Published by the Steamship Historical Society of America)
About the Author
Product details
- ASIN : B09CCVGJH5
- Publisher : The Spring (June 29, 2021)
- Publication date : June 29, 2021
- Language : English
- File size : 1772 KB
- Text-to-Speech : Enabled
- Screen Reader : Supported
- Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
- X-Ray : Not Enabled
- Word Wise : Enabled
- Sticky notes : On Kindle Scribe
- Print length : 369 pages
- Best Sellers Rank: #814,306 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #163 in Historical Chinese Fiction
- #1,360 in Sea Adventures Fiction (Kindle Store)
- #3,177 in Sea Stories
- Customer Reviews:
About the author
With the benefit of thirty-five years’ service, active and reserve, as a U.S. Navy SEAL officer (two hot wars. one cold), Crossland has found projecting his grasp of naval intrigue one hundred years into the past an agreeable challenge.
Captain Crossland has written internationally on the subject of maritime unconventional warfare and includes U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings and the New York Times among his credits. His historical crime novel, Jade Rooster, received the Admiral David Glasgow Farragut Book Award for naval literature in 2008.
Recently The Abalone Ukulele was awarded the Admiral David Glasgow Farragut Book Award also.
In December of 2022, in recognition of his contribution to military and naval literature, and having been an actual combatant, or otherwise involved, in special operations in the Far East (Vietnam and nine trips to Korea) and Afghanistan, CAPT Crossland was awarded the Military Order of Saint Louis by the Saint Patrick's Priory of the autonomous US Grand Priory of the International Templar Organization (OSMTH).
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Captain Crossland continues the fine tradition of maritime historical fiction established by renowned author, Patrick O’Brian, and leaves the reader turning the final page and hoping desperately that more will follow.
-Steve Robinson, Author of the book ‘NO GUTS, NO GLORY – Unmasking Navy SEAL Imposters’ (2002); a former enlisted US Navy SEAL whose service was contemporary with Captain Crossland.
Whether you're an Old Salt reliving memories, a young Striker anticipating excitement, or an Arm Chair Sailor vicariously sharing in naval maneuvers, Petty Officer Hobson and Lieutenant Junior Grade Draper will escort you through an international adventure complete with intrigue, mayhem, violence, friendship, and romance.
And best of all it comes wrapped in historically correct naval customs and traditions.
A must read for any fan of naval history written by someone with 35 years of US Navy service!
I loved the accurate representation of the happenings in this story to fit the 20th-century China era. The suspense arising from political tension added a thrill that I loved. However, I found characters that were randomly introduced and discovered some gaps in the later life of the protagonist. These make me give this book only a 3 out of 5.
Delivers a true sense of adventure- mixed with historical events
A definite read for all mariners who dream of the days with the great white fleet
Brings to life the early 20th century Far East waterfronts.