Fighting Sail Books in Order
Part ofAlaric Bond Books in OrderSee the Fighting Sail books in order by Alaric Bond, with quick summaries, series background, and clear notes on where to start and what to expect.
Last updated: June 10, 2026
As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases (at no extra cost to you).
Publication Order
15 books
The Jackass Frigate
by Alaric Bond
2008
Fresh from the dockyard, HMS Pandora heads to sea with an untried crew, a brutal first lieutenant and at least one killer aboard. Captain Banks must hold his ship together before battle, winter and murder tear it apart.
His Majesty's Ship
by Alaric Bond
2009
In spring 1795, HMS Vigilant sails as escort to a convoy whose true importance is hidden from most of the crew. Pressed men, volunteers and seasoned sailors must be forged into a fighting ship before the French uncover the mission.
True Colours
by Alaric Bond
2010
The mutinies at Spithead and the Nore leave Britain dangerously exposed as invasion fears rise. Against that chaos, officers and seamen alike must hold their nerve while the war moves toward the Battle of Camperdown.
Cut and Run
by Alaric Bond
2011
Disillusioned with the Royal Navy, Lieutenant Tom King tries life with the East India Company instead. Merchant service proves no quiet escape when storms, privateers and an old enemy turn the voyage into a dangerous reckoning.
The Patriot's Fate
by Alaric Bond
2012
In 1798, rebellion in Ireland and French intervention pull friends and shipmates onto opposing sides. Storms, politics and divided loyalties drive the story toward a tense naval clash where patriotism comes at a heavy price.
The Torrid Zone
by Alaric Bond
2014
HMS Scylla should be on her way home for a long overdue refit, but one last voyage sends her to St. Helena with passengers and cargo to protect. What looks routine soon turns into a fight against weather, politics and the French.
HMS Prometheus
by Alaric Bond
2015
Damaged, delayed and badly needed, HMS Prometheus must be made ready to join Nelson off Toulon. As repairs drag on, her crew face pirates, enemy fire and divisions aboard ship that threaten the mission from within.
The Scent of Corruption
by Alaric Bond
2015
War with France flares again, and Sir Richard Banks takes command of the newly refitted HMS Prometheus. The ship looks formidable, but trouble within the ranks may prove as dangerous as anything waiting beyond the horizon.
The Blackstrap Station
by Alaric Bond
2016
Shipwreck leaves a band of Royal Navy sailors stranded within sight of rescue, and within reach of the French. Their struggle for survival turns into a hard chase across sea and shore, with treachery never far behind.
Honour Bound
by Alaric Bond
2017
Commander King thinks HMS Kestrel is ready for sea, but the war has other plans. Battle, capture and imprisonment in France force him and his men to fight for freedom far from the quarterdeck.
Sealed Orders
by Alaric Bond
2018
Fresh from bringing news of victory at Trafalgar, Tom King finds his future uncertain and his ship in need of work. A sudden secret mission sends HMS Hare into bad weather, hostile waters and danger that will not reveal itself until the orders are opened.
Sea Trials
by Alaric Bond
2019
HMS Mistral comes out of refit without the one thing she most needs, her captain. While Tom King fights for survival elsewhere, the ship's trials become a harsh test of loyalty, nerve and whether she will sail under his command at all.
Lone Escort
by Alaric Bond
2020
A valuable convoy, a dangerous North Atlantic passage and a captain who may be his own ship's weakest point set the stakes here. As HMS Tenacious closes with enemy raiders, command itself becomes part of the battle.
The Seeds of War
by Alaric Bond
2021
In 1811, worsening tension between Britain and the United States turns trade disputes into something deadlier. HMS Tenacious must face storms, slavery, privateers and the painful shock of meeting old friends as new enemies.
On the Barbary Coast
by Alaric Bond
2022
After years on the North American Station, HMS Tenacious finally seems bound for home and rest. A strange encounter changes everything, drawing the crew toward a ruthless new threat off North Africa.
Series background & context
Fighting Sail is set in the Royal Navy of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars, but it does not follow the usual one-hero path. Instead of tracking a single officer from first command to glory, Alaric Bond spreads the story across whole ships' companies. Captains, lieutenants, midshipmen, warrant officers, marines, common seamen, women ashore, and the occasional dubious passenger all get room on the page. The result feels less like one long legend and more like life inside a navy that is always at war.
That is the key to the whole series.
Recurring figures matter, of course. Captain Sir Richard Banks, Tom King, and a cluster of familiar officers and lower-deck hands give the books continuity, and readers do build attachments. But Bond never lets the series become too comfortable. Men are promoted, transferred, imprisoned, injured, tempted, and sometimes killed. Ships change. Stations change. One book may be built around a convoy, another around mutiny, another around shipwreck, privateering, or a desperate run through enemy waters. The ongoing arc is less about one career than about the strain a long war puts on everyone it touches.
The historical setting does a lot of work. These books move from Spithead and the Channel to the Mediterranean, the Atlantic, Ireland, St Helena, North America, and the Barbary Coast. Real events sit close beside the fiction: invasion scares, the great mutinies of 1797, fleet actions, escort duty, blockade, the uneasy peace of 1802 to 1803, and the rising tension with the United States. Bond likes the big picture, but he is just as interested in the smaller pressures that make naval life feel real, bad food, bad weather, mixed crews, damaged rigging, rumors below decks, and orders that never seem as clear in practice as they do on paper.
The tone is brisk and serious, with plenty of action, but it is not only about broadsides. A lot of the tension comes from discipline, loyalty, class, and the simple problem of whether people can trust one another when the guns start. Because the books use multiple viewpoints, the same event can look very different from the quarterdeck and the gun deck. That wider view is what gives the series much of its personality.
If you want sea battles, you will get them. But Fighting Sail is really about crews under pressure, and about how war reaches into every corner of a ship. Start at the beginning if you want to watch the world build book by book, or dip into the later novels if a particular campaign or setting grabs you. Either way, expect a full ship, not just a lone hero.
Edited by
Software engineer whose passion for tracking book recommendations from podcasts inspired the creation of MRB.
Lead investor at 3one4 Capital whose startup expertise and love for books helped shaped MRB and its growth.































Comments
Did we miss something? Have feedback?
Help us improve this page by sharing your thoughts