At last we have an American character the equivalent of Hornblower or Aubrey.
--John Prados, author of Safe for Democracy: The Secret Wars of the CIA
Macomber is the O'Brian of the Caribbean.
--Randy Wayne White, author of the bestselling Doc Ford series
Macomber is today's foremost practitioner of a fascinating subgenre--historical fiction of the nautical variety. Building his series on the imagined autobiography of Peter Wake, he's given readers a vivid, multi-dimensional hero. Macomber makes the remarkable times he portrays glow. . . . History comes alive.
--Philip K. Jason, Professor Emeritus, United States Naval Academy, and author of Acts and Shadows: The Vietnam War in American Literary Culture
My advice is to sign on early and set sail with Peter Wake for both solid historical context and exciting sea stories!
--Admiral James Stavridis, Former NATO Supreme Allied Commander (2009-2013) and dean of The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy (2013-2018)
Peter Wake continues to emerge as an American hero worthy of his counterparts in naval fiction.
--George Jepson, Tall Ships Books
Robert Macomber writes well and inspiringly so--giving voice to the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps and its officers and enlisted men (ratings) now lost to memory. . . . Does Wake work? Yes, in many ways he captures the essential--which is, no doubt, why he has so many followers on both sides of the Pacific and Atlantic.
-- "The NAVY"
The seventh novel in the Honor Series, which traces the career of Peter Wake, a nineteenth-century American naval seaman, is so vividly written that it's easy to forget Wake is a made-up character. The book purports to be Wake's first-person account of his mission to Indochina, in which a seemingly simple assignment (deliver a presidential message to the king of Cambodia) becomes a months-long odyssey in which our hero is set upon by pirates, gangsters, and even a nasty typhoon. The author introduces this volume (the first in the series narrated in the first person) by explaining how a manuscript, chronicling Wake's adventures in Indochina, was found in a trunk in the attic of a recently deceased elderly woman; he also includes chapter endotes, elaborating on some of the historical elements of Wake's account. Fans of the Honor Series will enjoy the shift in narrative point of view: Wake has a strong voice, and it is fascinating to see his world and his time through his own eyes. Readers unfamiliar with the series may want to start with an earlier volume, to get a better sense of the author's writing style, but no doubt they'll wind up reading the entire series, including this volume, in due course. Highly recommended for fans of naval fiction, especially Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin series, C. S. Forester's Hornblower novels, or anything by Bernard Cornwell.
-- "Booklist, Starred Review"
The Peter Wake novels are more than just gripping stories about life at sea--they offer a carefully rendered, historically accurate imagining of America's naval history in the second half of the 19th century.
--Clay Risen, author of The Crowded Hour: Theodore Roosevelt, the Rough Riders and the Dawn of the American Century
You'll never look at the Vietnam War the same after reading The Honored Dead. A "must read" book for anyone who appreciates history, intelligence, and great story-telling by a master of the art of historical fiction. An action-packed thriller! --Rear Admiral Tony Cothron, USN (Ret.), 62nd Director of Naval Intelligence
