Böcker av Richard Regan

December, 1941. Having survived the Atlantic convoys, Oriental Venture, under the command of hard-bitten and war-weary skipper Bill Rowden, is bound for Bangkok. The Japanese are locked in brutal combat in China with the Nationalist government and the communists but, elsewhere, the Far East enjoys a fragile peace. With orders to load a cargo of rice for Singapore, Rowden arrives in a city awash with intrigue in which Allied and Axis spies jockey to discover one another's secrets. Invited to dinner at the Oriental Hotel, once favoured by Joseph Conrad, Rowden is surprised to meet an old friend, military intelligence agent Arnold Spencer, recently promoted to Colonel in the Australian Army. Enigmatic as always, Spencer gives little away, but Rowden's tingling fingers are a sure sign of trouble. With loading complete, the ship is ready to leave when an unseasonal thunderstorm blankets the city during the night. At the height of the storm, a boat unexpectedly pulls alongside. Its passengers, including two Russians, one of whom is a woman with whom Rowden has previously tangled, bear a secret that could change the fortunes of the war. Together with his uninvited guests, Rowden embarks on a race against time, treachery and a looming enemy. With the clock ticking, will the Far East remain at peace or will the Second World War spread to all corners of the globe? In this, the third, instalment of his adventures, Captain Rowden and his crew face their toughest challenges and deadliest enemies yet, with no guarantees of survival.

The eve of World War 2. Hitler is finalising his plans for the conquest of Europe and flexing his muscles in Spain, while the Japanese are poised to invade China, and eyeing off the resources of the East Indies and Indochina to fuel their war machine. Dangerous times, but there are still profits to be made by men like hard-bitten Skipper Bill Rowden and his vagabond crew, as they work their aging tramp steamer around the treacherous waters of the Far East. Uncharted reefs, tropical storms, corrupt officials, smuggling and piracy are all in a day's work to Rowden and his crew, which includes an embittered hard drinking aristocrat, a knife wielding Welshman and a hot-headed, hard-fisted Australian.On what begins as a routine voyage to New Guinea, Rowden discovers an illegal shipment of arms concealed in his ship, setting off a chain of increasingly dangerous events that drag him unwittingly into the centre of Nazi, Soviet and British attempts to gain the upper hand, before war finally breaks out.Entangled with Chinese warlords, triads and a beautiful Russian adventuress, Rowden narrowly escapes Shanghai before the bombs start to fall, but his enemies are closing in. Deep in the Pacific, in a remote coral fringed lagoon, Rowden and his crew face a violent and explosive confrontation, with little more than fists and wits to keep them alive."Oriental Vagabonds is the rollicking, thrill-a-minute adventure story of courageous-but-flawed tramp steamer Captain William "Bill" Rowden and the rag-tag crew of the Oriental Venture as they ply their often-dodgy cargo trade through the dangerous and lawless Asia Pacific region in the looming shadow of World War II. Featuring wonderfully chiselled characters you'll remember for a lifetime and an edgy, twisted plot, it's a ripper swashbuckling adventure on the high seas - so, gulp down those seasick pills and buckle in for an exhilarating ride." PETER RAMSHAW, Founder and CEO of eText Press Publishing and the author of "Shepherd's Crook" (aka Pistol) and "Parallax" (writing as Ric Shaw).

November 1934. Britain is struggling from the depths of the Great Depression and Chief Mate Bill Rowden is in Barry, South Wales, unemployed and broke. Having beaten and robbed a vicious pimp in a fight over a woman, Rowden is desperate for a ship and signs aboard an ancient, rust-bucket tramp steamer bound for the Mediterranean. Discovering he has joined a hell-ship; Rowden uncovers a web of crime and brutality that severely tests his seamanship, courage and survival instincts. Six years later, November 1940. Britain stands alone against the Nazis and Captain Bill Rowden is in Liverpool preparing 'Oriental Venture' to join an outbound convoy. The blitz is at its height, the Royal Navy is stretched to the limit and Hitler's U-boats are enjoying their 'Happy Time'. Steaming into the depths of a North Atlantic winter, the convoy runs the gauntlet of bombers, wolf packs and foul weather. When the ships are ordered to disperse and proceed unprotected, Rowden heads for Freetown, trusting to the vast empty reaches of the Atlantic for concealment. But old enemies and ghosts from the past are back to haunt him. With safety seemingly within their grasp, Rowden and his crew discover just how cruel the sea can be.' Oriental Vengeance' continues the voyages of Bill Rowden and the tramp steamer 'Oriental Venture'. They first appeared in 'Oriental Vagabonds' - 'the rollicking, thrill-a-minute adventure story of courageous-but-flawed tramp steamer Captain William "Bill" Rowden and the rag-tag crew of the 'Oriental Venture' as they ply their often-dodgy cargo trade through the dangerous and lawless Asia Pacific region in the looming shadow of World War II. Featuring wonderfully chiselled characters you'll remember for a lifetime and an edgy, twisted plot, it's a ripper swashbuckling adventure on the high seas - so, gulp down those seasick pills and buckle in for an exhilarating ride.' -PETER RAMSHAW, Founder and CEO of eText Press Publishing and the author of "Shepherd's Crook" (aka Pistol) and "Parallax" (written as Ric Shaw).