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Scorpion

by James R. Poyner

148 pages; quality trade paperback (softcover); catalogue #01-0428; ISBN 1-55369-026-5; US$17.00, C$19.50, EUR14.00, £10.00

The year is 1777. When Scorpion chases a pirate through a storm, both ships are transported into the unknown - that is the beginning.

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About the book      About the author      Sample excerpt      Catalogue info

About the Book It is July 1777. American privateer Scorpion, a scourge to British shipping, chases the pirate Graywolf through a storm and into the unknown. Sign on for the voyage and learn their fate. Responding to an exchange of gunfire between ships in its sector, American privateer Scorpion, hurries to the encounter. Scorpion arrives at the site of the fray and finds rogues from the pirate Graywolf boarding a British merchantman after subduing the latter's escort. The American bark chases off the black-flagged brig, but not before the brigands have abducted a young woman, the niece of Lord Cornwallis. With little hesitation, Captain Sam Dawes orders Scorpion to pursue the pirate. It is that simple and proper response that sets in motion a series of adventures that ends with a board of inquiry that will decide the fate of Scorpion, her crew, and her master. Yet, the wonderful unity of the entire crew, the way they work in harmony, with mutual respect and understanding, is food for thought for all of us, especially those who must work together to achieve a common goal. James R. Poyner, a Chicagoan, has been a proofreader for many years, and that venerable profession has helped develop his self-critical inner ear. Through that ability he has steadily developed the fluid style of his prose and the careful attention to the mechanics of his writing. Add to that an interesting tale, and the reader is sure to judge SCORPION a worthy addition to his or her library.

About the Author Since graduating from Millikin University, in 1976, James R. Poyner has experienced an interesting blend of editing, proofreading, manuscript preparation, and graphics production. Much of that time, of course, has seen the tremendous, technological explosion, which has so dramatically changed writing and publishing, and like others, Mr. Poyner has steadily adapted. At the same time, his professional experience has taught him how to mend and improve the written efforts of others, while further teaching him how to do the same with his own efforts. Among others things, he has developed an excellent, self-critical inner ear. The smooth, fluid style of his prose is evidence of that. Add to that, the texture, rhythm and color acquired from writing verse, and the result is something any reader should appreciate and enjoy. SCORPION, at first blush, is a sea adventure with a little science fiction thrown in. But, thanks to its themes about teamwork, respect, and its various contrasts, it is more than that. It is also one of his newer efforts, having been begun in the early 1990s.

Sample Excerpt

  "Sail, ho!" Tibbs cried from the forward nest.
  As I clung to a line near the mainmast, I looked up at my longtime shipmate with fondness and asked, "How many and where away?"
  "Three ships, sir! Four points to starboard! Wait! - smoke! - gunfire!"
  The dull booms reached my ears moments later, and I commanded, "General quarters, Mr. Jenkins!"
  "Aye, sir!" the First Mate returned.
  With that, he stepped over to the foremast and rang the brass bell that hung a few feet above the deck on that spar. It sounded clear and loud, a fair herald to the human thunder we might soon produce. In response to that clanging, men surged out of the various hatches. A few rigged the hoist that would bring munitions up to the main desk, others sprang to their assigned guns and started preparing them for a possible conflict, while still others carried muskets and munitions-laden pouches aloft. After an appreciative shoulder clap of Seaman Dickens, Tibbs took his weapon, a pouch of shot and a horn of powder from the other lad. Moments later, his musket primed, he resumed his watch duties in the nest.
  "Stand by with our colors, Mr. Newton!"
  "Aye, sir!" the Second Mate replied and directed two men to be ready to hoist our national banner off the mizzen.
  "Keep us advised, Tibbs!" I called to my old mate.
  "Aye, sir!"
  Now since we were the only American warship in the area, the fighting on our horizon was for us to investigate. It could be a French raider attacking British merchantmen bound for New York, or a British man-of-war firing on Dutch ships trying to smuggle goods into Boston to supply the Continental Army through that port. Whatever the case, we were under orders to discover the truth and lend assistance where it was needed. Yet, our orders had never anticipated what we were to find.
  Unfurling every avaiable sheet of canvas, Scorpion seemed to bloom like a flower of Spring as it plied toward the scene in question. As always, I wanted us to respond by reaching the site of trouble as quickly as possible. That was implied in our orders from Boston.

  What we found that day gave hope for speed a new reason.

Catalogue Information