Geoffrey Mandragora

January,1889 The Kaiserreich, with their Dutch allies, have claimed victory in the Boer War and control all of South Africa. Fearing loss of sea access through the Cape of Good Hope, the British Royal Navy has pushed forward research into submersible warfare.Under the command of Ian Rollins, the HMS Thunderbolt has been playing a game of cat-and-mouse with the Kriegsmarine off the Cape, but their tense standoff with the Germans turns unexpectedly to a tense alliance after they are ordered to aid in the rescue of a disaster-stricken German Antarctic Expedition. The boat is forced to operate with merely a skeleton crew, and to navigate with experimental equipment beneath the ice. Can they even locate the island before the survivors succumb to the frigid land? Rollins must keep his one good eye on his German guests, on the ice above him, and on the two technical advisers assigned to the mission, one of whom has already proven herself a distraction at the best of times. With no way of knowing for sure who is a friend and who an enemy, can even the famous "Commander Claw" come out on top this time?

"What you will be working on is underhanded, unfair, and damned un-English." 1887The British Empire is in danger of collapse and teeters on the brink of war with the Kaiser Reich. Spies and saboteurs play at deadly games in the British shipyards as each side seeks naval superiority.Ian Rollins is collateral damage in their shadow war. The "accident" and his grievous injuries are about to bring his naval career to an ignominious end. But with the aid of a former Pinkerton detective, a clandestine agent for the Admiralty, a brace of Serbian savants, and one, mostly sober valet, he might survive. If he can master the skills necessary to command the world's first fully operational combat submarine, the HMS Holland Ram, and protect the secrets of the Thunderbolt. Historical Note. The Fenian Ram, fictionalized for this novel, does exist and is currently on display at the Paterson Museum in Paterson, NJ.