Ethan Gage is back for yet another swashbuckling adventure in the Napoleonic era. Ethan is a married father now, and ready to settle down with his family. He’s got a large emerald to sell to finance his retirement, so he and wife Astiza go to one of Paris’s premier jewelers to sell it, and thereby find themselves in the middle of another adventure when their son is kidnapped. The French authorities believe Ethan’s emerald to be only one small piece of a large Aztec hoard lost somewhere in the Caribbean. Gold and jewels are of interest, but the French are mostly interested in rumors of Aztec flying machine designs that will help them gain military superiority over England. The English are onto the plan, and they want to free slave rebel Dessalines from a French prison and get the secret to the treasure for themselves. Forced into action in order to save their son, Ethan and Astiza travel to Haiti under the guise of working for both the English and the French in the midst of a slave revolt. Ethan has to play it very carefully when he also befriends the new revolutionary leader and finds himself in the middle of a hurricane.This is a fun adventure series filled with historical detail. Ethan is an engaging hero who always manages to find trouble. I was not as thrilled with this book as the last in the series, and found the theme of Ethan always being separated from his family to be going bit stale. I would have enjoyed the story more if they entered this adventure for different reasons, rather than retreading what’s been done before. Dietrich does weave actual historical detail quite well into fictional adventure, though, and I learned several new things. The action is gripping, the other characters are well drawn, and the cliffhanger at the end made me impatient for the next book in the series. This is one of a series of books written by Deitrich featuring a dashing American who always seems to get himself mixed up into historical events. This one has him playing a triple spy role -- American, French, and British -- while trying to rescue his wife and son who had been kidnapped and taken to the island of Haiti. Also involved are a fabulous emerald, Aztec treasure, the revolution that drove Napoleon out of the Americas, and some amazing, early scientific experiments. It is an enjoyable story, easy to read, and can be read as a stand alone, or in the order in which his escapades occur in the books.
What do You think about The Emerald Storm (2012)?
Not the first of a series but not impossible to read as a stand alone.
—bolu
Fun reading. Very clever dialogue and history was informative.
—cdohert
I didn't like this one as well as the others in the series.
—joy23
