In The Patriot's Fate, the fifth book in Alaric Bond's excellent Fighting Sail series, a detachment of British naval ships are sent to intercept a French fleet carrying Irish patriots (led by Wolfe Tone) and French soldiers intent on launching a large-scale rebellion in Ireland. Among them is the frigate Scylla, captained by Richard Banks and crewed by several familiar characters from previous books in the series.

While the most recent book, Cut & Run, focused primarily on Lt. Thomas King, who was serving temporarily on an Honourable East India Company ship, the full ensemble returns here and, as in earlier books, the point of view shifts frequently among a large number of old and new characters. The focus is mostly on Captain Banks, who's temporarily given command of HMS Scylla, an agile frigate, while work is completed on his new line-of-battle ship, and Michael Crowley, a seaman who is waylaid into an act of Irish rebellion against the British by a gang of old Irish friends. Of course, Banks and his crew are among the ships sent to the Irish coast to find and, if need be, quell the Irish uprising.

Crowley, although a loyal Irishman, also has friends and loyalties among the British and is by no means eager to rebel. Obviously, Crowley's ship and the Scylla are destined to meet at sea; when they do, Crowley finds himself obligated to man a cannon, unknowingly aimed at his former shipmates. Wolfe Tone, a notable Irish revolutionary, is also aboard Crowley's ship, although Crowley's past often puts them at odds.

The Patriot's Fate is an exciting tale that brings to life an important piece of the ongoing conflict between Britain and France, and which for some time afterwards sealed the fate of Ireland as an unwilling territory of the British Empire. As always, Bond handles a large number of characters well, easily giving each his or her own voice and place in the action. Although I only recently discovered Bond as an author, his Fighting Sail books have quickly won a high rank among my favorite nautical series.