Ronald Frank Francioli

Gray Stones Ronald Frank Francioli

In 1868 Captain Edward Crow of Her Majesties Ship, Goliath, sailed from London to the Arctic Circle with orders to make contact and investigate lost communications between the Crown and the British posession, Prince Patrick Island. Crow and his crew had no idea what awaited them when arriving at this frozen wasteland at the top of the world. A detachment of Royal Marines under the command of Captain Jacob Baldwin would finally land to discover the village of Greenwald was deserted in a more than hasty fashion. Homes and small stores were abandonded, the narrow ice covered roads empty. Baldwin pressed his marines North and came upon a small encampment - a solitary hut holding a sign of life. An Eskimo Indian shaman. The shaman shares a freightening prediction and warns of a mysterious deadly event that has come over the island. Further on, the discovery of a Prussian ship the Viktoria, frozen in hard at the North end of the island added further complication to what was already a horrific tale of death and conspiracy. Crow is contacted and sails Goliath North to intercept the Viktoria where he is forced into a conflict that would have both ships engaged in a fierce battle. News of the Prince Patrick Island mystery reaches England and sets into motion an international incident that would find its way years later into World War I. This is Francioli's first novel and an exciting fast paced one at that. He skillfully takes the reader aboard the British warship right after the end of the American Civil War. You'll joing his crew of young English sailors and Royal Marines as they set foot on an Arctic island void of all humanity. The shock of what you'll learn will raise the hair on the back of your neck. "Gray Stones is a terrific achievement." Timothy Harper, Editor, The ASJA Guide to Freelance Writing.