John Drake

Fletcher and the Samurai John Drake

Jacob Fletcher is beset by treachery at every turn of the ship's wheel at sea and with every step on dry land.




1797. Fletcher is sent halfway round the world aboard the frigate Euphonides to fight not the French nor the Spanish, but the British East India Company. The Company already owns India, and under the charismatic Director Kilbride, it wants to invade Japan and be independent of England. Fletcher is ordered by Lord Spencer, the First Sea Lord, to stop Kilbride by any means necessary.




His adventure soon tangles with that of the young Samurai lord Masahito, sent to England to get western cannons and muskets for an imminent Japanese civil war. Fighting free of a deadly trap in India, Fletcher reaches Japan with Masahito as the Samurai war begins...




From boisterous Georgian London to the exotic east, Fletcher and the Samurai is the fifth instalment of the swashbuckling Fletcher Series.




Praise for John Drake:

'Broad comedy, high drama, plenty of action, a pinch of sex ... the genre has room for this cheerily debunking outsider' - Daily Mail

'Swashbuckling adventure on the high seas doesn't get much better than this. [...] John Drake writes beautifully, and you'll be torn between savoring the words and quickly flipping the pages. Any favorable comparison to Stevenson or Patrick O'Brian is totally justified.' - Nelson DeMille, #1 New York Times bestselling author.




John Drake trained as a biochemist to post-doctorate research level before realizing he was no good at science. His working career was in the television department of ICI until 1999 when he became a full-time writer. John's hobby is muzzle-loading shooting, and his interests are British history and British politics (as a spectator), plus newspapers, TV news, and current affairs. He is married with a son and two grandchildren.