Download or read book The Fountain of Truth written by Raymond K. Swanigan and published by . This book was released on 2005-07-01 with total page 96 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The year is 1585. Newly Protestant England stands alone against the world-girdling Spanish Empire of King Philip II, a Catholic zealot who is bent on stamping out the heresy that has taken root in the British Isles. A veteran Spanish army of occupation stands astride a rebellious, Protestant, Netherlands; like a dagger aimed across the Dover Strait at England. From Spain's expansive but loosely-held American Empire, a hoard of silver is being assembled for transport across the Atlantic to fill Philip's coffers and finance a mighty Armada to carry that army across to England. Only a defiant woman, Queen Elizabeth I, wielding power like a fox, and her "sea dog" ship-captains aboard formidable English galleons, stand between Philip and his dream of world hegemony. Robert Lawton is a young but seasoned shipmaster recently returned to London from a trading voyage to Spain, where Spanish officials and the dreaded Inquisition attacked his men and stole his cargo. Not keen on leading the life of a lawless corsair, Lawton is nonetheless drawn into a "reprisal venture" with an old family friend, the hardened sea dog Richard Hawthorne. Hawthorne has assembled a force of English galleons under a secret Queen's commission to plunder King Philip's annual treasure fleet before it links up with the fearsome war galleons of the Spanish Averia and crosses to Spain. Caught up in Hawthorne's lust for glory, loot and vengeance, Lawton signs aboard Hawthorne's galleon, the Elanor Rose, as second mate. The fleet sets sail toward the Caribbean to wreak havoc on the far-flung settlements and shipping of Philip's American dominion. Almost right away, dissension among the fleet's high officers challenges the cohesion of the fleet. Despite moderate success against the Spanish on land and sea, Hawthorne's personal agenda leads his ship and crew on a risky secret route that can lead to either glory or ruin. The outcome of this choice will be decided by whimsical natural elements, a contentious crew, or the guns of Spanish warships lurking on their trail. Voyage of Reprisal draws on the author's extensive research into the period and presents a careful reconstruction of life at sea aboard an Elizabethan war galleon; her crew forms a microcosm of a 16th century society mired in an idealogical and economic struggle. Charismatic characters come alive; from crude sailors to arrogant lords, and the pains, joys, sorrows, and hopes of the age are explored within the wooden hull of the Elanor Rose.