Publishers Weekly
★ 03/29/2021
In 1803, with tensions rising between England and France, Capt. Thomas Grey, the hero of Gelernter’s impressive debut, decides to retire from being a British spy to make a fresh start in the United States, where he has a work offer from a relative in Boston. A year earlier, Grey, who was then the head of station in Malta for naval intelligence, was dispatched to North Africa to deal with Barbary pirates. On the voyage back to Malta, his wife was killed when their vessel came under French fire, and he fell into a depression. Soon after Grey sets sail for Boston, his ship is attacked by a French ship, and his skill with both rifle and sword helps to fend off the assailants. The damaged ship docks in Oporto, Portugal, where agents for a French-Irish intelligence network, believing him to be alienated from his country, invite him to join them. Grey considers the network a threat to Britain’s security and decides to play along to thwart it. Gelernter keeps the suspense high without sacrificing plausibility. Bernard Cornwell fans will welcome this promising new talent. (May)
Ian W. Toll
"Brilliant writing, vivid characters, thrilling battle scenes—all the hallmarks of great historical fiction are to be found in this suspenseful tale of an English intelligence agent in the war against Napoleon. Fans of the late Patrick O’Brian will be enthralled."
Richard Snow
"In Hold Fast, J. H. Gelernter has given us a stirring adventure tale with a headlong narrative that never flags. Set midway through the Napoleonic Wars, its immensely resourceful and appealing hero, Thomas Grey (humorous; cool-minded; lethal but not bloodthirsty), cuts a spectacular path through a richly imagined early nineteenth-century world. Readers will know at once that if Mr. Gelernter can bring simmering suspense to each hand dealt in an antique French card game they have most likely never even heard of, he won’t disappoint them when it comes to warships hammering it out yardarm to yardarm, or in the more intimate violence of a rapier duel. Although most of the action takes place on land, the novel is imbued throughout with the spirit of the Royal Navy in the great age of fighting sail, and I hope to take many more voyages in the company of Captain Grey."
The ARTery - Michael Patrick Brady
"A Ripping Napoleonic War Adventure….an immersive, entertaining debut….[a] thoughtful, learned depiction of this deeply engrossing period in history."
Historical Novel Society - Susan Lowell
"Picture this: James Bond in a red coat, tight white breeches, and a powdered wig topped off with an odd mésalliance between a top hat and a cowboy hat.…[A] rip-roaring novel."
Lee Child
"This is superb, like a great Cold War thriller, smart, fast, twisty and dangerous. Highly recommended."
Library Journal
04/30/2021
DEBUT It's 1803. France and England are at peace, but it's clear that won't last. Captain Thomas Grey is England's chief of naval intelligence in Malta. When his wife is killed in battle with a French frigate, Grey resigns from the service, intending to move to the United States. At sea, his ship is attacked by French privateers. Grey saves the ship but has to dock in Oporto for repairs, where he encounters an Irish recruiter for the French. Grey's sense of duty kicks in, and he plays the embittered ex-functionary, possessed of information about British naval arrangements. He's soon in Paris, where he encounters the captain of the frigate that killed his wife. He's set on revenge but must first ferret out French plans for an invasion of England. By the time he's done, Grey will have fought a sea battle and two duels, broken out of a Parisian prison where he was being tortured, and dallied with a charming French mademoiselle; at book's end, he's back in England with Napoleon's plans. So much for retiring. He's ready for another adventure. VERDICT Gelernter's first novel is a pleasing romp through James Bond territory, set back a century and several decades and moved to Napoleonic France.—David Keymer, Cleveland
