Drake’s Botanist
Queen Elizabeth’s England is at an uneasy peace with King Philip’s Spain, but all wonder how much longer that will last. Spain’s Catholic armies are ravaging England’s Protestant allies in the Netherlands. How can England help them short of sending an army? Spain’s rich silver mines in the New World fund its aggression. When Francis Drake approaches the Queen with a plan cut the flow of this treasure and bankrupt Philip’s empire, she agrees to it.
Drake sails with six ships. A man with flair, he dines each night on silver plates while serenaded by violas. He even has a botanist aboard.
Botanist and author Lawrence Elyot enlists with Drake, thinking the fleet is on a trading expedition to Egypt…not realizing that is a ruse to deceive the Spanish. He is shocked when once at sea Drake announces that there has been a change of plans. First stop will be Africa. Beyond that, Drake won’t say.
Elyot is now on the epic adventure of his life and in more danger than he has dreamt of in his worst nightmares. Certainly, he would not have volunteered had he realized he would play the pirate while encountering mutiny, murderous Spaniards, hostile natives, storms, scurvy, the death of friends, and nearly three years away from London. But if he survives the foray against the hated papist, his share of the plunder will assure he lives the life of a proper gentleman.
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The Sultan’s Galley, a historical novel and the third book in the Albo series
It’s 1524 and the Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent’s galleys and armies threaten Vienna and even Italy. The Pope sounds the warning. Instead of rising to fight the Moslem foe, King Francis of France and King Charles of Spain are locked in a bitter war. This leaves only a few Spanish galleys and those of the Knights Hospitaller to keep the Ottomans in check.
The wily Greek Francisco Albo captains one of the Spanish galleys. Newly appointed, he enjoys his newfound fame after defeating a squadron of galleys of the infamous Barbary corsair Barbarossa. However, fame tends to be fleeting, and now he must deliver once more.
Albo’s first sailing season is a frustrating one until word comes of a rich tribute galley taking a fortune back to Sultan Suleiman in Constantinople. Albo joins forces with his old friend Antonio Pigafetta and the Knights Hospitaller to waylay it. If successful he’ll enjoy a lifetime of riches.
Capturing the galley means sailing deep into Ottoman territory and eluding a squadron of Ottoman galleys. Albo and the Knights Hospitaller have a plan, but like most plans it goes awry. Albo must rely upon all his cunning to survive.
Think Master and Commander on a galley in 1524. The Sultan’s Galley is the third in the Albo series. It may also be enjoyed as a standalone book.
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The King’s Galley, a historical novel and the sequel to Magellan’s Navigator
Sail long enough on the Mediterranean, and one of its dangers will ensnare you.
Francisco Albo piloted the first ship to circumnavigate the world, but he gets no great reward after his return to Seville. Instead, he’s forced to flee the wrath of the ruthless Archbishop Fonseca and return to sailing the Mediterranean once more.
Albo becomes master and pilot, but not commander, of a Spanish galley. If he’s successful the reward is high: prize money from captured ships. However, the infamous Barbary pirate Barbarossa considers the Mediterranean his own playground.
Also, Albo’s captain’s intense hatred of Barbarossa puts all of his sailors at risk. And there are other problems. Can Albo survive the ever dangerous sea, evade the complications brought on by a beautiful countess, and a dangerous man from his past?
Sail beside Albo on his quest for fame, money… and survival.
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Magellan’s Navigator, a historical novel.
Magellan’s Navigator is a meticulously researched tale of the first circumnavigation of the globe as seen through the eyes of Francisco Albo, who navigated the sole remaining ship halfway around the world. Sail along with Albo through storms, mutinies, and the intrigues of native rajahs.
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My science fiction books are published as Kenneth D. Schultz. My newest science fiction books are Mindfield & Mindgames.
Mindfield and Mindgames are space operas with a dash of the psychological twists of Blade Runner. They take place in the Truth-Teller Universe around forty years after Truth-Teller Revenge.
Mindfield
Cam swore as a child he’d get revenge against the alien Harn who killed his parents. As a crack brown-shirt C-fighter pilot he gets it in the assault to take the Altos system from the Harn. But his revenge comes at a terrible price when his friends and lover are killed and he’s marooned on a fragment of a Harn orbital. There he finds reason to question his beliefs about the Harn, which sends him on a quest to discover the truth.
Orphaned at age nine when the alien Harn kill his parents, Cam is driven by an all-consuming need for revenge. Vengeance requires more than bravado. He works hard to become a crack C-fighter and develop tactics to defeat the wily Harn. His opportunity comes when he leads his squadron in the assault to take the Altos system from the Harn. He gets his revenge, but at a terrible price. His friends and lover are killed, and he’s marooned on a fragment of a Harn orbital. There he discovers there may be more to these aliens and the war than he has been told. His elation upon his rescue is short-lived, and he’s propelled into a desperate quest for the truth about the Harn, his people, and himself.
Buy it in print, ebook, or read through Kindle Unlimited on Amazon. Please click https://amzn.to/3Y6n69W
Mindgames
Lt Col Mardi Rall and Cam are mismatched lovers. She is a military commander, while he is a genetically engineered ‘tuber’ pilot. Mardi now recognizes the corruption of the Hartner regime she serves…and joins a plot to overthrow it. If the coup fails, her fate is, at best, a summary execution.
Meanwhile, the alien Harn request Cam’s attendance at summit with the NorAm government.
The Harn claim the warlike species called the Synnax will soon attack Earth. Humankind’s existence is at stake, but why have the Harn offered this warning and what do they want in return? And why do they insist Cam must play a pivotal role?
Mardi and Cam are literally light years apart, hoping for reunion. But before they reach each other, they must defuse a power struggle between the Harn, Hartner, and NorAm, with the lives of millions, including their own, at risk.
Buy Mindgames in print, ebook, or read through Kindle Unlimited on Amazon. Please click https://amzn.to/3JDGaIr
My Truth-Teller Books
My Truth-Teller world books are set two thousand years in the future, but they’re not your typical science fiction. However, the Truth-Teller world might be what our descendants face after the exhaustion of fossil fuels in the next century or so and per capita energy expenditure is back to that of our Founding Fathers. The Truth-Teller world still bears the scars of the Ninety-Minute Middle East nuclear war fought over the last dregs of oil and the world’s population is but a fraction of today’s. I’ve tried to use my scientific, engineering, and economic background to visualize this world.
However, this world is not the same as today’s. Some people, like my co-protagonists Cary and Krin, have abilities far beyond our own. How they cope with the world, and how the world copes with them, is the crux of my story.
Truth-Teller Rebellion
Cary knows if you’re lying. Krin knows what you’re feeling.
In 4012, fossil fuels are exhausted and an Ice Age grips the Earth. After their parents are swept away in a glacial flood, visitors reveal to a pair of teenage orphans the truth of their parent’s past, and they soon find themselves running for their lives. Hunted by assassins of the dictator who has invaded their country, Cary and Krin must learn to use the full extent of their powers and uncover the mysteries of their formidable family.
Can an eighteen-year-old truth-teller elude a psychopathic assassin long enough to uncover the secrets of his family’s past and unlock his formidable mental gifts?
Truth-Teller Rebellion is available in e-book and paperback from Amazon. It is also available on Kindle Unlimited for free. Please click https://amzn.to/3RvO34D
Truth-Teller Revenge
Truth-Teller Revenge happens a few years after Truth-Teller Rebellion. Wormhole technology is a reality and promises to be the salvation of mankind. That is, if the battle over its control doesn’t destroy civilization first.
Cary’s father is assassinated, he’d also almost killed. He wants justice, but he’s uncertain who’s responsible. Once that mystery is solved, he sees the opportunity for revenge. There’s one problem. It’s a suicide mission. When Krin discovers this, she’s determined to use all her emotion-twisting powers to keep him alive.
Truth-Teller Revenge is available as an ebook or paperback. It is also available through Kindle Unlimited for free. Please click https://amzn.to/3DGprQS
My mystery/thrillers are published as K.D. Schultz
Adam, a mathematics geek and hacker for the National Security Agency, gets a late night call from Seattle. His twin brother Cole is dying. In Seattle, Adam discovers a mystery drug induced his brother’s death. Cole was a high-frequency stock trader at a high flying Seattle hedge fund where he recently had unusual multi-million dollars losses.
These losses are the key to Cole’s murder. To find the killer, Adam teams up with a retired NFL player and a gawky childhood friend turned lovely accountant. They uncover a shady hedge fund’s illicit trading scheme, but Adam has to flee Seattle when he’s targeted by a hit man. Adam must use all his math, computer, and hacking skills to elude the killers, foil the rogue traders, and avenge his brother’s death.
Download is available on Amazon in paperback, ebook, or in Kindle Unlimited. Please click https://amzn.to/3wYb6LM
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