Saratoga — David Garland

Set against the backdrop of the unthinkable turmoil that accompanied the formation of America, Saratoga is the thrilling first installment in a series that will chronicle the birth of a nation and the stories of the men and women hopelessly caught in its wake.

 

It is May 1777 nearly a year after the British colonies in America have declared independence from the crown. The mammoth British military machine has been dispatched to stamp out this minor annoyance, but the American rebels have shown a surprisingly stubborn resistance to being put back in their place. The past year has seen skirmishes from Crown Point to Fort Ticonderoga.
Captain Jamie Skoyles is a career soldier in the British Army who has made a reputation of conspicuous gallantry for himself with his unswerving bravery and uncanny luck. He fights alongside unquestioning British patriots in the unfamiliar lands of America. As costly, bumbling mistakes begin to pile up, and the American rebels surge with confidence, Skoyles can't help but begin to mistrust the arrogant generals whom he serves.

 

Unable to pursue his love, a woman betrothed to a fellow officer, Skoyles must instead focus on staying alive and furthering the empire's cause in his own small corner of the war. As the two vast armies converge on Saratoga in what will prove the first large-scale test of the conflict, the American rebels gain momentum and British victory no longer seems certain. Captain Skoyles soon finds his loyalties severely tested as he imagines life after the war, which he intends to live in the new world, no matter which flag flies over it.