Book Review: The Gray Ship

I like to read alternative histories. In fact, I got inspiration for my upcoming release Blue 52 after reading an alternative history. So when I found an alternative history for the Civil War, I decided to buy it. The name of the book is The Gray Ship by Russell Moran.  Here's a blurb about the book.

Captain Ashley Patterson is a 36 year old Commanding Officer of a nuclear guided missile cruiser. While steaming toward Charleston, South Carolina in April 2013, the ship encounters a time warp or wormhole. Suddenly, Captain Patterson and her 930 crewmembers find themselves in the year 1861, two days before the start of the Civil War. They were to participate in a ceremony to commemorate the 152nd anniversary of the Battle of Fort Sumter.

Abraham Lincoln wants to win the war, and he sees this ship as a key to victory. But Captain
Patterson and her crew want to return home to the 21st Century.  For them, the Civil War was history. Now, they find that it has only just begun. Does she risk mutiny, or commit treason?
If she changes history, what will the future look like?

The first chapter hooked me. There was enough military terminology to make the reading sound authentic, and the 'daylight event' was a nice way to get them to 1861. What really made the book interesting, though, is that Captain Patterson is a black woman. Her competence and achievement make both Jefferson Davis and Abraham Lincoln sit up and take notice. There is a romance in the story between the captain and one of her officers which I found realistic given the circumstances they found themselves in. The romance isn't the focus of the book, though.

Now for the bad news. This book needed a little more editing. There were punctuation and grammar errors, and sometimes it read a little choppy. However, this didn't spoil the book for me. I thought it was a nice read. If you like alternative histories, you'll probably like this one