Sea Adventures Fiction

Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin, veterans now of many battles, return to the seas where they first sailed as shipmates. But, this is a longer, harder, colder war than the dashing frigate actions of their early days. When a sudden turn of events takes them off on a hazardous mission, they must depend on all of their seamanship skills and Jack's proverbial luck.

Browse more Patrick O'Brian.

From best-selling authors Maggie Stiefvater and Jackson Pearce comes the third installment in a series bursting with magical creatures and whimsical adventures. Pip and Tomas have dealt with magical creatures that burst into flames and runaway unicorns. Now they are headed with Tomas's family to Port Candor, a seaside showplace full of magical sea creatures. Soon they are surrounded by Slimekrakens and Tubafish and Spinnerseals and other dazzlers of the deep. And they are involved in a big mystery that involves a sea monster that might not be staying in its tank.

Three mismatched troop transports, lots of 29-foot barges, and an under-strength regiment of foot - a waste of Royal Navy money, a doomed experiment, or a new way to bedevil Napoleon's army in Italy? Either way, it's Capt. Sir Alan Lewrie's idea, and it seems to be working, with successful raids all along the coast of Calabria. But it depends on timely information, and Lewrie must trust Don Julio Caesare, a lord of a Sicilian criminal underworld, and his minions, or the amateur efforts of a disorganized network of Calabrian partisans.

In 1721, when the most notorious pirates are either dead or on the run, Jimmy Kavanagh, who sailed with Blackbeard, decides to pull together a "Company of Gentleman of Fortune" for one last "Adventuring Cruise" that will set them all up for life. All begins well: the pirates sail across the Atlantic and sack Cape Coast Castle, looting it of chests of gold ill-gotten from the slave trade. But before Kavanagh can lead them on, he sickens, unleashing a drastic series of power struggles among the company.

A classic tale featuring two of the most-memorable characters in sword and sorcery, Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser. Over a span of 50 years, the late Fritz Leiber wrote dozens of adventures, set in the fictional city of Lankhmar, featuring the seven-foot-tall barbarian and the diminuitive thief. The stories were recognized with both the Hugo and Nebula Awards.

In this follow-up to 2018's Arrow's Flight, a tale of an 18th-century sunken ship and a fortune in gold sends Arrow and her crew on a venture that seems harmless enough - until it attracts the attention of the flamboyant owner of the Golden Dragon, a 240-foot sailing machine crewed by cashiered ex-marine Lord Barclay Summers and his band of mercenaries. When Arrow and her crew are viciously attacked, they seek shelter in the treacherous Great Sea Reef where they become ensnared in a life-and-death sailing match against the murderous crew of the Golden Dragon.

Fourteen-year-old Jesse is shipped halfway round the world after the death of his father. He struggles to adapt to life on the Welsh Atlantic coast but eventually befriends John, a popular, charismatic, and outwardly charming boy. But as their friendship grows, a darker side to John emerges. Will Jesse notice before it's too late?

"Boredom is dangerous," writes Benjamin Samuel, Co-Editor of Electric Literature, in his introduction to this issue of Recommended Reading. "It can make us lazy, complacent, and if we suffer too much of it we're liable to become boring ourselves. For the whalers at sea in Anu Jindal's Not a Bad Bunch, boredom is far more insidious; according to the ship's surgeon, who narrates the story, it's an early symptom of an infectious and barbarous madness.

Robert Hamilton is a young man on a mission to marry Ellen, a beautiful young lady who is unattainable to him due to his lack of resources and means of providing. Robert soon enlists the help of his friend Tom to seek out a long known of buried treasure in hopes that he can attain the means by which to support the woman he loves. Originally published as a serial in 1875, Buried Treasures is a masterpiece of Bram Stoker, who while famous for his macabre tales, is a master craftsman of romance.

The Watter's Mou, meaning "the water's mouth," revolves around the romance between a young coast guard officer and his girlfriend, the daughter of a fisherman. The officer, William Barrow [or Sailor Willy], is tasked with dealing with smuggling going on among the local fishermen, including his girlfriend’s father. Maggie MacWhirter's father had fallen upon hard times, when once his fishing boat had brought him a prosperous living.

1812. Arriving back in England after his successes in the Adriatic, Captain Sir Thomas Kydd is bestowed with honours. In London, he's greeted by the Prince Regent, who, despite Kydd's protestations that he's happy with his present command, insists he be given a bigger ship - HMS Thunderer, a 74-gun ship of the line. But she's old, and being part of a standing fleet, Kydd's chances of further fame and distinction are slim indeed.

For Jin Haldar, this life is nothing new—ever since her father died in a diving accident, she’s barely made ends meet for her and her younger sister, Thara. Enter Bhili: a drifter who offers Jin and Thara the score of a lifetime—a massive stash of gold hidden in the sunken ruins of Las Vegas. Jin knows it’s too dangerous. She stopped diving after her father’s accident. But when her sister decides to go, Jin’s left with only one choice: to go with her.

Sam Steele, 16-years-old, is the son of a sea captain. His father is reported killed in a shipwreck, and Sam is quickly cheated of his inheritance. Now an orphan, Sam meets his maternal uncle, Naboth Perkins, another sea captain and ship-owner. Together, the two set sail in the Pacific to make money at the shipping trade.

John Pearce discovers that Madrid plans to desert the British-led coalition and join the enemy. In company with Lord Langholm, he has taken a Spanish treasure ship but is forced into a deep bay overlooked by Spaniards who have a cannon aimed at the entrance. Pearce must take the lead and find a way to get Langholm's frigate and the damaged Santa Leocadia through the bottleneck. His orders take him via Gibraltar, then to Admiral Jervis to warn of Spanish duplicity.

Most people associate storms and other big weather with death - with the kind of force that makes each of us wonder about life, time, and the nature of our surroundings. The stories in Storm have more to say than that. Deep Blue offers compelling tales of shipwrecks and salvage, submarine adventure and free diving, nautical survival and cannibalism.

Rachel's plans to spend Christmas with her fiancé are in tatters after he is called to Italy at short notice. Rather than spend Christmas with her parents, Rachel decides to take a last-minute Canary Island cruise. Sarah, cruise ship nurse and Rachel's best friend, is only too pleased to have her along, as Sarah's parents are taking their first cruise. With her mother keen for her to settle down, she is glad of the moral support.

It is 1811, and in this, the 22nd Richard Bolitho novel, Alexander Kent's sensitive and compassionate hero is recalled to duty after only two and a half months' peace in Cornwall with his beloved Catherine.

Finn is retired after a 20-odd-year career with an unnamed government agency, but he still handles a contract job for them once in a while. The series begins in Puerto Rico with Assassins and Liars, when Finn meets Mary.

Captain Favian Markham, USN, is a man surrounded by secrets. Secrets that will be revealed when he is court-martialed for losing his ship. Secrets held by his mistress Caroline. The secrets of enemy spies signaling to British ships over the horizon. And the greatest secret of the War of 1812, a secret which will be revealed once Favian breaks the enemy blockade in the Macedonian, a frigate stolen from his own government.

A classic tale featuring two of the most-memorable characters in sword and sorcery, Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser. Over a span of 50 years, the late Fritz Leiber wrote dozens of adventures, set in the fictional city of Lankhmar, featuring the seven-foot-tall barbarian and the diminuitive thief. The stories were recognized with both the Hugo and Nebula Awards.