Sea Adventures Fiction

Highliners are the elite of the fishing world, the skippers and crews who make the biggest catches—salmon, king crab, halibut, shrimp—and deliver them first to the bustling canneries of Kodiak and Dutch Harbor. For these men—and for their women—the safe eight-hour day does not exist. It never will. Some fishermen get rich, many die broke. But they find a special joy in their work that can never be matched by the easier world of the landsman.

In late 1944, America’s recapture of the Philippines is jeopardized by what seems an insurmountable threat from Japan: immense Yamato-class battleships, which dwarf every other ship at sea. Built in total secrecy, these 76,000-ton warships seem invincible. American military intelligence knows of two such ships, but there are rumors of a third, built not as a battleship but as an aircraft carrier. Now ready to go operational from Japan’s heavily defended and mined Inland Sea, a carrier of that size could disrupt the entire invasion effort.

It is 1839 and China has embargoed the trade of opium, yet too much is at stake in the lucrative business and the British Foreign Secretary has ordered the colonial government in India to assemble an expeditionary force for an attack to reinstate the trade. Among those consigned is Kesri Singh, a soldier in the army of the East India Company. He makes his way eastward on the Hind, a transport ship that will carry him from Bengal to Hong Kong.

In the year 2514, the only thing more dangerous than the seas is those who sail them. Life aboard the mercenary ship Man o’ War is rarely dull, as hurricanes, swarms of jellyfish, and man-eating squid pose daily doses of danger. As intrigue and subterfuge from enemies old and new begin to surround its captain, the infamous Miranda Stillwater, even an uncanny sense of direction won’t be enough to help Compass Rose navigate these dangerous straits.

Today we take for granted the exploration of the fascinating submarine depths of the oceans, so ubiquitous are its many representations on our screens. It is therefore surprising to realise that in his thrilling 1869 novel Jules Verne was anticipating much which was then not even imagined by science. The enigmatic Captain Nemo takes his awe-inspiring Nautilus around the Oceans of the world exploring the deep with its wonders and horrors.

Captain Jack Aubrey, RN, arrives in the Dutch East Indies to find himself appointed to the command of the fastest and best-armed frigate in the navy. He and his friend, Stephen Maturin, take passage for England in a dispatch vessel. But the War of 1812 breaks out while they are en route. Bloody actions precipitate them both into new and unexpected scenes where Stephen's past activities as a secret agent return on him with a vengeance.

Call me Ishmael. These three famous words begin one of America's most epic novels, a tale of one obsessed captain, his doomed crew, and an elusive white whale named Moby-Dick. The massive original, however, can be very hard for young listeners to navigate. This beautifully abridged and adventure-filled version will thrill children and whet their appetite for the complete work - when they are ready to tackle it.

After the battle to save King Lars and Queen Kennedy’s throne against Stavros, a tragic loss shatters what was left of Croygen’s heart, and the Silver Tongue Devil returns to his first love—the sea. Trying to regain his title as the King of pirates, Croygen hears of another who is challenging his claim—the woman pirate known as Puss in Boots. Ruthless as she is beautiful, men desire and fear her.

December 1801. The Peace of Amiens end the long war with Napoleon Bonaparte's France, but Captain Alan Lewrie, Royal Navy, is appalled by its consequences. First, he's been in the Navy since 1780 (most unwillingly, most of the time!) and at sea for the better part of nine years, since 1793, so what is a dashing and successful frigate captain to do with himself, if he's ashore on half-pay, and if so, for how long? Second, and even worse, is where will Lewrie twiddle his thumbs and be bored to death until the war begins again, as he's sure it will?

The year 1809 starts out badly for Captain Alan Lewrie, Royal Navy, and his ship, HMS Sapphire. They've extracted the sick, cold survivors of Sir John Moore's army from disaster at Corunna, got hit by lightning while escorting the army to England, and suffered a shattered mainmast which may end Lewrie's active commission if a replacement can't be found or fashioned soon. Admiralty needs troopships, not slow, old Fourth Rate two-deckers, so Lewrie must beg, borrow, steal, and gild the facts most glibly if he wishes to keep her and her skilled crew together.

Ramage, finally reunited with his beloved Sarah, hopes to spend at least a few quiet weeks with her. Instead, he is summoned by Admiral Nelson himself. His orders: Ramage is to join Nelson's fleet blockading the combined French and Spanish navies in the port of Cadiz. But Nelson's plan is not merely to blockade the enemy's fleet. He intends to confront it head-on in the biggest naval battle the world has ever seen.

It is February 1813. With convoys from Canada and the Caribbean falling victim to American privateers, Sir Richard Bolitho returns to Halifax to pursue a war he knows will not be won, but which neither Britain nor the United States can afford to lose. England's youngest admiral desires only peace. But peace will not be found in the icy Canadian waters, where a young, angry nation asserts its identity and men who share a common heritage die in close and bloody action.

Everyone loves adventure, and Otto Penzler has collected the best adventure stories of all time into one mammoth volume. With stories by Jack London, O. Henry, H. Rider Haggard, Alastair MacLean, Talbot Mundy, Cornell Woolrich, and many others, this wide-reaching and fascinating volume contains some of the best characters from the most thrilling adventure tales, including The Cisco Kid.

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.

A ruthless corporation is about to take command of the seas. This is a mission for Kurt Austin and the NUMA team.

When Eric meets a wealthy, mysterious stranger named Ari who offers him an outrageous proposal, Eric is skeptical at first. Ari will pay Eric a ridiculous amount of money and promise to solve his problems with love, on the condition that he surrender his identification and do everything Ari says for just a few days. Ari's money is good, and Eric is too curious not to accept. Soon, Ari has transformed him into Erin, with a whole new rush of exciting and confusing feelings, opening the door to a passionate affair that Erin comes to love more than she ever loved her time as a man.

Jack has caused an earthquake. He was trying to save his sister, Lucy, from being thrown down a well, but he is, after all, only a 13-year-old bard in training. Sometimes the magic doesn't quite work out. Not only does Jack demolish a monastery, but Lucy is carried off by the Lady of the Lake. Jack has to follow her through the Hollow Road that lies underground. It leads to all sorts of unexpected places: caves full of dragon poop, knucker holes (you do not want to know what knuckers are), and Elfland.

Bobby MacPherson, seaman second class, only 17 years old and freshly graduated from radio operator school, was naively excited by his assignment to the submarine S-37 stationed with the Asiatic Fleet. The exotic places providing bases for the American Navy - Manila, Shanghai, Tsingtao - and their strange cultures, histories, and people engaged his driving curiosity and sharp mind.

In the 1870s, newspaperman James Gordon Bennett of the New York Herald drummed up excitement and publicity for his paper through highly publicized missions of exploration. In 1879, Bennett's idea for a voyage was his most audacious to date: the North Pole. To do this, he hired a team of naval veterans in addition to a smattering of civilians with specialized knowledge in meteorology, whaling, and naturalism. The men on board the Jeannette set off in September of 1879. This would be the last time anyone saw them for two years.

Breeze is made an offer he can't refuse. A three-million-dollar yacht is his for the taking, but there are strings attached. He's sent to Panama to repossess the vessel from its current captain, who becomes an unlikely ally during a mission to Colombia. He desperately wants to get home to Florida, but the return trip is fraught with problems and complicated by the uneasy relationship with his passenger. Any attempt to come to terms with the loss of his lover must wait for the completion of the journey.