#maritime fiction

[the-golden-vanity]

Captain Pike, Dean Cornwell (1892-1960)

I'm in love with this dramatic painting of a ship's officer facing Age of Sail-era justice, which was sent to me by @habemuscarnificem. After much searching online, and seeing this credited as an illustration for every maritime story from Treasure Island to Moby-Dick (neither of which involve anyone being hanged from the yardarm), I came across the painting's title, Captain Pike. However, I'm having a hard time finding out who Captain Pike was, or whether he was a real or fictional sea captain. Age of Sail Tumblr, can you help me out?

@ltwilliammowett @clove-pinks @benjhawkins @ anybody else who knows their boat stories

Thank you so much! Fair winds and following seas to you all.

#dean cornwell #captain pike #age of sail #nautical #pirates #mutiny #20th century art #20th century illustration #age of sail fiction #maritime art #maritime fiction #adventure fiction #historical fiction #naval history #nautical history #art history #piratecore #cw death

[prosodi]

Had the pleasure of illustrating and designing the cover for @kcrabb88 's Sailing By Carina's Star. Comes out March 7th, so mark your calendars if you're into historic maritime fiction. 💖

#art or whatever #book cover #cover art #maritime fiction #seriously these books have been such a pleasure to design for!!!! #what a treat for me known boat nerd #commissions open

[lgbtqreads]

do you happen to know of any queer maritime fiction?

thank you for all these excellent recs! ive already gotten a couple from my library! i just got peter darling in fact. i figure that might have some boats in it!

If having boats in it is the standard, then I definitely do! Check out these pirate books:

YA

A Clash of Steel by C.B. Lee (f/f)

In Deeper Waters by F.T. Lukens (m/m)

The Unbinding of Mary Reade by Miriam McNamara (f/f)

*The Wicked Bargain by Gabe Cole Novoa (transmasc)

The Abyss Surrounds Us by Emily Skrutskie (f/f YA)

The Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea by Maggie Tokuda-Hall (f/nb)

Adult

Our Bloody Pearl by D.N. Bryn – AG

Compass Rose by Anna Burke (f/f)

Peter Darling by Austin Chant (m/m)

A Song of Silver and Gold by Melissa Karibian (f/f)

and Tack & Jibe by Lilah Suzanne for a contemporary romance! (Also, not queer, but I love Trish Doller's Float Plan so much, I have to give it a mention.)

#LGBTQReads #Maritime Fiction

[whimsicaldragonette]

ARC Review: Leeward by Katie Daysh

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Publication Date: May 11, 2023

Synopsis:

For whatever we lose, it is our self we find in the sea. 1800. HMS Ulysses mutinies off Trinidad and vanishes into the Caribbean. No one knows how many of the crew are left alive or what the mutineers plan to do with the vessel. Captain Hiram Nightingale is a veteran of the wars which have raged throughout Europe and the Americas for the last decades. But a grand victory at the Battle of the Nile comes at a devastating cost. Plagued by wounds both physical and mental, he attempts to recover by accepting command of HMS Scylla. His task is to hunt down the mutineers and bring the ship and crew to justice. However, it soon becomes clear that the Ulysses is just one danger in an immense web. Nightingale finds himself in the middle of a network of secrets that will affect everyone onboard the Scylla. He has to battle against the perils of the war-torn seas, a crew who he fears does not accept him, and meddling, powerful figures from the past. And in the centre of all this, his new lieutenant, the popular Arthur Courtney, stirs up long repressed feelings. On his journey, Nightingale must confront his own demons. For it seems, during his dangerous adventure, Nightingale's greatest enemy might be himself. A deeply poignant tale of naval warfare, political intrigue and a love that stands tall in an unaccepting world. Perfect for fans of Hornblower, Sharpe and Outlander.

My Rating: ★★★★★

*My Review below the cut.

My Review:

I have always, always loved a good tale of adventure at sea. Pirate ship, naval ship, I don't care - If a part of it takes place on a sailing ship I'm sold. Unsurprisingly, I loved this. Captain Nightingale is at the start a troubled man, ravaged by grief and loss and beset on all sides by meddling superiors. I really felt for him from the beginning, and especially as he showed his bravery and kindness on board the Scylla. This book was an outward journey, yes, chasing the mutinied Ulysses, but also an inward journey to self-acceptance and peace. And it was an absolute joy to read. I really felt like I was there, at sea along with Captain Nightingale. The setting of ships and sea is drawn so well that I was tasting salt in the air, breathing the adventure. I never questioned any aspect of the setting or the historical details. I love how Nightingale's and Louisa's relationship and sexuality are handled, and how his relationship with Courtney develops. It's slow and built on so much trust and understanding that it just feels right. There's nothing physical until the very end and even that is much tamer than a typical romance novel, but I liked that about it. I found the warmth and intimacy and trust between Courtney and Nightingale was much closer to my own idea of romance than more typical overly physical relationships built more on lust. I was delighted to see that there are more adventures of Nightingale and Courtney planned. I look forward to reading them as soon as I can get my hands on them. *Thanks to NetGalley and Canelo for providing an early copy for review.

#leeward #katie daysh #lgbt+ books #queer books #maritime fiction #nautical fiction #historical fiction #age of sail #netgalley #arc review #shilo reads

[prideprejudce]

The Ocean is terrifying!

Here are some book recommendations to prove it!

#book recommendations #book rec list #booklr #oceangate #the titanic #titanic #maritime disaster #book recs 2023 #now that I have all of your undivided attention - read these! #they are a mix of fiction/historical nonfiction #but all still terrifying!

[burningvelvet]

captain ahab 🤝 captain flint

unapproachable terrifying intelligent captains who are viewed as gods of the sea and who bribe their crew with the promise of spanish gold to achieve a years-in-the-making revenge scheme they're utterly obsessed with to the point of madness

#isnt a lot but weird that it happened twice #i love a corrupt captain #literature #black sails #treasure island #moby dick #captain flint #james mcgraw #james flint #captain ahab #piratecore #maritime #nautical #nautical fiction #pirates #media #books #comparison #byronic heroes

[alpaca-clouds]

Still love the image of underwater stations

Talking about ocean stuff this week, I really like the idea of underwater stations. Not as a fancy sort of hotel - aka not in the way capitalists are imagining it right now - or as a way to survive on a flooded earth, but rather as a research station.

We still know so little about the oceans. There are so many undiscovered species, but also a lot of stuff about mechanism happening underwater. And having a permanent station might help in some regards.

But then again, it also might be really bad. I am not too enamored with this, so I know that this also might have some bad impacts. Constructing such a thing might have impacts on the environment underwater and such. So it always has to be a sort of thing that is for better or worse. It has to be carefully calculated whether it is worth the risk.

But I especially like it in terms of Solarpunk/Lunarpunk. Because I think that a part of Solarpunk/Lunarpunk should also be about us better understanding the environment and such. And building on what I spoke about yesterday: Also working together with animals could be something we could aim towards.

Because they do understand us in some regard. They do at time try to actually communicate with us. And if we look into Solarpunk and general scifi scenarios, we might be able to figure out their language, too.

I really just think that underwater stations are so much more interesting than space stations. And I wanna see more of that, darn it.

#scifi #science fiction #underwater #underwater station #solarpunk #lunarpunk #science #oceans #maritime biology

[saranilssonbooks]

BOOK HELP NEEDED!

I have purged my fiction TBR list off everything but a few short stories and couple of novellas. Does anyone of you out there with your exquisite taste in literature any recommendations for titles by modern day authors set during the age of sail, much preferably with some semblance of historical accuracy?

#moby dick #the terror #treasure island #robinson crusoe #mutiny on the bounty #herman melville #robert louis stevenson #literature #book worm #book recommendations #age of sail #pirates #historical fiction #historical accuracy #i live under a rock #obsession #maritime history

[chiropteracupola]

sharpe interesting to me for reasons that I can't even tell are actually in the show or not... it is partially that I got introduced to the land parts of the various napoleonic goings-on in a sort of Archaeological context to start out with, so when I'm watching these guys cross back and forth across spain, losing items and burying friends and enemies as they go, I do keep thinking of hundreds of years in the future and where those things will be. lost shako badges and stray bullets will turn up eventually. wooden grave markers will rot. names will be forgotten and skeletons will remain, buried on a hilltop and maybe someday found. time passes and the dusty weight of history is a very present thing.

#em is posting about sharpe #or it is to me! pointing and shouting pepe silvia style to ask if anyone else is seeing this!! #most historical fiction does not do this to me but sharpe does for some reason #maybe it's that most war fiction I like is maritime and here we're standing our way through funeral after funeral and death after death #and they put them in the ground! and I know a little bit more about how the ground keeps someone than how the sea doesn't! #this is also about the antoine faveau cuirass and that in mental comparison to h&h at waterloo #this is a show that devotes a significant amount of time to what you do with your dead (in my personal opinion anyway!) #and h&h do not and will not get that. and I make sad little whimpery noises and possibly some sad art about it. #all the revenge in the world doesn't let you get them back! and the likelihood of there being time to sort through and set them aside is #not really a lot at all! #and it all doesn't mean much and the world doesn't remember them and no one knows their names or what they did #augh. I haven't been this soupy over The Historical Fiction In Its Haunting of an Imagined Present since the terror #well that's enough speech-making in blueberry park for tonight I think. back to the old physical therapy lurk.

[the-golden-vanity]

The number one rule of cursed boat voyages is, "no matter how cursed the boat is, do not dive from it." There was no way to survive this from the beginning, but now you will see that truth with your own eyes, and no one will believe you.

#inspired by a conversation I had in #whale weekly #about #moby dick #and #the terror #though I'm sure there are others #boat media #boat story #age of sail #nautical #maritime fiction #nautical fiction #maritime #sailorcore #pirates #piratecore #mermaidcore #doomed by the narrative

[shortlittlescarystories]

What Lies Beneath

Of course, he’d heard the tales before. A vessel, centuries old, bested by a rogue storm, a roaming gang of pirates, a sudden westerly wind…

He didn’t believe any of it. People have always talked, and talk is just that. Words whispered by candlelight in shadowed parlours were rarely backed by the harsh reality of daylight. He would never let a shaky rumour stop him from visiting the best beach in Penwith, much less a collection of stories that barely followed any common theme.

His bravery was uncommon among the people of the sleepy village, for most were unable to set aside superstitions so deeply engraved into the fibre of the land. For that reason, few dared to cross the sands, despite the plentiful bounties of the narrow cove. No matter, he thought, for there were no fish as sweet as those from its shady waters.

A dull echo of boot against cobble resounded through the sloping street, and he steadied himself with his hands as a descended. He passed a bench adorned with drooping orchids, slowing to read the inscription. Another death, he mused to himself. No doubt somebody would find a way to tie it into the murky stories of long ago. All the more fish for him, he thought with a smile.

Nearing the end of the road, he trotted towards the taupe sands, feet sinking into the saturated dunes. Dense fog rolled across the bay, coating the horizon with a smoky haze. He wrapped his thick cloak tighter with a shudder, hoping the early morning sun sneaking over the clouds would dispel his miseries before too long.

Creak.

That’s odd, he thought to himself, but paid the mysterious sound no further attention. After all, the harbour was not so far away that such a sound was unusual. The gentle lapping of the water’s edge set his mind at ease, and he continued picking his way across the sullen landscape.

Snap.

He whipped his head around to the direction of the noise, stopping in his tracks. A decrepit boat stern pierced the fog, slashing into the sand before coming to rest at his feet. Tattered sails fluttered in the wind, their garnet hue contrasting the rotting oak planks.

A slatey grey anchor descended rapidly into the ground, its chain swinging violently from side to side with a shudder. The ship groaned against its tether, writhing in the sea foam before coming to rest against the rocks.

In the distance, gulls squawked menacingly, before circling and descending upon the wreckage. In a flutter of wings they departed, their scaly prizes flopping hopelessly between sharp mustard beaks.

The sight of fish lured him out of his revere, and he remembered his morning’s intentions. If this old lump of wood contained fish aplenty, then he’d be damned if he were going to give it up, sinister appearances and all.

With a start, he found himself moving forward, his boots no longer filled with the concrete of fear, rather the helium of foolish hope. As he neared the stricken vessel, a deep pungence infiltrated his nostrils – a sickening sweetness that could only mean one thing. Fish. Fish for days.

He hauled himself onto the decaying relic with a grunt, shifting his weight between his feet as he surveyed the strange intrusion. Upon closer inspection, the vessel featured a copper sextant, of a type not commonly seen upon more modern ships, yet the bolts and nuts of its construction still retained their perfect metallic sheen.

Wondering absent mindedly to himself why someone would equip a boat with such dated tools, he approached the fish storage hold. Apprehension leaving his mind, he descended excitedly into the dimly lit space. This is what he was here for.

At first glance, nothing appeared remiss. Shelves lined the densely packed area, stacked with slimy oblong shapes. Reaching out, he brushed the shapes with his fingertips, taking in their texture. Smooth and fibrous, they pulsed rhythmically under his palms.

Curious, he pondered, wondering which fish species had scales so miniature they formed such a smooth surface. No matter, the more exquisite the specimen, a finer price it would fetch. So unusually smooth…

Clunk.

He jolted with a start, the sharp noise collapsing the silence that had previously eclipsed the cove, a dagger through the heart of quiet. Straining his eyes, he realised that the hatch above had slammed in the wind, enclosing him in the space. His breath quickened, catching in his throat. Pushing his palms against the hatch achieved little, and he flopped down with a sigh, considering his options.

No sooner than he reached the ground, a ghostly glow emanated from between shelves, illuminating the cavity in a pale gold light, and flickering daintily in an unobservable breeze.

Casting his eyes over his newly illuminated surroundings revealed something so unexpected that he felt his stomach churn violently. Fighting to keep his breakfast, he noticed a slight swaying rocking the battered hull gently, somewhat like a mother would a baby.

He squeezed his eyes shut tightly, willing the new horror his vision had granted him to vanish. Upon opening them, he was once again greeted by the grotesque vision that plagued his mind.

Resting upon the shelves lay several hunks of flamingo pink meat, throbbing fiercely in time with the rhythmic motions of the ocean against the vessel. Thin tendrils snaked sneakily around creaky beams, before nesting themselves within piles of foul offal. Wisps of hair twisted between flesh, forming a nightmarish kaleidoscope of pink, blonde and brown.

It was like nothing he had ever seen before. Like nothing anyone had ever seen before. Of course, he had seen fish guts before, their putrid sweetness never so great than in fish from this beach, but fish was no match for what rested before him.

Lurching powerfully forward, the ship grumbled into motion. He heard a clang of metal, realising that the anchor must have become retracted. Before long, the swell of the ocean carried them away, stealing them into the fog. Silently, it wrapped its hazy arms around the boat, crushing it into a blurred embrace.

A drip, gurgle and splash filled the cramped cabin, followed by an icy blue fluid, swirling around his feet. Panic filled the air, consuming him. He beat his fists against the hatch, against the walls, against the shelves, until crimson merged with indigo, and his hands throbbed with salinity.

After the panic came the calm. He sunk into the water; energy depleted. The flickering light danced fervently until it too was extinguished, swallowed by the insatiable blue. Darkness swept into the waterlogged compartment, sweeping the curtains closed on the repugnant scene.

~

Few dared to enter the ghastly cove, for everyone knew the tales. But fortuity shines on the daring, and never more so in the days after tragedy.

Everyone knew: the days in which the fish of the sea tasted the sweetest, were the days just after a fresh disappearance. Most would grow comfortable with the assertion that it must be something in the water, never daring to question further.

For is it admirable bravery, inexcusable foolishness or bleak desperation that powers the few beyond the bounds of the sands?

#short story #creative writing #horror #surreal #scary #eerie #maritime #ocean #sea #boat #fishing #water #writeblr #writing #short fiction

[nomaishuttle]

semi related to prev rb i Love love love it when ppl who make like deepdive videos inti specific subjects do them in universe for a fictional thing but treat it like its real i need mlrw of it

#several ofmy maritime history channels do this for april fools.... and i love it every time i cant lie i rewatch them sm. #one of them does it for fictional spaceship disasters snd i literallyyy love it theyll be like A strange virus overtook the vessel..... and #im like YASSSSSS

[theredontbedragons]

Just excuse me while I ascend into nautical literature heaven..

#makes me insanely happy that Patrick O’Brian is among the most requested authors in a little old bookshop #maritime historical fiction eat hour heart out #master and commander #aubrey maturin #Patrick O’Brian #hornblower #c.s. forester #historical fiction #nautical literature #age of sail #independent bookshop #used books #own photo

[writeouswriter]

Despite being Canadian, it feels strange setting a story in/seeing a story set in Canada, and I’m not sure if it’s because it feels unreal or too real... it’s like Canada is a real place everywhere except in the realm of fiction, where it feels like I’m reading about a made up fantasy world

#read a book where the character was from Ottawa and I was like pfft Ottawa that’s not a real place #also me: has been to Ottawa on multiple occasions #any Canadian location except perhaps the Yukon instills this feeling of wrongness in fiction like you can’t do that #Canada #writing #writeblr #settings #any of the states yeah I’ll believe that. name a province? absolutely not. immersion broken #I think it’s just maybe it’s jarring because these places feel a lot less abstract than common big city or small town USA or Europe or so? #no clue how to word the thought or feeling but it’s just it’s there #historical pieces set in Toronto or the maritimes are usually an outlier and should be ignored #sitcoms also feel exempt #but novels hmmmm #*Cecil Palmer voice* #and anytime they go to Quebec lord help us all

[yuri-goth]

Listening to a non-fiction book about maritime disaster and the way this author is describing the ship sinking is so sexual

#lilyism

[filipmagnuswrites]

The Bone Shard War by Andrea Stewart - Book Review | A Fond Farewell

You can find the review for The Bone Shard Daughter here, and for the Bone Shard Emperor here. Andrea Stewart does not kid around. I always experience a bit of consternation when I come to the concluding novel in a trilogy. What if it’s a dud? What if these worlds and characters, whom I’ve grown to adore and care about over dozens of hours and several years, what if they’re done disservice by…

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#Andrea Stewart #book blog #book review #book reviewer #Fantasy #fiction #High Fantasy #literature #maritime fantasy #the bone shard war #The Drowning Empire #Writing