The Nautical Fiction List
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Entries preceded by a '*' are reviewed on my Nautical Book Reviews page
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Porteous, Richard Sydney ("Standby") d. 1963 (Very human realistic stories of WW II and after, possibly only published in Australia.) Little Known of these Waters, 1945 Sailing Orders, 1949 (The Australian merchant ship HAICHOW carries troops and cargoes to combat areas during WW II. "Their crews risked their lives daily and took their ships without question wherever they were ordered. If they were killed, their dependents received no pension. If they survived they received no credit when they returned.... For were they not civilians? Men of peaceful occupations who wore no uniform and had taken no part in the fighting." [From bookjacket blurb]) Close to the Wind and other stories, 1955 (Mostly set along the Queensland coast.) Tambai Island 1955 (Children's book.) The Tambai Treasure, 1958 (Chidren's book.) Salvage and Other Stories, 1963 (Salvage; A deal with father; Finito; Shaggy Dodgson's Hour of Glory; Ebb tide; Fear; The Bad Bargain; Conscience; The Contest; Settled Out of Court; The Hard Way; Last Voyage.) The Silent Isles, 1963 (Children's book.) Posse, Abel The Dogs of Paradise, 1987 (Cosmic novel with a surreal vision about the end of the 15th century, Columbus, Ferdinand & Isabella, Aztecs, Incas, and discovery of the Americas. Argentine author, translated from Spanish.) Pournelle, Jerry 1933- Two Novels set in the Seattle area - specifically in the college atmosphere. The protagonist is Paul Crane, a young consulting engineer drawn into CIA domestic operations by the twin lures of patriotism and a long-stemmed blond. Small boat sailing through the Straits of Juan de Fuca, north to Victoria and south to California along the Pacific Coast constitutes an important part of the plot. Originally published under the pseudonym "Wade Curtis." Science fiction readers will recognize the pen name as part of Pournelle's long-standing gag with Larry Niven. Red Heroin Red Dragon Powers, Tim 1952- On Stranger Tides, 1987 (Magic, voodoo, Blackbeard and the Fountain of Youth in this early 18th century pirate adventure by the author of the sci-fi award winning THE ANUBIS GATE.) Poyer, David C. "Tiller" Galloway series: ("Very good..." [BF]) Hatteras Blue, 1989 (Tiller Galloway, ex-navy diver and ex-drug smuggler, takes on a job from a mysterious stranger to dive on the wreck of a WW II German sub. The original reason given was for the stranger to write about the adventure, the real reason was for the cargo... millions in gold headed to Argentina for the new Fatherland "A very good read." [BF]) Bahamas Blue, 1991 (A job is offered to Tiller by the drug lord he used to smuggle for before he went to prison. The job was supposed to be to retreive cocaine from one of their boats sunk in 300 feet of water. When Tiller refuses, the cartel destroys his business, making him an offer he can't refuse. "Another good read." [BF]) Louisianna Blue, 1994 (Tiller, broke, heads to the Gulf with his partner to try to earn enough money to get his business going again, after its destruction by the drug lord in Bahamas Blue. He lands a job with an oil company, where everything is not as it seems.) The Med, 1988 (Dan Lenson, officer in USN faces personal crises as an incompetent admiral bungles rescue of American hostages held in Lebanon. The hostages include Lenson's wife and child.) The Gulf, 1990 (Lenson's adventures in the Persian Gulf in a pre-Gulf War scenario of naval warfare with Iran.) The Circle, 1992 (Aging US destroyer operating in the arctic encounters a rogue Soviet submarine.) The Passage, 1994 (Dan Lenson, as a lieutenant, in action against a Soviet submarine, during the Cold War. Preceeds events in THE MED and THE GULF.) Preston, Douglas J. and Child, Lincoln Riptide, 1998 (A high-tech search for a vast pirate treasure on an island off the coast of Maine. The island is owned by a doctor who fearfully joins with an exploration group in the quest to end centuries of mystery and uncover the supposed treasure, which is believed to lie in a watery pit on the small storm swept island. Many have previously ventured to the island to delve into the mystery of the water pit, with disasterous results in a number of instances. Can everyopne say "Oak Island"?) Price, Jeramie Blackbeard's Bride, 1959 (Anne is abducted from a ship by Teach, becomes his 15th (or 16th) wife, and joins in with the piracy.) Price, John-Allen Doomsday Ship, 1982 (The largest German ship ever built heads for New York City during WW II loaded with V-1 missiles and warheads full of germs. A US bomber squadron has to take it out.) Prince, Peter 1942- The Great Circle, 1997 (As the paddle steamer LAURENTIA makes her stately passage across the Atlantic from Boston, the passengers have 13 days before they reach England to form alliances, make enemies, and swindle, seduce and betray one another--all while upholding the strictest standards of 19th-century decorum. [From the Edmond Hamilton catalog]) Purves, Libby (A well-known broadcaster and journalist in the UK who has also written on sailing round Britain with her husband and two children.) Casting Off, 1995 (The wife/crew/cook of a sailing couple suddenly takes off alone. She has to cope with some hairy conditions in the Channel as she gets to grips with whatever caused this behavioural aberration. Previously she was partner in a sedate tea shop.) Pyle, Howard 1853-1911 Howard Pyle's Book of Pirates; fiction, fact & fancy concerning the buccaneers & marooners of the Spanish main: from the writing & pictures of Howard Pyle: comp. by Merle Johnson, 1921 Quirk, John E. No Red Ribbons, 1963 (a US Navy top gun fighter pilots go for the big bucks and beautiful babes.) Raban, Jonathan Foreign Land, 1985 (Modern cruise around UK.) The Oxford Book of the Sea, 1992 (Editor. An anthology of short prose and poetry about the sea, as well as excerpts from longer works.) Raddall, Thomas Head 1903- (Born in Hythe, England in 1903 he moved to Canada in 1913 and five years later began work as a wireless operater on ships and at stations on and off the Nova Scotia coast. Subsequently a bookkeeper and accountant, he retired in 1938 to devote himself to writing.) His Majesty's Yankees, 1942 (Deals with the part played during the American Revolution by the Yankees of Nova Scotia. An adventure story, rather a tame romance and a spot of history all thrown together. Told in the first person by David Strang it concerns his efforts to join Nova Scotia to the rest of America! A bit turgid by modern standards, could you trust a book that finished "... this rocky homeland on the sea's edge, where life is a struggle that demands a man's utmost and will take no less, where beauty alone is bountiful, and only death comes easy; where courage springs from the eternal rock like the clear singing rivers, like the deep rooted forest itself." Plenty of shipboard action, although the story is not essentially set on the sea, rather by it!. Much of the story involves smaller boats.) Pride's Fancy, 1946 (French privateers from Nova Scotia cruise the Caribbean in 1798.) Tidefall, 1953 (Unscrupulous Nova Scotian retired rumrunner returns to his boyhood village and takes over a bankrupt shipping company.) Hangman's Beach, 1966 (an historical novel set in Halifax during the Napoleonic Wars. "The reader enjoys a tale of high adventure and daring. He experiences the shock of battle at sea, the torment of conflicting loyalities, and the searing heat of love in an unforgettable picture of men and women caught in the sweep of events in a tumultuous era." [from bookjacket blurb]) Raine, Norman Reilly 1895- Tugboat Annie, 1934 (The humorous Adventures of the tug NARCISSUS and her colorful captain in and around Puget Sound.) Captain Kidd, 1945 (Fiction?) Ransome, Arthur 1884-1967 (Ransome was introduced to the English Lake District as a baby and spent many holidays and was partially educated there. He became a writer and journalist and covered the Russian Revolution where he met his second wife Evgenia who was Trotsky's secretary. They moved to live in the Lake District when he began full time writing. Most of Ransome's fictional locations are based on real places and so are many of the characters and boats. SWALLOWS AND AMAZONS was written for the Altounyan family, some of whose names he appropriated for the "Swallows". Both SWALLOW and AMAZON were based on real sailing dinghies and MAVIS, the original AMAZON, has been restored and is on display in Windermere. Later he moved to East Anglia which became the setting for some of the other stories in the series.) Swallows and Amazons series: (Nominally juvenile; will appeal to the traditionalist and to those who like Treasure Island. There is The Arthur Ransome Society, (TARS), for the enthusiasts. There are now several non-fiction books about all this, too.) Swallows and Amazons, 1930 [1] (The Walker children get permission to sail and camp on Wild Cat Island where they are attacked by the AMAZON pirates. After some wild sailing adventures, the war is won and an alliance concluded. Together they manage to capture a retired pirate and find his stolen treasure!) Peter Duck [2] (Written after SWALLOWDALE but chronologically before. A story of buried treasure leads to an eventful sail down the Channel and across the Atlantic to seek for the treasure of Crab Island. They are pursued by the evil Black Jake and the VIPER. Despite the attempts of Black Jake and his crew and the worst that weather can do, they get back successfully.) Swallowdale [3] (A near disaster to the SWALLOW causes the Walkers to camp up on the fells away from the lake. There they experience some aspects of Lakeland life, foil a surprise pirate attack from the strangely constrained AMAZONs and climb Kanchenjunga. The story ends with a classic sailing race between the SWALLOW and AMAZON.) Winter Holiday [4] (The "Ds" on a winter holiday in the Lakes meet the SWALLOWs and AMAZONs after signalling to Mars. They all become involved in Arctic exploration during an unexpectedly prolonged holiday. The climax is a dash to the North Pole followed up by several rescue expeditions.) Coot Club [5] The "Ds" go to the Norfolk Broads hoping to learn to sail. They meet the Bird Preservation Society members, one of whom gets into trouble with the "Hullabaloos" and has to go into hiding. The "Ds" do learn to sail and go on a cruise through the Broads. They are nearly caught by the "Hullabaloos" but instead the "Death and Glories" have an opportunity to gain a reward. Pigeon Post [6] (The SWALLOWs, AMAZONs and "Ds" seek gold on High Topps and have dangerous adventures in the disused mines while trying to foil the claim jumper Squashy Hat. Gold is found but it isn't what it seems. The pigeons save the day by getting a message for help through at a dangerous moment.) We Didn't Mean to Go to Sea [7] (A short cruise in the estuary turns into a frightening adventure when Jim Brading disappears. The SWALLOWs manage to do the right thing even though they have to break a promise and prove they are deep water sailors.) Secret Water [8] (A mapping expedition leads to war with the EELs and a near fatal encounter with the tides. Bridget becomes a human sacrifice but the map looks incomplete. However, last minute voyages mean that the expedition is crowned with success.) Big Six [9] (There is more trouble on the Broads and the "Death and Glories" are accused due to their unexplained wealth and presence at the scene of the crimes. Together with Tom Dudgeon and the "Ds" they manage to track down the real villain by using the methods of the "Big Five" of Scotland Yard. In a dramatic climax the wrong doers are caught in a flash.) Missee Lee [10] (Captured by Chinese pirates, the SWALLOWs and AMAZONs manage to win over the Cambridge-educated pirate leader in an unusual but unwelcome way. They seem doomed to stay prisoners for ever. However, the rest of the pirates think beheading is a better solution and so they have to dance their way to freedom.) The Picts and the Martyrs [11] (The "Ds" come to stay with the AMAZONs but have to leave and set up house on their own when an unwelcome visitor arrives to take charge. The AMAZON pirates have to become well behaved martyrs while the "Ds" are well hidden "Picts". Despite the problems the "Ds" learn to guddle fish, sail, burgle and even skin a rabbit while the "Martyrs" manage to escape from their imprisonment occasionally. The "Martyrs" sacrifice is worth it in the end.) Great Northern? [12] (Are they or aren't they? Unfortunately the one man who can confirm Dick's sighting of the Great Northern Divers wants them dead. The SWALLOWs, AMAZONs and "Ds" on a cruise in the Hebrides make a unique discovery and have to foil the owner of the PTERODACTYL while proving Dick's discovery is genuine. The savage Gaels complicate matters but help out in the end.) Coots in the North [13] (Unfinished fragments edited by Hugh Brogan. The "Death and Glories" stow away on a boat transport to the Lakes. There they meet the AMAZONs in an unpropitious manner. The rest of the book is only an unfinished outline of their adventures together.) (See also ARTHUR RANSOME AND CAPTAIN FLINT'S TRUNK by Christina Hardyment, which is mostly a non-fiction description of her visits to the known locations in the Ransome books and attempts to identify the uncertain ones, but also includes an unused introductory chapter to PETER DUCK showing how the story was made up by the children.) Rappaport, Angelo S. The Sea: Myths and Legends, 1928 (Originally published as SUPERSTITIONS OF SAILORS. Folk tales, superstitions, myths and legends.) Rascovich, Mark The Bedford Incident, 1963 (US destroyer plays nuclear chicken with a Soviet sub in the Denmark Strait.) Ratigan, William Soo Canal!, 1955 (Fictionalized account of the building of the canal linking Superior with the rest of the Great Lakes in the 1850s.) The Adventures of Captain McCargo, 1956 (Picturesque saga of Captain "Thunder Bay" McCargo of the schooner MINONG -- Great Lakes skipper, lover, and adventurer par excellence.) (Also has written a non-fiction book: GREAT LAKES SHIPWRECKS & SURVIVALS which has highly descriptive accounts of the last minutes of Great Lakes shipwrecks.) Rawlings, Charles Jarge Makes In (Doryman adrift off Newfoundland but survives.) Cargo of Gold (Gold laden sloop found adrift off Florida.) Rayner, Denys Arthur 1908- (Lt-Cdr, RNVR who commanded the destroyer SHIKARI in 1943.) The Enemy Below, 1956 (A solitary British destroyer fights a German U-boat in the remote expanses of the South Atlantic in WW II.) The Long Fight, 1958 (Fictionalised account of an actual three-day Indian Ocean frigate battle in 1808 in which HMS SAN FIORENZO defeated and captured the French PIEMONTAISE. Well written in spare, spartan terms.) The Long Haul, 1962 (A British Destroyer captain towing a disabled tanker tangles with a U-boat in a deadly game of cat and mouse to the death.) Reed, Don C. The Kraken, 1995 (Boy from 19th century Newfoundland fishing village battles giant squid. For young readers.) Reeman, Douglas (Alexander Kent) (WW I and WW II stories, except as noted.) A Prayer For The Ship, 1958 (WW II adventure on British MTBs in the English Channel. This book struck me as being autobiographical.) High Water, 1959 (RNVR veteran, finding it hard to make ends meet in postwar Britain, gets tangled up in smuggling and other criminal activities in an effort to pay off the debts on the boat he purchased for a charter service. Reeman's second novel. "Quite possibly his worst." [ML]) Send a Gunboat 1960 (Antiquated Royal Navy river gunboat and her disgraced captain are sent to evacuate British citizens from an island off the Chinese coast threatened by invasion by the Communist Chinese.) Dive in the Sun, a novel, 1961 (British midget submarine in action against the Germans in the Adriatic during WW I.) The Hostile Shore, 1962 (Early in WW II an old passenger launch is used in the flight from Singapore before the Japanese invasion and disappears. Rupert Blair's family were among the passengers. Twenty years later Blair, now rich and famous, has never forgotten or abandoned his obsessive need to find out exactly what had happened. He hires an old, beat up schooner with assorted misfits for a crew and hangers-on and finds his answers in the New Hebrides Islands. Not bad, but not up to Reeman's war novels.) The Last Raider, 1963 (A WW I German surface raider, and the relationship between the raider's captain and a female British captive.) With Blood And Iron, 1965 (The son of Captain Von Steiger of THE LAST RAIDER commands a small U-boat squadron based in a quiet French town on the Bay of Biscay in 1944, when Germany was losing "The War of the Atlantic".) HMS Saracen, 1966 (WW I and WW II adventures of a Royal Navy monitor and the man who served on her as a midshipman in WW I, and captain in WW II.) Path of the Storm, 1966 (Superannuated USN subchaser is ordered to a desolate island group in South China Sea to prepare them for use as a naval base in 1965.) The Deep Silence, 1967 (A Royal Navy nuclear attack submarine is rushed through its trials and hastily ordered to the Far East for a geopolitical confrontation with the Chinese.) The Pride And The Anguish, 1968 (HMS PORCUPINE, a gunboat, in action against the Japanese invading the Malay penninsula from December '41 through February '42 -- including an escape to the Dutch East Indies during the fall of Singapore.) To Risks Unknown, 1969 (A British corvette's 1943 actions against the Nazis in the Adriaic Sea.) The Greatest Enemy, 1971 (A strong-willed captain takes a clapped-out WW II-era corvette into action against the Communist Chinese. The story takes place in the South China Sea in 1970.) Rendezvous - South Atlantic, 1972 (A British Armored Merchant Cruiser in action in WW II. The story ends in a climactic battle against a German heavy cruiser in the South Atlantic.) His Majesty's U-boat, 1973 (Also titled GO IN AND SINK. German U-Boat, captured by the British, is pressed into service against her former owners.) The Destroyers, 1974 (A flotilla of eight V-class and W-class British destroyers in action in 1943 as the group is transferred to Special Operations.) Winged Escort, 1976 (British escort carrier group fights the Germans and Japanese in WW II.) Strike From The Sea, 1978 (British seize and use a formerly French submarine that is a sister of the SURCOUF (8" gun turret) as a raider against the Japanese.) A Ship Must Die, 1979 (A British light cruiser seeks a German surface raider in the Indian and Pacific Oceans in 1944.) Torpedo Run, 1981 (A flotilla of British MTBs is transferred to the Black Sea in 1943 to assist the Soviets fight the Germans.) Surface with Daring, 1982 (X-craft raid on Norway in 1944.) The Volunteers, 1985 (Special Operations units carrying out raids on enemy coasts and shipping in 1943-44.) The Iron Pirate, 1986 (Aboard the Kriegsmarine heavy cruiser PRINZ LUITPOLD in action against the Allies in the summer of 1944 as it prowls the Atlantic Ocean.) In Danger's Hour, 1989 (HM Minesweeper ROB ROY in action in the Mediterranean and English Channel during the last half of WW II.) The White Guns, 1989 (It is May 1945. The Germans have just surrendered. But as a small flotilla of British light craft begin occupation duty in Kiel Harbor, they discover that enemies exist even in peacetime.) Killing Ground, 1992 (Battle of the Atlantic as seen from the bridge of the destroyer HMS GLADIATOR on convoy escort duty.) Sunset, 1995 (LCDR Brooks, aboard HMS SERPENT in Hong Kong just prior to Japanese attack in 1941, refuses to admit defeat.) A Dawn Like Thunder, 1996 (The human torpedo is the ultimate weapon in a high-risk war, and only men of extreme courage or recklessness volunteer for the Special Operations requiring its use.) Battlecruiser, 1997? (Follows the fictitious HMS RELIANT, a battlecruiser from WW I, on convoy duty in the Atlantic during WW II.) Blackwood - Royal Marines series: Badge of Glory, 1982 [1] (Captain Phillip Blackwood, Royal Marines, and his marine contingent in action battling slavers off the coast of West Africa, from the 90 gun HMS AUDACIOUS, and his further adventures in the Crimea during the 1840s.) The First to Land, 1984 [2] (Captain David Blackwood, Royal Marines, takes his men into action during the Boxer Rebellion in China in 1900.) The Horizon [3] (The novel covers the Gallipoli campaign and the story of the Naval Division in Flanders during WW I.) Reid, Captain Mayne 1818-1883 *The Boy Tar, or A Voyage in the Dark, 1864 (Young Philip Forster runs away and tries to join the ship INCA, bound for Peru, but the captain and crew just laugh at the wee lad, but he manages to stow away in the hold. He falls asleep and awakes to find that he's been trapped in the pitch dark hold! A horrifying ordeal follows, as he tries to escape to daylight.) The Ocean Waifs, A Story of Adventure on Land and Sea, 1882 (A tale of adventure and shipwreck, for the juvenile reader.) Reit, Seymour Ironclad!, 1977 (Presents the historic Civil War battle between two ironclad ships, the MERRIMAC and the MONITOR, from the viewpoint of a youth serving aboard the MONITOR.) Rhinehart, Luke (George Cockcroft?) Long Voyage Back, 1983 (Family and friends are sailing Chesapeake Bay in a trimaran on a pleasure cruise when WW III breaks out, and are forced to use the sea to survive the ensuing holocaust.) Richards, Alun 1929- Ennal's Point, 1977 (About the fortunes and misfortunes of a small village RNLI lifeboat and crew in England and the closely linked tragedies of two lost lifeboats.) Against the Waves, 1978 (Editor? Sea stories.) The Second Penguin Book of Sea Stories, 1978 (Editor. Pt1: fiction, Pt2: fact. An anthology of stories under sail and steam across the oceans of the world.) Richards, Jessica Mistress of the Western Wind, 1980 (Young wife follows clipper ship captain to see, winds up taking ship around Cape Horn by herself. Episodes of explicit sex! Based, at least loosely, on an actual event.) Richardson, Comdr. Justin, RNVR The Phony Phleet, 1946 (Verse of the Royal Navy kind. Many were first published in PUNCH magazine.) Roark, Garland (George Garland) 1904- Wake of the Red Witch, 1946 (In 1939 the captain of the last of the sailing trading ships in the South Seas hunts for sunken treasure and fights for control of a trading empire.) Fair Wind to Java, 1948 (Adventures aboard a clipper ship on a voyage to Java and the East.) Rainbow in the Royals, 1950 (Two brothers race their clippers from Boston to San Francisco for gold, glory and the (what else?) hand of a beautiful woman.) Slant of the Wild Wind, 1952 (Captain Redd of the LADY OF GLASGOW overtakes sister ship CASTELREAGH, takes gold, gets in trouble. Set in the 1890s.) The Wreck of the Running Gale, 1953 Star in the Rigging; A Novel of the Texas Navy, 1954 (Captain Jeremiah brown of the Texas Navy (4 ships, amigo!) battles Mexican batteries during the war for Texas independence.) The Outlawed Banner, 1956 (On board Confederate and Federal ships during the Civil War.) The Lady and the Deep Blue Sea, 1958 (Wife joins the captain of a clipper for a race from Melbourne to Boston.) Tales of the Caribbean, 1959 (Collection of short stories set in the Caribbean during the 20th century: The Manchineel; Mr. Gilespie; Banana Run; The Ship that Vanished; The Strangler Vine; Our Lady of the Watch.) Roberts, Kenneth 1885-1957 Rabble in Arms, 1935 (Dramatic, though somewhat old-fashioned novel of Benedict Arnold's 1776-77 campaigns from Canada to Saratoga. It focuses on the construction of his fleet and the battle of Valcour Island on Lake Champlain.) The Lively Lady, 1931 (Follows the fortunes of Richard Nason, a Maine sailing master and privateer who is captured and imprisoned by the British during the War of 1812. Roberts writes of the courage of American privateers during the war and the sufferings of thousands of American seamen in the infamous Dartmoor Prison.) Captain Caution, 1934 (It is 1812 and America has declared war on Britain. The American ship OLIVE BRANCH is waylaid by a British cruiser. Captain Dorman is killed, and his crew is taken prisoner, including the captain's pretty and strong-willed daughter, Corunna. Roberts portrays the bravery of American seamen, their sufferings within the mist-shrouded walls of Dartmoor Prison, the invention of the gangway pendulum, and the sailor's dangerous and dramatic escape.) Lydia Bailey, 1947 (Americans involved in Toussaint L'Ouverture's revolt in Haiti and at war with the "Barbary Pirates".) Boon Island, 1956 (Shipwreck on barren Boon Island in the Gulf of Maine during the winter of 1710.) Robertson, John T. Corvette Patrol (Novel, told in first person, about a Royal Navy corvette, HMS GARGOYLE, as it participates in a raid on Norway and Operation Pedestal in the Mediterranean. Style similar to Barton's THOSE WHO SERVE.) Robertson, Morgan 1861-1915 Futility, or Wreck of the TITAN, 1898 (A gigantic, unsinkable steamship, the TITAN strikes an iceberg while recklessly racing across the Atlantic from England to the US on it's maiden voyage. In some ways eerily close to the TITANTIC disaster, but in other ways very different.) "Where Angels Fear to Tread" and Other Tales of the Sea, 1899 ("Where Angels Fear to Tread"; The Brain of the Battle-Ship; The Wigwag Message; The Trade-Wind; Salvage; Between the Millstones; The Battle of the Monsters; From the Royal-Yard Down; Needs Must When the Devil Drives; When Greek Meets Greek; Primordial.) Masters of Men, 1901 (Dick Halpin, 15, joins the US Navy at the time of the Spanish-American War, fights in Cuba.) Land Ho!, 1905 (Stories: The Dollar; The Ship-Owner; The Wave; The Cook and the Captain; The Line of Least Resistance; The Lobster; On Board the Athol; The Magnetized Man; The Mistake; The Submarine Destroyer; The Dancer; On the Rio Grande.) Spun-yarn Sea Stories, 1898 (The Slumber of a Soul: A tale of a Mate and a Cook; The Survival of the Fittest; A Creature of Circumstance; The Derelict Neptune; Honor Among Thieves.) Down to the Sea, 1914 (Stories: The Closing of the Circuit; A Cow, Two Men, and a Parson; The Rivals; A Chemical Comedy; A Hero of the Cloth; The Subconscious Finnegan; The Torpedo; The Submarine; Fifty Fathoms Down; The Enemies; The Vitality of Dennis; The Helix; The Shark; The Mutiny.) The Three Laws and the Golden Rule, 1969 (The Three Laws and the Golden Rule; The Americans; Dignity; The Honeymoon Ship; The Third Mate; Through the Deadlight; The Hairy Devil; The Slumber of a Soul; Honor Among Thieves; The Survival of the Fittest; A Creature of Circumstance.) Robertson, Terence The Hurricane, 1960 (Four-piper destroyer in Royal Navy service endures a North Atlantic hurricane during escort duty in December 1942.) Robinson, Bill 1918- Destruction at Noonday, 1992 (Nautical peril and adventure aboard ship after a devastating shoreside earthquake. A first novel by the former editor of YACHTING.) Robinson, Patrick The Nimitz, 1997 (Set in the next decade this sparkling first novel's scenario is: a nuclear powered Nimitz class carrier, the THOMAS JEFFERSON, suddenly vaporises, with the loss of 6000 men, in a nuclear explosion whilst exercising with her battle group in the Indian Ocean. A tragic accident that could cast doubt on the wisdom of American naval policy is the first thought that grips a grieving nation. The reader knows better - a nuclear-armed torpedo from a well-placed conventional submarine is to blame. We follow America's doubts, then resolution, as the villain is tracked down. "Highly recommended - gives a good insight into modern naval strategy." [PW]) Kilo Class, 1998 (An exciting second novel! Set in the early years of the first decade of the twenty-first century when China places an order for ten Kilo class conventional submarines, almost undetectable and armed with nuclear torpedoes, from Russia. The chief of America's National Security Agency believes China's intention is to deny America access to the Taiwan Strait whilst they regain Taiwan back into Beijing's fold. This is so against America's interest that a "black" operation is instigated to prevent the Kilos ever reaching China. Concurrently Taiwan is clandestinely developing nuclear weapons at a secret island base. The part dealing with Russia's inland waterway system is extremely interesting and the story enfolds at a cracking pace. "A great read!" [PW]) HMS Unseen, 1999 (Gets off to a great start, many of the main characters are from the author's previous novels. This story involves the Iraqi submarine commander from THE NIMITZ. Sadam Hussein ungratefully wants him killed so he offers his services to Iran. Using a stolen conventional submarine imaginatively fitted with a new Russian guided missile system he sets out to terrorise the world which, as planned, believes Iraq is to blame.) Rock, Philip 1927- The Extraordinary Seaman, 1967 (A US Navy officer and four sailors stranded in the Philippines in the aftermath of the Japanese invasion in 1941 find a potential escape in an old Royal Navy river patrol boat at one of the islands south of Luzon. With the boat's captain, a RN Lt. Commander who is always immaculately dressed, the widow of US businessman killed by the strafing Japanese, and some friendly Moros, they set out on a journey for Australia. But as the voyage progresses it becomes obvious to the American Lt. jg that there is something strange and unearthly about Commander Finchhaven. Lots of fun to read. Made into a movie starring David Niven, Fay Dunaway, and Mickey Rooney.) Roddy, Lee 1921- (Creator of Grizzly Adams) Search for the Avenger, 1980 (Twinbrothers get separated in infancy. One is raised in a whaling ship, the other stands to inherit fortune. Set in Hawaii.) Rohan, Michael Scott Chase the Morning, 1990 (In thes science fiction novel our hero gets into a street fight, is saved by aliens from another world, and boards a sailing ship from 1700s for piracy, swordplay and sea battles. Wild stuff!) Rossetti, Dante Gabriel, 1828-1882 The White Ship (Long poem about the loss of King Henry's son and heir.) Rossman, Parker Pirate Slave, 1977 (A twelve-year-old boy captured by Muslim pirates is forced into a life of piracy and slave trading.) Rostand, Robert Cross Currents, 1985 (White slaving and drugs in the Med, stir in a few ex-Nazis and season with a sprinkle of Mossad.) Russell, William Clark 1844-1911 (American novelist who served in the British merchant marine, "the prose Homer of the great ocean", recommended by A. Conan Doyle.) John Holdsworth, Chief Mate, 1875 The Wreck of the Grosvenor: an account of the mutiny of the crew and the loss of the ship when trying to make the Bermudas, 1877 A Sailor's Sweetheart. An account of the wreck of the sailing ship WALDERSHARE, from the narrative of Mr. William Lee, second mate, 1880 My Watch Below; or, Yarns Spun When Off Duty, 1882 The Death Ship: a strange story, 1888 (Flying Dutchman) The Mystery of the Ocean Star, 1891 (short stories) Round the Galley Fire, 1893 Ocean Free Lance, 1896 What Cheer?: the sad story of a wicked sailor, 1896? An Ocean Tragedy, 1899 (Mad Sir Wilfred's wife has run off with the dashing Colonel Hope-Kennedy in the schooner yacht SHARK, and Sir Wilfred means to get her back. Sir Wilfred has armed his yacht, the BRIDE, with a long, brass 18-pounder and gone after the fleeing couple. The events are many, including the unfortunate death of a Portuguese seaman at the hands of the 18-pounder, the haunting of the BRIDE, the fortuitous capture of the two "lovers" in mid-ocean, the duel on the quarterdeck, the wreck of the BRIDE on the volcanic island that wasn't supposed to be there, and, best of all, the fossilized galleon on the crest of the island that can only be inhabited by the castaways after the water is drained out of her. "There's a reason that Russell was considered among the finest writers of sea stories at the time, and a reason why Melville dedicated one of his books to Russell, and Russell dedicated this one to him. An extraordinary work." [DG]) Tales of Our Coast, 1901 The Sea Queen (Young lady finally gets to sea with her captain husband for a mutiny, hurricane, fire at sea, fever, and other adventures.) Sabatini, Rafael 1875-1950 Captain Blood, 1922 (For treating a wounded nobleman who participated in the Monmouth rebellion, Dr. Peter Blood is condemned and sold as a slave in the Carribean. Taking advantage of a Spanish raid on the island on which he is held, Blood captures the Spaniard's ship, and embarks on the carreer of a buccaneer. Good fun.) The Fortunes of Captain Blood (More short stories about Blood's adventures as a buccaneer captain.) The Sea Hawk, 1924 (An English renegade who becomes a Barbary corsair and preys on the Spanish -- and others -- in the Elizabethan era.) The Black Swan, 1931 (Pirates versus buccaneers in the 17th century Caribbean.) Captain Blood Returns, 1931 (Short stories about Blood's adventures as a buccaneer captain.) Columbus, 1942 A Century of Sea Stories (Editor) Sadler, Samuel Whitchurch (?-1890 All of Sadler's books were first published in London by the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge.) Adventures of Marshall Vavasour, Midshipman, 1873 The African Cruiser: A midshipman's adventures on the West Coast, 1873 The Slave-Dealer of the Coanza: A naval story, 1874 Perilous Seas and How Oriana Sailed Them, a naval romance, 1875 The Last Cruise of the Ariadne and What Befell Her Passenger, 1876 The Flag Lieutenant: a Story of the Slave Squadron, 1877 Slavers and Cruisers, a tale of the West Coast, 1881 (Set during the Anglo-French campaign against slavers in the mid-19th century. Midshipman Claude Sefton, age 18, having two years experience in the Royal Navy, is put in command of a slaving schooner captured on the coast of Angola. Surviving attack by the slavers, sinking, and capture by African slave dealers, he displays courage and resourcefulness in re-capturing a British merchant vessel and rescuing his beautiful sister-in-law who happens to be aboard.) The Good Ship Barbara, a story of two brothers, 1882 Pirate's Creek: A story of treasure quest, 1883 The Adventurous Voyage of the "Polly," and Other Yarns, 1886 The Ship of Ice Savage, Douglas Incident in Mona Passage, 1994 (A US sub conducts a top secret biowar experiment that goes wrong. The sub seeks a solution to the sickness as another sub stalks it.) Schaill, William S. 1918- Cabot Station, 1990 (A small, forgotten North Atlantic listening post hears Soviet subs kill an unknown submarine nearby. Oops! Now the station is in deep doo doo.)
Copyright © John Kohnen 1999
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