Sea Fiction

The mice of Brambly Hedge have many adventures, but they always have time for fun, too. All through the year, they mark the seasons with feasts and festivities, and, of course, the mice never miss an opportunity to meet and celebrate. These four classic stories, read by John Moffatt and Harriet Carmichael, follow the mice’s adventures throughout the year.

Nathaniel Bainbridge is used to hiding, whether it's concealing his struggles with reading or his forbidden desire for men. Under the thumb of his controlling father, the governor of Primrose Isle, he's sailing to the fledging colony, where he'll surrender to a respectable marriage for his family's financial gain. Then pirates strike and he's kidnapped for ransom by the Sea Hawk, a legendary villain of the New World. Bitter and jaded, Hawk harbors futile dreams of leaving the sea for a quiet life, but men like him don't deserve peace. He has a score to settle with Nathaniel's father.

He is a man capable of abandoning two sailors in an open boat, yet he is an avid and thoughtful reader of the moral philosophers. He is Wolf Larsen, captain of the seal-hunting Ghost and the unforgettable protagonist of one of the world's great sea novels. Tormented by his own convictions, Larsen is an enigma both fascinating and repellent to his reluctant crewman, Humphrey Van Weyden. Throughout their long and perilous voyage together, the captain's ruthless belief in the survival of the fittest is pitted against Van Weyden's "civilization".

Beauty is sailing the ocean when pirates attack and her dad is thrown overboard. Just as he sinks beneath the waves, something horrible rises - a kraken! Without hesitation, Beauty makes a deal to become the giant squid's prisoner if it rescues her dad. But as Beauty explores the island she's now marooned on, the girl discovers secret treasure that may hold the key to saving herself...and the sea beast.

Elizabeth Gallagher has been balancing on the ragged edge for a while now. Then, a rough case on the boards of her 911-operator job collides with a family conflict at home, and Elizabeth finds herself finally coming apart at the seams. A four-state road trip - trapped in a car with her mother - is the last thing she needs. It’s time to convince Aunt Sandy to abandon her little seaside store on North Carolina’s Outer Banks and return to the family fold in Michigan.

In Boston, 1865, Charlotte and Henrietta Stevenson, daughters of a Massachusetts Supreme Court Justice, have accomplished as much as women are allowed in those days. Chafing against those restrictions and inspired by the works of Jane Austen, they start a secret correspondence with Sir Francis Austen, her last surviving brother, now in his nineties. He sends them an original letter from his sister and invites them to come visit him in England.

Ayanokouji's relationship with Karuizawa deepens, while the aftershock of his perfect mathematics score ripples through the school. Horikita asks to join the student council, and is accepted by Nagumo. And summer vacation brings with it no rest, but another special exam--a reprise of the earlier deserted island test. Except this time, it'll be a battle royale with all three grade levels duking it out against each other!

A gamer falls asleep—only to wake up in the world of the game he was playing! Arc has the powerful skills and weapons of his character, but there's just one problem... he's stuck looking like that character, too. An adventure in a fantastical new land awaits him, if he can get used to being a walking skeleton!

The final special exam of the semester is on the horizon: a cooperative written test where students answer problems in turn. Horikita's class is up against Sakayanagi's, and everyone rushes to prepare. As this goes on, Nagumo poses a question of his own--who will be the next student council president? The candidates are Horikita and Ichinose...or are they? Does Ichinose have other plans? December may be the end of the year, but the school's new state of chaos is only beginning.

Kanata is making his way in the wider world of Locklore, despite the lich Lunaere's warnings about its dangers. But after Lunaere's intensive training, everyone he runs into seems strangely...weak? Still, you can't be too careful, so Kanata and his new friends make their way toward the city of Manaloch to get some alchemy ingredients. But danger lurks nearby in the form of an infestation of giant spider monsters! And somewhere in the world, Lunaere is slowly making her way back to Kanata...

Abarrach, the Realm of stone. Here, on a barren world of underground caverns built around a core of molten lava, the lesser races -- humans, elves, and dwarves -- seem to have all died off. Here, too, what may well be the last remnants of the once powerful Sartan still struggle to...

Ten years ago, the 20th century and the Bronze Age were tossed together by a mysterious Event. In the decade since, the Republic of Nantucket has worked hard to create a new future for itself, using the technological know-how retained from modern times to explore and improve conditions for the inhabitants of the past

George MacDonald Fraser, author of the Flashman novels, praises this hearty saga as "one of the great unrecognized novels of the 20th century." Doctor Peter Blood's quiet life is shattered when he is convicted of treason for helping a wounded nobleman in the 1685 rebellion against King James II.

Liam begrudgingly travels to another lord's domain to receive a noble education, and the Guide makes sure to muck up his reputation. When Liam attempts to bribe the reigning lord in exchange for a cushy life on the planet, he's deemed destitute and given the cold shoulder! Thinking the man is just far too upstanding for his "incentives", Liam decides that other nobles who got the same treatment must be just as wicked as he is! Will his pretty boy roommates, Kurt, and the gorgeous yet surprisingly friendly girl, Eila, become his new evil besties?

The hero of The Pilot - modeled on John Paul Jones - leads the American Navy in dangerous raids on the English coast. James Fenimore Cooper's fourth novel, published in 1823, helped start the genre of sea novels. Cooper's other major works include the renowned Leatherstocking Tales: The Pioneers, The Last of the Mohicans, The Prarie, The Pathfinder, and The Deerslayer.

Underwater mayhem ensues when Ian, Stig, and Alaria fight her sixth evil ex-master deep on the ocean floor! The villain is a cheerfully insane artist who creates a sculpture garden of...well...you’ll just have to listen to believe it. There are beautiful nymphs...gorgeous mermaids...pirate ghosts...giant whirlpools...underwater dungeons...hidden treasure...and even a kraken.

A young Indian boy from Nipigon country in the Canadian wilderness carves a twelve-inch canoe with a kneeling Indian figure and frees it to undertake a journey to the Atlantic Ocean in his place. He must stay home and help his father, but yearns to learn about the world beyond his life in the village.

Juan Cabrillo and the Oregon crew's search for missing NASA technology leads to a globe-trotting adventure in this novel in the #1 New York Times-bestselling series. On December 7, 1941, five brothers exploring a shaft on a small island off the coast of Washington state make an extraordinary...

When you live at the edge of the world with a volcano for a neighbour and bloodthirsty warriors who wish to end your existence then a voyage towards the edge of the world is possible. Seeking a new home for the Clan of the Fox, Erik the Navigator, with his younger brother and three companions, leaves Iceland for a land he does not know exists. In the smallest of ships, they face seas which would daunt any sailor, and they discover a new land. They find a home but one which is fraught with danger.

A contemporary air-sea heavyweight fight...the like we haven't seen since the Pacific War. A routine US Navy freedom-of-navigation patrol in the South China sea turns deadly when it encounters a covert - and unauthorized - Chinese plot to lay claim to waters of the South China Sea. Misunderstanding, miscalculation, and fear lead to both sides mobilizing, with the United States moving west across the Pacific to meet and engage the People's Liberation Army (Navy) who waits with modern weaponry and determined purpose.