Thanks to the wonderful Wyrd and Wonder challenge for reminding that May 22 is Maritime Day. So, let’s make it watery with all kinds of seaborne fantasy books: mermaid tales, sirens, ladies in the lake, pirates and other nautical adventurers. Get in the sea!
Seaborne Fantasy Books: A Rec List
Fable – Daughter of a ruthless sea-trader must make her own way out of the island.
House of Salt and Sorrows – Twelve Dancing Princesses get(s) translocated to maritime settings.
The Shape of Water – An alien watery creature gets rescued from the lab.
Liveship Traders Trilogy – These ships have magical living figureheads and their sailors must respect that.
To Kill a Kingdom – The sirens and their hunters are ancient enemies, but there are greater secrets at play.
One Salt Sea – PI Toby Daye must dive down to the Undersea to prevent the feud between the Selkie and the Roane.
Voyager – Jamie and time-traveling Claire take a (perilous) sea journey from Scotland to America.
Winterwood – Privateer sea captain Rossalinde winds up with a magical winterwood box and the rowankind on her tail.
The Changeling Sea – A disgruntled scullery maid hexes the sea, and strange things come out at night.
Miranda and Caliban – A cunning relook at the stranded inhabitants in Shakespeare’s Tempest.
The Brides of Rollrock Island – The tale of the Little Mermaid gets spun into social commentary on a small coastal island.
I know I’ve missed several seaborne fantasy books here! Tell me about your seaborne fantasy recommendations, please!
18 replies on “Seaborne Fantasy Books: Get in the Sea #WyrdAndWonder”
I really enjoyed both Fable and the sequel Namesake. They’re well-written with plenty of fast-paced action! The complex intrigue was enjoyable, as well.
I liked them both for the same reasons. This author has been on my radar since her other (debut) work, Sky in the Deep.
What a fun post. Who even knew there was a Maritime Day? House of Salt and Sorrows is one I really want to read, mostly because that fairy tale is one of my favs. 😀
It is really well written too. Very, very spooky. It’s a great retelling!
I haven’t read any of these (as usual 😂) but several of them have been on my list. Also been trying to come up with seaborne fantasy to comment but I can’t think of any. WHAT.
Haha, yes, it doesn’t strike you immediately. I had to comb though my Goodreads shelf to see what else was there. I’m sure you may have read seaborne SFF in the form of Poseidon / Greek mythology sea creatures!
Yay for someone else who knows about The Changeling Sea! I would also add McKillip’s story “Something Rich and Strange” and a collection of stories by Robin McKinley and Peter Dickinson titled Water: Tales of Elemental Spirits.
Peter Dickinson is a new name for me — thanks for adding to this list! And I haven’t read McKinley’s short stories or Something Rich and Strange — definitely need to read those 🙂
I love seaborne fantasy! Fable looks awesome. and I’m a big fan of Robin Hobb even though I didn’t technically LOVE the Liveship Traders series- but I think she’s a phenomenal author, really liked the Assassin and Fool series, and… yeah. 🙂
You’re right – Liveship Traders was a great series, but I wouldn’t call it a favorite. But she does craft the characterizations and the sea / marine imagery so very well.
A House of Salt and Sorrows sounds good – I always loved the twelve dancing princesses as a fairytale!
Totally. I keep waiting for the sequel, though I hear the author has a new book coming soon (in June or September?) and I want to try that too.
This is a great post! I need to read several of these still… House of Salt and Sorrows has been on my “READ SOON!” TBR for ages, but I still haven’t read it. I bought the shiny hardback book and everything.
Wow, you have a hardback too! You really won’t regret reading it. Admittedly, I liked the first half more than the second half, because there’s a cliffhanger and we don’t know when the sequel will be out. Still, we do get some closure so that’s a plus!
One of these days I need to start reading Robin Hobb. I’ve heard so many great things about their work.
I liked the OTP in Liveship a lot — it’s rare to see the love interest so beta and so supportive of the female lead. I thought it was wonderful. But I’ve heard Hobb’s Assassin… series has better plotting, so might start there instead
Great list. I have the first Liveship Traders book on my shelf. I hope I‘ll like it better than Hobb‘s Assassin‘s Apprentice. That wasn‘t bad, but dragged for me.
For Liveship, I think you’d have to wait till Book 2 to really start liking the series. The OTP is great, very supportive of each other + some wonderful marine imagery. Haven’t read the Assassin series, though I’ve heard it’s better than Liveship~