Pirates. I love ‘em. And no, I don’t mean the Johnny Depp variety. I’m talking the mean bastards that owned the seas and struck fear in anyone who was unlucky enough to see the skull-and-crossbones waving from an oncoming ship’s mast. When you go into a pirate story, you know you’re in for a helluva time.
With these predilections rolling around in my head, I was damned excited to read CAST IN DARK WATERS by Ed Gorman and Tom Piccirilli, which is the eleventh book in Cemetery Dance’s Novella Series. The story opens as Trevor and Elaine Maycomb are sailing to Port of St. Christopher’s to meet with a beautiful pirate named Crimson, who hires herself out as a mercenary of sorts. The Maycombs need help to locate their missing daughter, Daphna, who has run off with a man. The family has news that their daughter may be on the island of Benbow, which is reported to be cursed. After Crimson initially balks at the idea – after all, her husband had recently disappeared in that area – she eventually agrees to escort Trevor Maycomb to the island and attempt to track down Daphna…and confront her own inner demons at the same time.
CAST IN DARK WATERS is beautifully written, with exceptional imagery and characterization. The prose draws you in by making you feel like a passenger on the pirate ships or that you’re trekking along with Maycomb and Crimson on their quest. That being said, I suffered a bit of a letdown as the story wrapped up. As I alluded to earlier, I was anticipating action and adventure, neither of which is on display here. The story builds very slowly toward its conclusion, which wrapped up fairly quickly and with little drama. Simply put, it left me wanting something more. Again, this may be more of a product of my predisposition when it comes to pirates than anything else, but it’s something the authors ultimately weren’t able to overcome.
CAST IN DARK WATERS is long sold out at Cemetery Dance, but it’s available on the secondary market at less than its $30 cover price. Head on over to Abebooks if you’re interested in a copy.
(6 out of 10)
With these predilections rolling around in my head, I was damned excited to read CAST IN DARK WATERS by Ed Gorman and Tom Piccirilli, which is the eleventh book in Cemetery Dance’s Novella Series. The story opens as Trevor and Elaine Maycomb are sailing to Port of St. Christopher’s to meet with a beautiful pirate named Crimson, who hires herself out as a mercenary of sorts. The Maycombs need help to locate their missing daughter, Daphna, who has run off with a man. The family has news that their daughter may be on the island of Benbow, which is reported to be cursed. After Crimson initially balks at the idea – after all, her husband had recently disappeared in that area – she eventually agrees to escort Trevor Maycomb to the island and attempt to track down Daphna…and confront her own inner demons at the same time.CAST IN DARK WATERS is beautifully written, with exceptional imagery and characterization. The prose draws you in by making you feel like a passenger on the pirate ships or that you’re trekking along with Maycomb and Crimson on their quest. That being said, I suffered a bit of a letdown as the story wrapped up. As I alluded to earlier, I was anticipating action and adventure, neither of which is on display here. The story builds very slowly toward its conclusion, which wrapped up fairly quickly and with little drama. Simply put, it left me wanting something more. Again, this may be more of a product of my predisposition when it comes to pirates than anything else, but it’s something the authors ultimately weren’t able to overcome.
CAST IN DARK WATERS is long sold out at Cemetery Dance, but it’s available on the secondary market at less than its $30 cover price. Head on over to Abebooks if you’re interested in a copy.
(6 out of 10)
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