New & Novel: Nautical Fiction

A list of nautical fiction would not be complete without Moby-Dick,  The Old Man and the Sea, C.S. Forester's Hornblower books, Clive Cussler's Dirk Pitt, or the Aubrey/Maturin series by Patrick O'Brian. But it by no means begins and ends there. If you are someone who enjoys reading about maritime adventures, we have plenty of titles that should pique your interest from stem to stern!

Maggie Bright: A Novel of Dunkirk by Tracy Groot

The North Water by Ian McGuire

Hover by Anne A. Wilson

The Abduction of Smith & Smith by Rashad Harrison

Landfalls by Naomi J. Williams

The French Prize by James L. Nelson 

The Privateersman by Frederick Marryat [eBook]

B.O.Q.: An NCIS Special Agent Fran Setliff Novel by N. P. Simpson 

The Surfacing by Cormac James 

The Ghost of the Mary Celeste by Valerie Martin 

The Plover by Brian Doyle 

Rough Passage to London: A Sea Captain's Tale by Robin Lloyd  

The Whispering Muse by Sjón 

First in series

Kydd by Julian Stockwin 

Gentleman Captain by J.D. Davies 

Under Enemy Colors by S. Thomas Russell 

The King's Coat: The Naval Adventures of Alan Lewrie by Dewey Lambdin [LP]


Off-the-beaten-path 
(young adult, science fiction, fantasy, horror, and graphic novels with a seafaring bent)

The Beast of Cretacea by Todd Strasser [eBook]

His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik

The Terror by Dan Simmons 

The Scar by China Miéville [eBook]

Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi

 

The Adventures of Tintin by Hergé 

There is a fair amount of seafaring lore in the Tintin books, since one of the main characters in Captain Haddock. Volume 3 has three tales involving the sea and sailors, beginning with The Crab with the Golden Claws and ending with The Secret of the Unicorn; volume 4 begins with the sequel to Unicorn, Red Rackham's Treasure. Volume 6's The Red Sea Sharks is also a standout.

For more nautical fiction, try a subject search of "sea stories".  Want true adventures to swash your buckle? Try Sea Fever: The True Adventures That Inspired Our Greatest Maritime Authors, From Conrad to Masefield, Melville and Hemingway by Sam Jefferson. Also check out Anchors Aweigh, our nautical adventure fiction booklist, from our Booklists for Adults & Teens guide!