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Silent Riders of the Sea
In 1930, Jack the miner is grieving the loss of his young son.
In a desperate attempt to escape his misery, he makes the choice to leave.
With a motley crew of Scots, he embarks on Arctic fishing with the promise of a better life.
John Gerard Fagan, the author of the memoir Fish Town, takes us on a ride to the Arctic Sea through Jack's battle for survival on a crammed and gruesome ship and inescapable submission to the cruelty of nature and humankind alike.
In the background, memories of his life as a miner, while a permanent excruciating pain from mourning his own child lingers.
Be ready for a tale of human suffering, violence, and sadness with this story of the hard side of human life.
In a desperate attempt to escape his misery, he makes the choice to leave.
With a motley crew of Scots, he embarks on Arctic fishing with the promise of a better life.
John Gerard Fagan, the author of the memoir Fish Town, takes us on a ride to the Arctic Sea through Jack's battle for survival on a crammed and gruesome ship and inescapable submission to the cruelty of nature and humankind alike.
In the background, memories of his life as a miner, while a permanent excruciating pain from mourning his own child lingers.
Be ready for a tale of human suffering, violence, and sadness with this story of the hard side of human life.
Paperback
Published November 10, 2024
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10 people want to read
About the author
John Gerard Fagan
4 books8 followersJohn Gerard Fagan is a Scottish writer from Muirhead. He has published over 100 short stories, poems, essays, and articles in Scots, Scottish Gaelic and English.
Fish Town is his debut memoir, released on April 28th 2021 by Guts Publishing, about leaving everything behind to start a new life in a fishing port in Japan.
His second book, Silent Riders of the Sea, about a miner from the Scottish shires who is lost in grief from the death of his son and joins a deadly fishing vessel headed for the Arctic to try and recover will be released on November 10th 2024.
Fish Town is his debut memoir, released on April 28th 2021 by Guts Publishing, about leaving everything behind to start a new life in a fishing port in Japan.
His second book, Silent Riders of the Sea, about a miner from the Scottish shires who is lost in grief from the death of his son and joins a deadly fishing vessel headed for the Arctic to try and recover will be released on November 10th 2024.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
November 16, 2024
I knew what I was in for from reading Fish Town. Exceptional storytelling and beautiful writing.
January 9, 2025
This book is my first five star read of 2025 and is well deserving of each and every one of those shiny stars.
If you would like to read my full review please visit my blog at:
https://leftontheshelfbookblog.blogsp...
If you would like to read my full review please visit my blog at:
https://leftontheshelfbookblog.blogsp...
December 16, 2024
Monday, December 16, 2024
Silent Riders Of The Sea by John Gerard Fagan

Rating 4 ⭐s
You can buy Silent Riders Of The Sea...here
You can visit John Gerard Fagan's website...here
The Blurb...
In 1930, Jack the miner is grieving the loss of his young son.
In a desperate attempt to escape his misery, he makes the choice to leave.
With a motley crew of Scots, he embarks on Arctic fishing with the promise of a better life.
John Gerard Fagan, the author of the memoir Fish Town, takes us on a ride to the Arctic Sea through Jack's battle for survival on a crammed and gruesome ship and inescapable submission to the cruelty of nature and humankind alike.
In the background, memories of his life as a miner, while a permanent excruciating pain from mourning his own child lingers.
Be ready for a tale of human suffering, violence, and sadness with this story of the hard side of human life.
Our Review...
Now then where to start with this very unusual item. I began reading this expecting a novel, you know the usual set format. Protagonist, antagonist., plot, character arc, redemption etc, etc. However it becomes clear from very early on this is not your bog standard novel.
For a start the chapters are numerous and very short and I mean very short. There are no capital letters or full stops.. How do you know when a new sentence ends and a new one begins.? Well the author just starts a new line. In addition the author leaves out a lot of minor words that help the narrative flow such as conjunctions. The result is prose that is as close to poetry, without actually being poetry that I have ever read. At one point I found myself counting syllables convinced that he was, in part at least, writing in iambic pentameter. All very odd and it succeeds it making you feel a little off kilter as if your horizon of normality has tilted a little. Dare I say it makes you feel little sea sick which all adds to the immersive experience. This literary sleight of hand is similar to "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy where there are no chapters at all, just an endless trail with no respite which foreshadows the narrative.
So if it doesn't feel like a novel what does it feel like. Well the author has such a gift for creating a living, breathing, visceral world that if feels like an insertion into an actual life. Like the old TV show Quantum Leap but not in a cute, feel good, solve the mystery, all's right with the world sort of way. The author's world is horrifyingly brutal and unforgiving. Its probably the most bleak thing that I have ever read. Bleak because its probably the most like real life that I ever read. It's like a cross between The Road by Coramc McCarthy and the Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner by S.T. Coleridge all mixed together and then given a seasoning of grim, dour, hard edged Scottishness.
The reader really feels as if he really has lived Jack's life. It is very real. The trouble is Jack's life is horrific at the start and goes downhill from there.. Death, at times, seems a much better option.
I feel that this will be a marmite book. Some will love it, some will find it too grim..
I enjoyed the experience, I thought the writing was captivating and stimulating. Something very different from the norm. Going on the doomed voyage with Jack was unforgettable. Hence the four stars.
The author is very good at what he does. Just don't expect happiness anywhere or anytime.
Silent Riders Of The Sea by John Gerard Fagan

Rating 4 ⭐s
You can buy Silent Riders Of The Sea...here
You can visit John Gerard Fagan's website...here
The Blurb...
In 1930, Jack the miner is grieving the loss of his young son.
In a desperate attempt to escape his misery, he makes the choice to leave.
With a motley crew of Scots, he embarks on Arctic fishing with the promise of a better life.
John Gerard Fagan, the author of the memoir Fish Town, takes us on a ride to the Arctic Sea through Jack's battle for survival on a crammed and gruesome ship and inescapable submission to the cruelty of nature and humankind alike.
In the background, memories of his life as a miner, while a permanent excruciating pain from mourning his own child lingers.
Be ready for a tale of human suffering, violence, and sadness with this story of the hard side of human life.
Our Review...
Now then where to start with this very unusual item. I began reading this expecting a novel, you know the usual set format. Protagonist, antagonist., plot, character arc, redemption etc, etc. However it becomes clear from very early on this is not your bog standard novel.
For a start the chapters are numerous and very short and I mean very short. There are no capital letters or full stops.. How do you know when a new sentence ends and a new one begins.? Well the author just starts a new line. In addition the author leaves out a lot of minor words that help the narrative flow such as conjunctions. The result is prose that is as close to poetry, without actually being poetry that I have ever read. At one point I found myself counting syllables convinced that he was, in part at least, writing in iambic pentameter. All very odd and it succeeds it making you feel a little off kilter as if your horizon of normality has tilted a little. Dare I say it makes you feel little sea sick which all adds to the immersive experience. This literary sleight of hand is similar to "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy where there are no chapters at all, just an endless trail with no respite which foreshadows the narrative.
So if it doesn't feel like a novel what does it feel like. Well the author has such a gift for creating a living, breathing, visceral world that if feels like an insertion into an actual life. Like the old TV show Quantum Leap but not in a cute, feel good, solve the mystery, all's right with the world sort of way. The author's world is horrifyingly brutal and unforgiving. Its probably the most bleak thing that I have ever read. Bleak because its probably the most like real life that I ever read. It's like a cross between The Road by Coramc McCarthy and the Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner by S.T. Coleridge all mixed together and then given a seasoning of grim, dour, hard edged Scottishness.
The reader really feels as if he really has lived Jack's life. It is very real. The trouble is Jack's life is horrific at the start and goes downhill from there.. Death, at times, seems a much better option.
I feel that this will be a marmite book. Some will love it, some will find it too grim..
I enjoyed the experience, I thought the writing was captivating and stimulating. Something very different from the norm. Going on the doomed voyage with Jack was unforgettable. Hence the four stars.
The author is very good at what he does. Just don't expect happiness anywhere or anytime.
January 16, 2025
This historical novel is set in 1930, and takes place on board a fishing vessel.
The author, John Gerard Fagan, has an impressive way with words and imagery, his use of language and striking metaphors being standout features of the novel.
It is told in an interesting and rarely-encountered way, as a work of free verse, like a long prose poem. For some, I suppose, this may take some getting used to. But the majority of readers of literary fiction will quickly adapt.
In terms of form it is not a million miles away from Solar Bones by Mike McCormack, a novel which takes a similarly radical approach to narrative form, and which won the Goldsmiths Prize and the International Dublin Literary Award.
While it is too soon to know whether Silent Riders of the Sea will win any awards, what I can tell you is that it is definitely worth your time. It will very quickly transport you to a world of hardship that is (thank God) for the most part forgotten in the U.K. Fagan’s writing is so vivid you will come close to enduring the hardships that Jack, the protagonist, endures. You will certainly feel for Jack and you will be taken on a highly-charged emotional journey.
So read this book, by all means.
A word of caution, though. If you are looking for an uplifting novel, this isn’t it. Silent Riders of the Sea, for all its poetic inclinations, is a gritty read, and is utterly unsparing in its attention to uncomfortable detail. Your emotions while reading it are likely to encompass pity and fear, and perhaps even horror.
You will not leave this book feeling uplifted. You will leave it feeling the same way you might after watching, say, a performance of King Lear. You will have the impression you have witnessed an unfolding of terrible events, and the experience will probably bring home to you how blessed you are to be living the life you have.
Which is the point of tragedy, isn’t it?
The author, John Gerard Fagan, has an impressive way with words and imagery, his use of language and striking metaphors being standout features of the novel.
It is told in an interesting and rarely-encountered way, as a work of free verse, like a long prose poem. For some, I suppose, this may take some getting used to. But the majority of readers of literary fiction will quickly adapt.
In terms of form it is not a million miles away from Solar Bones by Mike McCormack, a novel which takes a similarly radical approach to narrative form, and which won the Goldsmiths Prize and the International Dublin Literary Award.
While it is too soon to know whether Silent Riders of the Sea will win any awards, what I can tell you is that it is definitely worth your time. It will very quickly transport you to a world of hardship that is (thank God) for the most part forgotten in the U.K. Fagan’s writing is so vivid you will come close to enduring the hardships that Jack, the protagonist, endures. You will certainly feel for Jack and you will be taken on a highly-charged emotional journey.
So read this book, by all means.
A word of caution, though. If you are looking for an uplifting novel, this isn’t it. Silent Riders of the Sea, for all its poetic inclinations, is a gritty read, and is utterly unsparing in its attention to uncomfortable detail. Your emotions while reading it are likely to encompass pity and fear, and perhaps even horror.
You will not leave this book feeling uplifted. You will leave it feeling the same way you might after watching, say, a performance of King Lear. You will have the impression you have witnessed an unfolding of terrible events, and the experience will probably bring home to you how blessed you are to be living the life you have.
Which is the point of tragedy, isn’t it?
November 10, 2024
The experimental style of this could be thought of as a distraction but it serves the writing better than I first thought.
The flow and repetition make the storytelling even more compelling and I was drawn in from the first few lines.
Incredibly strong and vivid imagery throughout this piece, I found it to be totally immersive.
Strong and powerful.
The flow and repetition make the storytelling even more compelling and I was drawn in from the first few lines.
Incredibly strong and vivid imagery throughout this piece, I found it to be totally immersive.
Strong and powerful.
November 22, 2024
The writing is sparse but so well crafted; I felt I was there frozen with grief. Fagan is fast becoming one of my favorite writers. The village in Scotland Jack was from reminded me of my mother's in Sweden. And we lost many of our men to the sea.
December 10, 2024
Silent Riders of the Sea is in my all-time top 10 books!
December 18, 2024
I read this on the back of his previous book Fish Town and it's one of the most unique books I have ever read. The stripped back way it's written, utilising the iceberg theory, and how it shows how brutal life on these ships were blew me away. I've always said Hemingway is the best writer I have ever read and still is. Fagan is a Scottish Hemingway. Phenomenal.
April 23, 2025
This one is superb. Loved it and would make a great film.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews