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Hidden Sea Tales #3
The Nature of a Pirate
The Nature of a Pirate is the third book in acclaimed author, A.M. Dellmonica’s high seas, Stormwrack series. The Lambda Award nominated series begins with Child of a Hidden Sea.
Marine videographer and biologist Sophie Hansa has spent the past few months putting her knowledge of science to use on the strange world of Stormwrack, solving seemingly impossible cases where no solution had been found before.
When a series of ships within the Fleet of Nations, the main governing body that rules a loose alliance of island nation states, are sunk by magical sabotage, Sophie is called on to find out why. While surveying the damage of the most recent wreck, she discovers a strange-looking creature—a fright, a wooden oddity born from a banished spell—causing chaos within the ship. The question is who would put this creature aboard and why?
The quest for answers finds Sophie magically bound to an abolitionist from Sylvanner, her father’s homeland. Now Sophie and the crew of the Nightjar must discover what makes this man so unique while outrunning magical assassins and villainous pirates, and stopping the people responsible for the attacks on the Fleet before they strike again.
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
Marine videographer and biologist Sophie Hansa has spent the past few months putting her knowledge of science to use on the strange world of Stormwrack, solving seemingly impossible cases where no solution had been found before.
When a series of ships within the Fleet of Nations, the main governing body that rules a loose alliance of island nation states, are sunk by magical sabotage, Sophie is called on to find out why. While surveying the damage of the most recent wreck, she discovers a strange-looking creature—a fright, a wooden oddity born from a banished spell—causing chaos within the ship. The question is who would put this creature aboard and why?
The quest for answers finds Sophie magically bound to an abolitionist from Sylvanner, her father’s homeland. Now Sophie and the crew of the Nightjar must discover what makes this man so unique while outrunning magical assassins and villainous pirates, and stopping the people responsible for the attacks on the Fleet before they strike again.
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
467 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 6, 2016
12 people are currently reading
1119 people want to read
About the author
A.M. Dellamonica
48 books296 followersI live in Toronto, Ontario and make my living writing science fiction and fantasy; I also review books and teach writing online at UCLA. I'm a legally married lesbian and in my spare time I take pictures with Toronto Photo. My wife's name is Kelly and we have two cats, Lorenzo and Chinchilla, born in spring of 2014.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 54 reviews
July 25, 2018
The plot of this novel was a bit more clear than the second book but still felt like there were details left out or not explained well. It also didn't really feel like the end to a trilogy, but left open possibility for future books. I love Parrish! I wish there was more Verena, and even Beatrice. Once again I like that Sophie is more of an academic than a fighter, it's refreshing.
May 22, 2017
While billed as a trilogy, this series has more room to run. While the ending is not a cliffhanger, it's has lots of unresolved mysteries. Also the romance aspect kicks in with an Austenisque situation where Sophie must be engaged to be considered an adult. Is she being manipulated by her sociopathic, control freak father? A fun read.
May 10, 2021
A pretty satisfying conclusion to the series that still leaves a lot of questions unanswered. I could definitely see more stories in this world, either following the same characters or as a spinoff. While we return to the same characters we know and love, the plot in this final installment focuses more on the politicking as opposed to the ecology and science that were so prominent in the first two books. (I will say that I expected there to be more pirates in it given the title!). Like the second book, the plot could get a bit complicated and hard to follow at certain times as the developments continued to pile on each other. Overall, this was a very enjoyable read and I'm glad I finished out the series!
February 10, 2017
3.5 stars
Sophie Hansa was adopted as a baby and never knew her biological parents, for good reason: they belong to another world. Stormwrack is similar to earth during the Age of Sail, but with significantly less land mass…and magic. Governed by the Fleet, a floating city comprised of hundreds of ships, Stormwrack is a place where people’s names are powerful ingredients in working spells or intentions; and it’s also a place where Sophie’s knowledge of science is scorned. Sucked into Stormwrack against her will, Sophie gradually begins to fall in love with her biological parents’ home world and takes on a series of missions there.
Secretive, deeply politically divided, and bound by rules of etiquette that Sophie considers old fashioned, Stormwrack is a fascinating world that I’ve really enjoyed learning about throughout the series. In THE NATURE OF A PIRATE, Dellamonica delves more deeply into the particulars of Stormwrack’s various cultures and practices, most notably the slave trade. Understandably, the slave trade is a bitter pill to swallow for both Sophie and her brother Bram (many Stormwrackers feel the same) but it plays a large role in the social hierarchy of Stormwrack. The siblings get up close and personal with slavers in this book, and the results are pretty spectacular…to say the least!
Sophie also connects more deeply with her biological family and the Verdanni half of her heritage in THE NATURE OF A PIRATE, which was a treat to read about. The Verdanni are a powerful people in Stormwrack: they lay claim to one of the largest landmasses on Stormwrack and their agricultural practices have made them quite wealth. A matriarchal people, the Verdanni are ruled by the Allmother and celebrate women – but they also expect a lot from them. This means that Sophie’s relatives Beatrice, Verena, and Annela are pretty badass ladies who also have giant chips on their shoulders…much like Sophie herself.
The character growth in THE NATURE OF A PIRATE is absolutely phenomenal, and as the star of the show, Sophie has really come into her own throughout the series. She’s more confident in her own abilities and intellect, more sure of her place in her family (both adopted and biological), and she’s also more experienced in the ways of Stormwrackers. I’ve also really enjoyed seeing Bram, Sophie’s brother, grow more assertive and stand up to Sophie when he thinks his big sister is trying to walk all over him. Of course, I’m also biased because Bram’s gay and y’all know I love a queer character… But he is really cool, I promise!
With a satisfying yet slightly open-ended conclusion, THE NATURE OF A PIRATE is a strong instalment in a solid series about magic, family, finding yourself, and – of course – sailing. If you like books with fantastic PoC and queer representation, or you’re hoping to read more stories set at sea, then I recommend the Hidden Sea Tales series.
Sophie Hansa was adopted as a baby and never knew her biological parents, for good reason: they belong to another world. Stormwrack is similar to earth during the Age of Sail, but with significantly less land mass…and magic. Governed by the Fleet, a floating city comprised of hundreds of ships, Stormwrack is a place where people’s names are powerful ingredients in working spells or intentions; and it’s also a place where Sophie’s knowledge of science is scorned. Sucked into Stormwrack against her will, Sophie gradually begins to fall in love with her biological parents’ home world and takes on a series of missions there.
Secretive, deeply politically divided, and bound by rules of etiquette that Sophie considers old fashioned, Stormwrack is a fascinating world that I’ve really enjoyed learning about throughout the series. In THE NATURE OF A PIRATE, Dellamonica delves more deeply into the particulars of Stormwrack’s various cultures and practices, most notably the slave trade. Understandably, the slave trade is a bitter pill to swallow for both Sophie and her brother Bram (many Stormwrackers feel the same) but it plays a large role in the social hierarchy of Stormwrack. The siblings get up close and personal with slavers in this book, and the results are pretty spectacular…to say the least!
Sophie also connects more deeply with her biological family and the Verdanni half of her heritage in THE NATURE OF A PIRATE, which was a treat to read about. The Verdanni are a powerful people in Stormwrack: they lay claim to one of the largest landmasses on Stormwrack and their agricultural practices have made them quite wealth. A matriarchal people, the Verdanni are ruled by the Allmother and celebrate women – but they also expect a lot from them. This means that Sophie’s relatives Beatrice, Verena, and Annela are pretty badass ladies who also have giant chips on their shoulders…much like Sophie herself.
The character growth in THE NATURE OF A PIRATE is absolutely phenomenal, and as the star of the show, Sophie has really come into her own throughout the series. She’s more confident in her own abilities and intellect, more sure of her place in her family (both adopted and biological), and she’s also more experienced in the ways of Stormwrackers. I’ve also really enjoyed seeing Bram, Sophie’s brother, grow more assertive and stand up to Sophie when he thinks his big sister is trying to walk all over him. Of course, I’m also biased because Bram’s gay and y’all know I love a queer character… But he is really cool, I promise!
With a satisfying yet slightly open-ended conclusion, THE NATURE OF A PIRATE is a strong instalment in a solid series about magic, family, finding yourself, and – of course – sailing. If you like books with fantastic PoC and queer representation, or you’re hoping to read more stories set at sea, then I recommend the Hidden Sea Tales series.
February 10, 2017
I didn't like this one quite as much as the rest of the series. There was less science, and almost no ecology, an aspect I loved in previous books. Also I was hoping for more explanation of the big world building mysteries than we got. Still Sophie is great character and I was glad to spend some more time with her and see the end of her story arc.
December 13, 2016
This was a thrill read from first to last...
December 1, 2019
I’ve said before that I have yet to read anything by Dellamonica that I dislike. Her latest novel, The Nature of a Pirate, fits firmly into my expectations, and I think is the best of the series so far. It doesn’t quite have the magic that the first book held for me, the wondrous discovery of a new world, but the story really comes to a head, and this was a real page-turner and such an amazing read for me.
Sophie Hansa is firmly set on dragging Stormwrack into the age of curiosity, introducing greater scientific procedures into the world, at least in regard to forensics and crime-solving. She studies samples of animals and plants, trying to figure out this world that is slowly unfolding before her. Culture and politics, however, are still a lost art to her, and she makes plenty of missteps along her journey, but it’s the science of things she’s primarily interested in, the biology and forensics. So when she’s thrown into the middle of a mystery involving ships that bleed, forbidden magical constructs, and the possibility of it all leading to war, she goes to the task like any mildly obsessive and headstrong person would.
And I love reading Sophie for those traits. She’s in that excellent position to allow the reader a bit of ignorance and explanation, because Sophie herself isn’t familiar with Stormwrack in the way that those who have grown up there are. Cultural missteps are bound to happen. Lack of historical or legal context. That sort of thing. Sophie being from this world, called Erstwhile, has a distinctly modern approach to things, and that works well to ground the reader, making it easier to ride on Sophie’s shoulder as she encounters new things and sees them similarly to how we ourselves would, in all their baffling glory. And her penchant for brutal honesty, calling things how she sees them, is great to read.
I have great respect for the level of detail that Dellamonica put into this novel — the whole series, really, but here it just seemed so overwhelming to keep track of, from a writer’s perspective. Writing a secondary world is always a complicated affair when you’re trying to make it stand out from the crowd, and Dellamonica definitely succeeds in that regard. But it’s more than just an Age-of-Sail world. There are multiple nations, all with their cultural idiosyncrasies that are expressed and considered in the text. Not only that, but Sophie’s efforts to bring modern science into Stormwrack when Stormwrack doesn’t have facilities and technology that we consider modern means improvising, researching early breakthroughs in certain fields and recreating old methods and refining them along the way. Some of my favourite parts of the novel involve Sophie and Bram trying to figure Stormwrack out, and devise experiments and modifications to see how things work and what can be done. It’s creative, it’s impressive, and it speaks to a whole load of behind-the-scenes work that all comes together to create a breathtakingly detailed and realistic story.
Every time I write a review for these books, I find the story very difficult to describe. Not because it’s loose and all over the place. The writing’s tight, the direction clear, and it’s a thrill ride to be on with the characters. No, it’s hard to describe because there’s so much of it. Sophie’s project to introduce fingerprint records to Stormwrack. The frights that are destroying ships. Sophie’s ongoing issues with her birth father. The mystery behind a slave she suddenly owns. So many plot threads intertwine and play off each other, some important, some less so, some seeming unimportant until they zoom to the forefront halfway through the novel. Another point in Dellamonica’s favour; for all that the story has a lot of elements to juggle, not once does it get overwhelming of confusing, beyond the confusion you’re supposed to feel because characters themselves haven’t figured out exactly what’s going on either.
Stormwrack is a world I could constantly — if you’ll excuse the pun — dive into and never be bored reading about. I love the characters, from Sophie’s headstrong intelligence to Garland’s reserved politeness to Verena’s desire to prove herself. They’re whole people, able to stand on their own and tell their own stories. I love the cultures built in the flooded world. I love the little linguistic quirks that get thrown in, pieces of a puzzle to solve. Dellamonica is a fantastically skilled writer, at the top of her game, and I can’t imagine her coming down from those heights any time soon. Do yourself a favour and pick up this series soon if you haven’t already. It’s absolutely worth the time you’ll spend reading it.
(Book received in exchange for review.)
Sophie Hansa is firmly set on dragging Stormwrack into the age of curiosity, introducing greater scientific procedures into the world, at least in regard to forensics and crime-solving. She studies samples of animals and plants, trying to figure out this world that is slowly unfolding before her. Culture and politics, however, are still a lost art to her, and she makes plenty of missteps along her journey, but it’s the science of things she’s primarily interested in, the biology and forensics. So when she’s thrown into the middle of a mystery involving ships that bleed, forbidden magical constructs, and the possibility of it all leading to war, she goes to the task like any mildly obsessive and headstrong person would.
And I love reading Sophie for those traits. She’s in that excellent position to allow the reader a bit of ignorance and explanation, because Sophie herself isn’t familiar with Stormwrack in the way that those who have grown up there are. Cultural missteps are bound to happen. Lack of historical or legal context. That sort of thing. Sophie being from this world, called Erstwhile, has a distinctly modern approach to things, and that works well to ground the reader, making it easier to ride on Sophie’s shoulder as she encounters new things and sees them similarly to how we ourselves would, in all their baffling glory. And her penchant for brutal honesty, calling things how she sees them, is great to read.
I have great respect for the level of detail that Dellamonica put into this novel — the whole series, really, but here it just seemed so overwhelming to keep track of, from a writer’s perspective. Writing a secondary world is always a complicated affair when you’re trying to make it stand out from the crowd, and Dellamonica definitely succeeds in that regard. But it’s more than just an Age-of-Sail world. There are multiple nations, all with their cultural idiosyncrasies that are expressed and considered in the text. Not only that, but Sophie’s efforts to bring modern science into Stormwrack when Stormwrack doesn’t have facilities and technology that we consider modern means improvising, researching early breakthroughs in certain fields and recreating old methods and refining them along the way. Some of my favourite parts of the novel involve Sophie and Bram trying to figure Stormwrack out, and devise experiments and modifications to see how things work and what can be done. It’s creative, it’s impressive, and it speaks to a whole load of behind-the-scenes work that all comes together to create a breathtakingly detailed and realistic story.
Every time I write a review for these books, I find the story very difficult to describe. Not because it’s loose and all over the place. The writing’s tight, the direction clear, and it’s a thrill ride to be on with the characters. No, it’s hard to describe because there’s so much of it. Sophie’s project to introduce fingerprint records to Stormwrack. The frights that are destroying ships. Sophie’s ongoing issues with her birth father. The mystery behind a slave she suddenly owns. So many plot threads intertwine and play off each other, some important, some less so, some seeming unimportant until they zoom to the forefront halfway through the novel. Another point in Dellamonica’s favour; for all that the story has a lot of elements to juggle, not once does it get overwhelming of confusing, beyond the confusion you’re supposed to feel because characters themselves haven’t figured out exactly what’s going on either.
Stormwrack is a world I could constantly — if you’ll excuse the pun — dive into and never be bored reading about. I love the characters, from Sophie’s headstrong intelligence to Garland’s reserved politeness to Verena’s desire to prove herself. They’re whole people, able to stand on their own and tell their own stories. I love the cultures built in the flooded world. I love the little linguistic quirks that get thrown in, pieces of a puzzle to solve. Dellamonica is a fantastically skilled writer, at the top of her game, and I can’t imagine her coming down from those heights any time soon. Do yourself a favour and pick up this series soon if you haven’t already. It’s absolutely worth the time you’ll spend reading it.
(Book received in exchange for review.)
February 12, 2017
So it took me the longest time to get into this book, and I couldn't figure out why I wasn't clicking with the characters or why I was so confused by where the characters were at the beginning of the book, and then I did find my groove with it and then I finished it and turned it over, and then it turned out that I had gone from book 1 to book 3 without stopping at the second book in this trilogy along the way
So........................whoops, A.M. Dellamonica, I bungled that one pretty good
By the end I did get really into it, and now I want to reread the trilogy as a whole, to make up for missing #2, and because when reading #1 I do remember I never quite clicked with the characters (which surprised me because I love fiction about siblings!!) or the setting (I think I just had a hard time keeping track of the details), but now that this book got its hooks in me I think I'll have a better time.
I love all the family stuff in this book-- the thorny half-sibling step-sibling step-parent estranged-cousin loving-but-resentful-sibling shit. Sophie with Bram, with Verena, with Cly-- those were some of my favourite scenes. I love Sophie with Garland, too -- I had to get up and walk around a bit at one scene with them near the end, which is how you know a romance is effective. The ending and its tone worked so well for me too.
One thing that surprised me about this series and is maybe why it took me forever to find my groove with it is Sophie and Bram's... scientific curiosity about this magical world: their determination to figure it out, and not figure it out in terms of the magic it uses, as happens in so many Oh I'm A Regular Person And Oh What Is This Fantastical Magical Realm I Have Stumbled Into stories, where the main characters find power by learning the rules that realm plays by (and breaking them as necessary with their outsiders' POV), but by bringing the scientific method to the magic world-- to catalogue, to test for DNA, to look at fossil records, to try to find where and what this magic world is and how it's connected to the regular world, to bring your DSLR to Narnia and document the sea serpents' mating habits. It's so interesting and it's such a good take on it, and I think its newness is what threw me-- I was expecting that Harry Potter pattern and never got it.
So I definitely want to reread the series, and I'm sure I'll like it all the better when I'm not fighting against its core just out of sheer genre confusion, and when I actually remember to read the books in order.
:B
So........................whoops, A.M. Dellamonica, I bungled that one pretty good
By the end I did get really into it, and now I want to reread the trilogy as a whole, to make up for missing #2, and because when reading #1 I do remember I never quite clicked with the characters (which surprised me because I love fiction about siblings!!) or the setting (I think I just had a hard time keeping track of the details), but now that this book got its hooks in me I think I'll have a better time.
I love all the family stuff in this book-- the thorny half-sibling step-sibling step-parent estranged-cousin loving-but-resentful-sibling shit. Sophie with Bram, with Verena, with Cly-- those were some of my favourite scenes. I love Sophie with Garland, too -- I had to get up and walk around a bit at one scene with them near the end, which is how you know a romance is effective. The ending and its tone worked so well for me too.
One thing that surprised me about this series and is maybe why it took me forever to find my groove with it is Sophie and Bram's... scientific curiosity about this magical world: their determination to figure it out, and not figure it out in terms of the magic it uses, as happens in so many Oh I'm A Regular Person And Oh What Is This Fantastical Magical Realm I Have Stumbled Into stories, where the main characters find power by learning the rules that realm plays by (and breaking them as necessary with their outsiders' POV), but by bringing the scientific method to the magic world-- to catalogue, to test for DNA, to look at fossil records, to try to find where and what this magic world is and how it's connected to the regular world, to bring your DSLR to Narnia and document the sea serpents' mating habits. It's so interesting and it's such a good take on it, and I think its newness is what threw me-- I was expecting that Harry Potter pattern and never got it.
So I definitely want to reread the series, and I'm sure I'll like it all the better when I'm not fighting against its core just out of sheer genre confusion, and when I actually remember to read the books in order.
:B
March 7, 2024
this kind of dragged on until about 200 pages left, when things started to finally make more sense and where things started to kick off. It's written kind of differently than the other two, i felt like there were more info dumps, and unnecessary info. The second half of the book definitely had more Garland, but i felt like he was more of a cheerleader to Sophie. He didn't contribute much other than "oh sophie is in love with him". Cly was a great character. so many depths to him, and he's very intriguing as a character. Bram and Verena weren't there much, which was kind of disappointing. the book left readers with a lot of questions too. not exactly a cliff hanger, but it felt like only 1 thing was resolved. we now know that Stormwrack is future earth, but what disaster occurred? who ends up being the Allmother in Verdani? is Annella ok, and what happened with Beatrice? did they catch Cleste (the pirate who can eraglide, basically one of the master minds of the conspiracy)? Is sophie going to be able to come and go between earth and stormwrack? do sophie and bram still want to get archeologists to stormwrack? will there be a true abolitionist movement across the portside nations? i just felt like there were so many questions left unanswered that I'm surprised this is the end. I had hoped there would at least be a spinoff, but i don't see signs of one. it was also annoying that Sophie was trying so hard to save Kev's life, when it was obvious from the beginning that he was kinda a bad dude. overall, not a bad book, but it definitely didn't feel like it should have been the last book.
July 18, 2017
So “The Nature of a Pirate” (Tor, $28.99, 364 pages) was intriguing enough that I decided to jump in on a volume three (after trying to catch up by reading reviews of the first two books of the Hidden Sea Tales). The move was successful enough that I enjoyed the book and didn’t feel too left out.
The setup is similar to Roger Zelazny’s Chronicles of Amber, for those readers of a certain age out there, in that there is an alternate world that is much different from modern day Earth. Sophie Hansa makes the trip to Stormwrack, which is a version of Earth covered almost entirely by ocean. That means much of the action takes place at sea, and since Hansa was a marine videographer and biologist in the 21st century, her skills fit right in.
A.M. Dellamonica does a nice job of world building, positing a civilization that discourages curiosity, and that contains a wide variety of small nations that swing from cooperation to competition. The presence of significant magic and that lack of curiosity has led to a culture not that impressed with science or logical thinking, which gives Hansa an advantage as she tries to navigate her way, figuratively and literally, through this new world.
There are plots and subplots aplenty, and though the protagonist is sometimes annoying, it’s a fun ride. As always, though, it’s best to start with volume one, which in this case is “Child of the Hidden Sea.” And it’s also possible there might be a volume four, as Dellamonica left the door open more than a sliver at the end of “The Nature of a Pirate.”
The setup is similar to Roger Zelazny’s Chronicles of Amber, for those readers of a certain age out there, in that there is an alternate world that is much different from modern day Earth. Sophie Hansa makes the trip to Stormwrack, which is a version of Earth covered almost entirely by ocean. That means much of the action takes place at sea, and since Hansa was a marine videographer and biologist in the 21st century, her skills fit right in.
A.M. Dellamonica does a nice job of world building, positing a civilization that discourages curiosity, and that contains a wide variety of small nations that swing from cooperation to competition. The presence of significant magic and that lack of curiosity has led to a culture not that impressed with science or logical thinking, which gives Hansa an advantage as she tries to navigate her way, figuratively and literally, through this new world.
There are plots and subplots aplenty, and though the protagonist is sometimes annoying, it’s a fun ride. As always, though, it’s best to start with volume one, which in this case is “Child of the Hidden Sea.” And it’s also possible there might be a volume four, as Dellamonica left the door open more than a sliver at the end of “The Nature of a Pirate.”
September 13, 2017
This trilogy started out slow for me (caveat: I have the attention span of a squirrel when I'm battling depression, which is always) but by the third book had built into a cherished favorite. I grabbed this as soon as I could and devoured it as fast as I could. I've become very fond of the characters, the world, and where the books are going in the big scheme of things. It goes to show that some series need a few books to really establish the world and start blooming.. and are worth the stick with it time. So thankful there are publishers willing to make that commitment to these kind of authors, that not all publishers remain short sighted on immediate returns. I've discovered these types of stories are often the best in the long term.
I can't help compare this development style to other series that started out so immediately amazing (Wheel of Time, cough cough) and got so top heavy, I lost interest about the same time the author realized he could sit back and milk the world and the plot and draw the books out into perpetuity--have you ever seen taffy made or caramels being pulled? That's just disrespect for your reader. In this reader's humble opinion. This series is not like that. It's like coming home every few months to a close friend who has *the best* stories and is nice enough to invite you over for a chat in front of the fireplace with wine and dinner and a little chocolate something later because it's the wee hours before you have to stagger on home. That is what this series is like. Keep on writing Alyx!
I can't help compare this development style to other series that started out so immediately amazing (Wheel of Time, cough cough) and got so top heavy, I lost interest about the same time the author realized he could sit back and milk the world and the plot and draw the books out into perpetuity--have you ever seen taffy made or caramels being pulled? That's just disrespect for your reader. In this reader's humble opinion. This series is not like that. It's like coming home every few months to a close friend who has *the best* stories and is nice enough to invite you over for a chat in front of the fireplace with wine and dinner and a little chocolate something later because it's the wee hours before you have to stagger on home. That is what this series is like. Keep on writing Alyx!
June 19, 2017
A fun, clever addition to a fun series. I continued to enjoy the scientist-as-MC conceit and found myself missing Verena's interactions with Sophie (although Sophie and Bram was always solid). I still felt like Parrish was a bit 2D but he and Sophie had some good scenes in the later half. As before, I really enjoyed Cly (mostly because Sophie is so very judgmental and, while you don't love him, he's not really evil) and Beatrice (whom we get a little extra glimpse of through several other characters).
Okay, plot. More "who's plotting against the Cessation" but I'm not tired of it yet. This one stepped it up a bit regarding what Sophie does and doesn't know about how magic works. This "whodunit" tied into the other two books neatly but further advanced our view of Stormwrack and its inhabitants. It also neatly answered a couple of big series question, although we didn't get much further than an answer that begged more questions.
I very much want to read the related short stories now and also strongly hope that Dellamonica will be returning at the least to this world, if not also these characters.
Okay, plot. More "who's plotting against the Cessation" but I'm not tired of it yet. This one stepped it up a bit regarding what Sophie does and doesn't know about how magic works. This "whodunit" tied into the other two books neatly but further advanced our view of Stormwrack and its inhabitants. It also neatly answered a couple of big series question, although we didn't get much further than an answer that begged more questions.
I very much want to read the related short stories now and also strongly hope that Dellamonica will be returning at the least to this world, if not also these characters.
August 18, 2019
Finally Sophie grows up some. As expected, she tries to drama-queen herself out of her romance, but the plot necessitates a different direction, so I was spared from throwing this book against the wall.
Ergo I enjoyed it more than the previous two, simply because I wasn't annoyed by Sophie on every third page. Alas there wasn't as much science here, though there were some awesome bits about the magic -- the way mermaids were made was very cool.
Too bad this is the end. I kept enjoying the world itself, and am also somewhat curious where the exploration of how our Earth and that one are connected leads (though I find that less important than learning more about that world). With Sophie acting her age, there could be so much more here, and there are plenty of unresolved strands left to explore. Maybe it is this open-ended on purpose, so Dellamonica can return to it if she feels like it. I'd welcome that (but only if Sophie doesn't return to her immature ways).
Ergo I enjoyed it more than the previous two, simply because I wasn't annoyed by Sophie on every third page. Alas there wasn't as much science here, though there were some awesome bits about the magic -- the way mermaids were made was very cool.
Too bad this is the end. I kept enjoying the world itself, and am also somewhat curious where the exploration of how our Earth and that one are connected leads (though I find that less important than learning more about that world). With Sophie acting her age, there could be so much more here, and there are plenty of unresolved strands left to explore. Maybe it is this open-ended on purpose, so Dellamonica can return to it if she feels like it. I'd welcome that (but only if Sophie doesn't return to her immature ways).
July 30, 2017
So what is a scientist with an insatiable curiosity, visiting a fantasy seafaring world, do to keep herself on the right side of the powers that be? She founds an Institute of Forensics and sets about solving crimes.
Sophie’s weakness is that she hates being manipulated, and begins to see mind-games everywhere. Sometimes it’s helpful, as when she is looking for clues, sometimes she’s just spinning her wheels and can’t figure out who to trust. She also learns that a moral high horse isn’t always the best observation platform.
Recommended for those who like smart female protagonists who eschew tight leather outfits and close quarters combat; for those who enjoy intricate world building; and for those who like sciency investigations of magical phenomina.
Sophie’s weakness is that she hates being manipulated, and begins to see mind-games everywhere. Sometimes it’s helpful, as when she is looking for clues, sometimes she’s just spinning her wheels and can’t figure out who to trust. She also learns that a moral high horse isn’t always the best observation platform.
Recommended for those who like smart female protagonists who eschew tight leather outfits and close quarters combat; for those who enjoy intricate world building; and for those who like sciency investigations of magical phenomina.
April 16, 2018
Really enjoyable and interesting—Stormwrack is such a fascinating place. I am always amazed at the unexpected places things go in this series. The characters are awesome—the whole aspect of Sophie being inscribed at birth added a real twist to her already trying to figure out her identity. I love the whole idea of inscriptions, and that Bram is studying them. Introducing 19th Century fingerprinting techniques in was a really cool idea. The frights were genuinely freaky. The political subtext and subtleties between the nations is so well done, as is the mystery of who was responsible for Gale’s death (TBD?). I know it is supposed to be a trilogy, but there’s so much to do... Highly recommend the whole trilogy.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 22, 2017
Still a great series -- all the characters are smart/competent, the plot and world are interesting, and the interpersonal relationships are fascinating. I actually don't really relate to Sophie at all, but I still really enjoyed reading all the Hidden Sea books.
There are still a lot of unanswered questions after this book, and I feel like there could definitely be more, but it's a satisfying enough ending to the trilogy that I'm fine with it. It's actually kind of nice; leaves a lot up for further exploration and speculation within a fandom, if there is a fandom for Stormwrack. idk, I haven't really looked... but I might have to. Or I guess there's always Yuletide.
There are still a lot of unanswered questions after this book, and I feel like there could definitely be more, but it's a satisfying enough ending to the trilogy that I'm fine with it. It's actually kind of nice; leaves a lot up for further exploration and speculation within a fandom, if there is a fandom for Stormwrack. idk, I haven't really looked... but I might have to. Or I guess there's always Yuletide.
January 15, 2018
A solid conclusion to the series. The science-focus has shifted away from biology and toward forensics, which is fine, though since the former is perhaps underrepresented in SFF compared to the latter I confess to being ever so slightly disappointed. I was also quite surprised by how much was left unresolved at the end of the book. The main thrust had a satisfying resolution, yes, but there would still be a lot left to explore in another book or two.
The worldbuilding remains the absolute star of the book. This is just a cool setting, and I want more in it. I know there are more Gale stories out there, so I'll have to track them down.
The worldbuilding remains the absolute star of the book. This is just a cool setting, and I want more in it. I know there are more Gale stories out there, so I'll have to track them down.
May 26, 2025
I really really really loved this series as a whole and this book was also so good! the continuation of the main romance and exploration of stormwrack and it's politics and getting to flesh out more of who her birth father is! Just really good! they reason i gave it 4 stars though is that at some points when they were doing more of the research and forensic stuff on the side I could really care less. like I feel like they explained a lot of stuff in detail that never became relevant later and I found that kind of frustrating, but still overall so good!
September 30, 2017
Third books of trilogies have a lot of heavy lifting to do. They need to advance the plots that have kept readers entranced for two books, and to tie up as many loose ends as possible. In many cases, they leave their conclusion open-ended so that the author can revisit the world again. The Nature of a Pirate pulls off all these tasks without seeming rushed or burdened. I’d love to read more Stormrack fiction, but if the series ends here, it ends well.
May 8, 2021
i have no idea how the third book in a series ended up on my tbr but i can't wait to read the others. love the world building. cool magic, lots of pirate-y nautical details, and fascinating ceremonial rites. love the characters: complicated, full people. love the concept: and alternate earth or possibly a future earth either way its different and some people can go between the two.
July 25, 2017
Aurora Award finalist. I've quite enjoyed this series and would be happy to read more if the trilogy ever gets extended. Good pacing, cool world and magic, complicated relationships and an engaging main character had me racing through this one.
January 14, 2018
It's ok. Wish the first half of the book hadn't been a refresher on the first two books. Just get back to the story! Continued enough interesting world building to leave plenty of room for more books.
May 2, 2019
This series is definitely fun-but-not-Great. It's the kind of writing that makes me think "hey, I could probably write something like this" but then "jeez that's a lot of work, all that complicated plotting and world-building and research... Maybe not."
January 31, 2022
i normally like open endings but this was quite abrupt :/ the world, cultures, politics, magic, and science were super cool, but i wish that all the characters and relationships could have been fleshed out some more
April 9, 2023
I loved this book - and the whole series. I am sad to think that there are not more.
It did get a bit convoluted toward the end, but also left just enough loose ends for there to be more books while also wrapping up the story.
It did get a bit convoluted toward the end, but also left just enough loose ends for there to be more books while also wrapping up the story.
July 1, 2017
Light fantasy read
June 27, 2018
amazing. imaginative. I want more!
October 1, 2018
Still loving Dellamonica's expert world-building and Sofie's willful pursuit of justice and knowledge. I eagerly await more from Stormwrack.
September 20, 2019
What fun! I have loved this world, these characters, and the adventure from the get go. Sad to leave it, but glad it ended strongly.
April 16, 2022
This series has been super handy and engaging to read when I've been travelling, and was definitely a bit bummed that book 4 looks no where in sight
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