King of the Sea

The Bay Boys #1

by Nathan Bay

Plunge into the icy dark waters of the San Francisco bay with this gay erotic tale of murder, mutiny, and mermen.

Carlos Santiago is a man on the edge of sanity. After battling cancer, he's developed an obsession with death, fearful that it's lurking behind every shadow, waiting to steal his last breath. Then a heart-pounding encounter with a mysterious merman turns his world upside down and gives him new hope for the future.

But escaping his vindictive former boyfriend, Dr. Tyson Thorne, won't be so easy. When Carlos discovers shocking medical experiments are taking place behind his back, he embarks on a race against time to unlock the mystery of the doctor's secrets before he gets caught.

With danger threatening him at every turn, can Carlos escape the hands of death a second time? And can he trust his new merman love interest when everyone around him seems to be hiding a dark secret? Find out in King of the Sea, the tantalizing erotic gay mystery by Nathan Bay.

Winner of the Goodreads G/G GAY FICTION FOR GAY MEN - Group Read of the Month, February 2017

This is the book that started it all! The debut novella from #1 Amazon Bestselling Author Nathan Bay, King of the Sea set a precedent for gay fantasy fiction that delved into new, uncharted territories.

Get swept away to a strange and unusual world!

Combining elements of gay erotica, medical science fiction & fantasy, mystery, and thriller, King of the Sea is a wildly exciting book unlike anything you've ever read before. It features gay mermen, mpreg (male pregnancy) science experiments, and a unique spin on global warming's effects on the California coastline. If you're looking for something fast-paced and undeniably different from the norm, you'll find it here.

What's hiding in the water?

Click the "Preview" button under the cover for a sneak preview into the mysterious world of Carlos Santiago. Read the first chapter and get a taste of what's to come!

Genres: M M Romance, Fantasy, Paranormal, Short Stories, Amazon, Queer, Erotica

102 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 17, 2017

About the author

Nathan Bay writes gay-themed fiction about ordinary people faced with extraordinary circumstances. The genres of his work span mystery, romance, erotica, and everything in between — always with an exciting twist!

Nathan currently resides in sunny California. Learn more at nathanbayauthor.com

Reviews

[SheReadsALot · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 HEARTS--New author Nathan Bay's novella, King of the Sea, is a story with a lot of elements. Set in San Francisco, 28 year-old Carlos Santiago has survived. His testicular cancer is in remission. But his body wears the scars from the battle. He has a single testicle. The scars from the surgery is wreaking havoc on his body including his pleasure for sex. His older lover, obstetrician Tyson, has been distant and not helpful during his recovery. And he finally has had enough. On their one year anniversary, Carlos made a decision to leave his lover. Saying a final goodbye to the lavish lifestyle Dr. Tyson afforded him, Carlos goes to a rocky ridge by the sea that night. High on Oxycodone, he plans what he'll do in his future and what he will tell Tyson but he sees a hand in the water to greet him.

Was he hallucinating? He leans further to inspect and falls in.

He's saved by Ross, the iPad watching merman with healing capabilities. After the first chapter the story suffers from first-book-itis: too many ideas, not executed to the best ability aka SQUIRREL!

So much SQUIRREL! that I don't know why half of the things happened in this story. But it did.


The merman with no actual name calls himself Ross from his favorite Friends TV character. How he came to be able to watch an iPad and keep it charged is answered. But the story goes to wonky really quick as it progresses. Carlos and Ross share an intimate encounter. Carlos is energized to end things but then he goes to his home and sneaks into his lover's locked guest house on their estate. There he meets an even weirder secret.

It went to a weird experiment suspense yet very hokey twist.

Carlos meets a prisoner who doesn't want to be saved. Then proceeds to go to Folsom Street to have a little public sex in a seedy leather bar to declare he's back on the market.



Why did the spot of BDSM get added in when it was unnecessary? *shrugs*

There was a sexy dick contest and a sex sling but the moment is aborted because of telepathy. Then we have a suicide attempt that becomes accidental. Royalty that should have been introduced from the first introduction. A mystery that wasn't as interesting because of drugging and any interesting action happening off page. It was a lot.

This book needed a better edit, especially content wise. There were too many ideas to get a grasp. I think it if was simpler, let the hint of romance develop a little more solidly with just interactions primarily between Ross and Carlos, since it ends with a romantic-ish finish, the story would have made a better impact for me.

It was SQUIRRELLY to the point where you could read each point the author had a new idea to throw in. Some really cool ideas (genetically enhanced mermen, global warming and its effects) that in swirled in with throwaway ideas (suspense, self sacrificing MC, BDSM scenes, drug abuse). It wasn't added in smooth enough, which made for a lackluster, disjointed read.

The blurb states it was dark, I don't think it was. It was more corny than anything. The jokes were flat. The mystery could have been more interesting but SQUIRREL! The unanswered questions kind of bothered me such as if Ross is super important yadda yadda...why let him roam free in the sea unchecked? *shrugs* Diagnosis: first-book-itis

Having a cancer survivor who seemed to be on the search on finding himself in life was a good concept. He finally was starting to realize what he wanted in life. The SQUIRREL just got in the way. I kinda wished the vibe from the first chapter continued, it was more serious, more focused.

So in closing...

SQUIRREL!

A copy provided for an honest review.

[Kyle · Rating 3 out of 5]

This novel was provided free of charge by the author in exchange for an honest review.

Very predictable.

I won't bore you with a synopsis of the book, you can read that above, but that pretty much covers the story and then some. Honestly, I didn't find it all that exciting. First, it's a short story and it's hard to create a lot of tension in less than 200 pages. There is obviously very little character development. You really don't have time to really get invested in the characters. I found everything to be a little one dimensional. There was simply no depth in the characters or the plot.

After reading the first 100 pages, I probably could have written the remaining 50 pages and reproduced it with about 90% accuracy. It was that predictable. But then I'm pretty good at guessing the end of most movies and books before the end anyway. It's a curse I know.

[⚓Dan⚓ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book and couldn't put it down as the author took me on an unexpected journey of mystery, murder and fantasy.

[David Avery · Rating 5 out of 5]

KING OF THE SEA is a fun, sexy unexpected pleasure. It has elements of fantasy, science fiction, and erotic gay romance all neatly tied together in this taut, beautifully written novella. Carlos Santiago is the protagonist who has been forever changed after a cancer diagnosis called into the sharpest focus the meaning and importance of his life and who is in it. I was pulled into the story from its very first words: “What am I so afraid of?” The answer, Carlos says to himself, is “Nothing.”

I always like when the location of a story brings the power of well-developed character to the story, and KING OF THE SEA delivers San Francisco as an alluring, mysterious, and richly atmospheric component to the book, particularly its beautiful, cold and foggy bay. The bay is a key part of the book, for it is the home of an omniscient merman who knows Carlos better than he knows himself and is a source of support and courage for Carlos as he reclaims the physical and mental elements of his life.

An evil ex BF named Tyson threatens his sanity and his safety. I won’t give away too much of the plot, but suffice it to say that as if Carlos has not been challenged enough in the last 6 months, he grapples with the discovery that Tyson has been conducting bizarre medical experiments and his own life becomes threatened. The story really takes off from there. In the hands of a less adept writer, the elements of fantasy, science fiction, and erotic gay romance would not come together. But, Nathan Bay pulls it off, and I look forward to reading more of what he writes.

Overall, KING OF THE SEA is fun, sexy, mysterious, and thrilling! 5 stars.

[ѦѺ™ · Rating 5 out of 5]

The lure of the sirens' call is hard to ignore and I am glad that author Nathan Bay heeded it and was inspired to contribute to the merfolk's lore albeit with a twist - a gay one with some mystery and mad science thrown in.
It was a delight reading this sweet fantasy romance set in San Francisco, one of my favorite places in the world and I am looking forward to the next book in the Bay Boys series.

[Grady · Rating 5 out of 5]

A gay erotic tale of murder, mutiny, and mermen

California author Nathan Bay makes and impressive debut with KING OF THE SEA, joined in the editing by well-respected novelist Daryl Banner. Nathan also demonstrates his up front artistry by designing the cover of his novel form one of his own photographs of the San Francisco Golden Gate Bridge and uniquely shares the name of his hunky model as Daniel Sobieray! Solid steps suggest that Nathan is a professional artist and this debut should assure his position among writers of gay romance and fiction. Or as he phrases it, his novels are ‘about ordinary people faced with extraordinary circumstances. His characters fight for love while fighting to save their lives, pitted against the dark forces of evil who threaten to take it all away.’ Add to that an appreciation and gift for the value of well-scribed erotica and Nathan Bay is present.

To taste the unique flavor of his novel it is only necessary to read the first page and the reader is captured – ‘What am I so afraid of? Carlos Santiago had been asking himself that question a lot lately, and on this particular night in June, he'd finally decided on the answer. Nothing. There was nothing left in this world to be afraid of. He knew he was going to die. Probably not now. Probably not for a very long time. But someday, it was certain that his life would come to an end. It didn't matter how he played the game, or which strategic moves he made on this giant chessboard of life. The details, the players, the events could be rearranged any sort of way, but Death would always be victorious in the end. Death lingered all around him, and he'd already felt the chill of its breath while he was lying on the operating table. He imagined Death watching him from the corner of the room, twiddling its bony thumbs, wondering if it would collect a new soul. Carlos sneered at the thought of sending the evil bastard back to hell empty-handed. Not today! On this beautiful summer night, Death felt a million miles away and the only thing stealing Carlos's breath was the panoramic view of San Francisco sprawled in front of him from the elite beach town of Bay Cove. The city lights were twinkling through a veil of fog, the red eye of the Transamerica Pyramid pulsating. A salty breeze off the Pacific Ocean rustled his hair as he walked down the creaky wooden steps toward the sliver of beach by the boat dock. What a big world out there, Carlos thought. Taking inventory of his past and the twenty-eight years he'd seen so far, he let out a heavy sigh. Will I ever feel whole again? It had been six months since he had the orchiectomy to remove the cancer from his body. Wrapped around his right testicle, the alien invader had grown from the mutant cells that betrayed him. He was lucky, or so the doctors told him. They'd caught the tumor early— stage one— and he only underwent a single round of radiation. Everyone at the hospital had assured him he'd go on to live a happy and healthy life. Lucky indeed. So much had changed since that January day. His relationship with his partner Tyson had fallen apart. It was already on shaky ground before his cancer diagnosis. Watching him grow weaker and more frail only seemed to expedite Tyson's loss of interest in him. Now they were barely roommates; just two acquaintances who breathed the same air under the same roof...etc.’

But Nathan supplies a fine synopsis for his strange story; Carlos Santiago is a man on the edge of sanity. After battling cancer, he's developed an obsession with death, fearful that it's lurking behind every shadow, waiting to steal his last breath. Then a sexy encounter with an alluring merman turns his world upside down and gives him new hope for the future. But escaping his former boyfriend, Dr. Tyson Thorne, won't be so easy. When Carlos discovers shocking medical experiments were taking place behind his back, he embarks on a race against time to unlock the mystery of the doctor's secrets before he gets caught. With danger threatening him at every turn, can Carlos escape the hands of death a second time? And can he trust his new merman love interest when everyone around him seems to be hiding a dark secret?’

Very fine writing, this, and a signal that there is a new voice with unique characteristics surfacing in California. Keep an eye on this young artist.

[Joyfully Jay · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Joyfully Jay review.

3 stars

This is a book that purports to have a sci-fi bent. And maybe so, if you are a person who considers SyFy’s “Sharknado” to be science-fiction. Here’s the thing: this was a wacked-out plot with a basketful of inconceivables. Still, it was amusing. Carlos is a somewhat decent guy presented with a hard-to-swallow situation. Ross, a one-of-a-kind science experiment, is there for Carlos when he needs him, but expect a whole lot of (laughable) posturing, with Tyson being a nefarious bad guy, having designs on building a new world order that’s, well, questionable.

There’s a little bit of (moderate) sexytimes, and a bizarre twist involving one of Tyson’s former lovers, and an mpreg plot that seemed (to me) to be utterly ludicrous. That said, as a scientist and person who knows too much about human reproduction, the plot was laughably haphazard and comical in its medical ineptness. The convenience factor was super high, with Ross being everything, whatever is necessary, for Carlos whenever he needs it. Despite my many “Wait, what?” moments, the good guys triumph and the bad guy is vanquished, and mermen will perhaps thrive in the land of the Golden Gate.

Read Veronica’s review in its entirety here.

[The Novel Approach · Rating 2 out of 5]

King of the Sea is a first book by Nathan Bay, and I had a hard time trying to review and rate it. The blurb, which sounds fantastic, is deceiving, and the execution of the plot was so farfetched, disjointed, and jumbled, that I had several “huh… what?” moments. There is a strong beginning, a happy ending, and it is neatly edited to a T, but those are the few saving graces.

Honestly, I would say the first chapter was the strongest and best. I could really empathize with Carlos. His life had taken a turn for the worse with a diagnosis of cancer, and his lover, who has made certain Carlos had all the physical aspects taken care of, has distanced himself emotionally from Carlos. Carlos is also given the best medical treatment and the cancer is removed, leaving him depressed and both emotionally and physically in pain. All of this happens in less than a year, and Carlos realizes this on their one year anniversary which is unacknowledged by both men and spent separately. In a drugged haze, Carlos encounters a merman in the San Francisco bay that heals him with sex. Here’s where the oddness begins.

After this meeting, I was a little intrigued but also a bit wary. Carlos wanders back home, has a fight with his lover, then leaves to begin what turns out to be a horror trip through modern day Wonderland. Sci-fi and thriller doesn’t even begin to cover the many, many things that happen after the strange sexual encounter.

Carlos’ life takes an entire National Enquirer magazine and makes it come to startling reality. There was just too much, too many crazy, unbelievable and inconceivable things happening all at once, and I was left with a sense of being on a drug addled trip myself.

When a surprise encounter brings Carlos in contact with a pregnant man being held hostage, and horrifying medical/genetic engineering—both perpetuated by his lover—then runs off to the red light district and a BDSM club, I nearly quit reading entirely. I had come this far, though, and soldiered through to the ending.

The tropes that are jumbled into this novella outnumber the word count. Murder, sexual hijinks, mystical creatures, and fantastical powers are just a few of the plot points that could have been saved with some strong writing, but it never returns to that intense level of the first chapter, and I was so disappointed.

The novella is neatly and happily wrapped up with the good guys winning everything, and the bad guys getting their comeuppance, but, wow, definitely a laughable and out of control read. I doubt I will attempt anything else by this author.

Reviewed by Angel for The Novel Approach Reviews

[Winston Torr · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this story of magic and mermen. Great idea! Well done! Looking forward to book 2 and how the merbabies will grow up and what happens to the parents! I would have love to read more about the doctors practice detailing the merman's growth from a baby to child to adult and what he as the original had to go through and also technicalities scientifically how this is possible with the studies and research. Would be an exciting book 3. Big fan here Nathan! Good job!

[Amanda · Rating 2 out of 5]

Woah. There was WAY too much going on here and it made the whole story disjointed and confusing. Started out strong, but took a quick left turn into what the hell town.

[Qin · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is living proof that no book ought to be judged on the sheer amount of ideas it contents but on its literary ability to follow a plotted path with as much depth, lavishness of detail, and natural portrayal of characters as possible. King of the Sea looks to me like a crazy young puppy congenitally incapable of sitting still for one second while trying far too hard to please its master; it bounces and prances and preens and barks and chases its tail until the reader grows tired and desists instead of feeling giddy in return. At the same time, no fastidiousness in the writing and pacing obtains, either out of a juvenile lack of care for literary shaping or as the consequence of a wrong, slovenly sense of satisfaction at the quality of the first draft once it was completed. At any rate, I can find but very little merit in this book. Next !

[S. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This debut story is beautifully written and quite poetic at times. We follow Carlos as he evaluates his life and truly sees the man he thought he knew and loved. The story flows smoothly through Carlos's pain, confrontation and determination as he (and us) are introduced into a new world of mermen and evil scientists. I enjoyed the adventure and hope to explore more facets of this tale if Mr. Bay writes a sequel.

[Leigh Lorien · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was excited to check out an erotic story involving a merman, and the tagline and cover drew me in easily. The concept behind the story is interesting, but I was unfortunately not a big fan of the execution. The emotional interactions between characters didn't feel genuine.

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

Has Potential, but not quite there. *Spoiler Alert*

This book has the potential to be a really interesting and intriguing story. Bay's idea is great - a mad doctor playing god and hoping to create a new species able to survive global warming and a world flooded by the melted ice caps. Not Tyson's creation, but one of a former friend/colleague who made mermen able to live in and out of water, the twist being that the creator was a gay man and so he only wanted male mermen who are homosexual.

If course, it is pointless creating this species if they cannot reproduce and this is what Tyson is hoping to manage. Believing a disease killed off all the original mermen, he has set out to experiment on human men, and here we meet Burke a heavily pregnant male prisoner due any day to give birth to a baby merman.

This is an original idea with great potential, but sadly Bay fails in the delivery of the story. The characters are flat and unresponsive to such incredible discoveries of mermen, male pregnancy and giving birth to baby mermen for instance.


Other parts are inserted into the story that have no meaning being there and some things just really don't make sense.

It's a shame really. This could have been a really great book. I've read another gay merman book which was delivered so well that it was compelling and I couldn't put the book down.

With more thought and consideration, taking time to develop the characters more, taking out parts that have no place being there and lengthening other parts to make them more 3D or even 4D and I think this could easily be a five star book.

Sorry to seem harsh, but I have to give an honest review even though I despise being mean 😕

[Lora Graham · Rating 1 out of 5]

Carlos has survived testicular cancer and now thinks he invincible (he literally says this several times). At one point, after finding out about his boyfriend's insane experiments and getting a hand job from a merman who only appears when convenient, Carlos decides to drive his boyfriend's expensive care to a sex club in a bad part of town, and proceeds to have sex with a stranger, but stops when the merman speaks to him telepathically. This pretty much sums up the ridiculousness of this story.

There is no character development, no romance, nothing intelligent or witty, and the merman sex is totally skippable. Carlos is a complete idiot. The merman is a male knockoff of Ariel, The Little Mermaid. He decides to name himself after Ross from "Friends", because he's able to watch it on a waterproof, solar powered iPad. Technically there's cheating since Carlos has his first sexual encounter with Ross before breaking up with his BF, the mad scientist. There are too many themes running amok here, none of which are executed fully or well. I honestly only finished this because I'm participating in my first Goodreads challenge.

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was intrigued by the merman prospect, even though this didn't seen to be a fantasy story from first glance. Once I started reading I realized it's more sci-fi with a medical ethics twist. The idea of a doctor trying to solve future problems that might arise from climate change is intriguing and the solution that's suggested is quite interesting - which is where some of the medical ethics comes in.

Carlos has the best character development, which makes sense because it's really his story. The first part in which Carlos is still struggling with his mortality and who he is after cancer treatment is well-done and honest. I'd like to see more of his story, especially because the story isn't fully resolved.

I like this well enough to read the second book (I actually started with the third book). I think there's a lot of promise in the characters Bay is developing and the little twists and turns are good, especially in a novella.

This is between an okay and like for me (using Amazon's terminology). On Litsy it's a pick but it's a little more than so-so.

[Nessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very creative and alluring merman story. It involves a psychotic, maniacal, doctor (Tyrone) who's on a power trip and wants to play God while creating another species Carlos is his boyfriend who doesn't have a clue about what's going on right under his nose. I loved the merman aspect of this tale, and the writing (plus the execution of the story) was just exceptional. It was a great mystery which significantly held my attention. I couldn't have guessed how this was going to end, but I did love the ending and the imagination of this author. This was a very extraordinary read that also tugged on my heartstrings. =)

[Patdbooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

Found this an interesting short read. have scored it low as it is one of these reads that is more like chapter 1 than a stand alone book. it may graduate to 4 or 5 stars once I get into book 2 or even reduce. but i am am willing to preserver with the series, once I have gotten through my backlog of books.

[Claudia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay, first, a caveat: I had NO idea that this story had a merman on it. I would have skipped it if had I know it, as I'm not really fond of them.

But, all in all, this is an entertaining, sweet short story. Yes, there are a lot of ideas that aren't executed the best way, but this is the author's first book, so it's kind of expected.

I think I keep reading this author :)

[Josh · Rating 4 out of 5]

GoodStory

This story was a wonderful quick read. I don’t know if I would necessarily place this in the romance category but the plot was really good! Kept my interest and was a fast read I enjoyed it a lot.

[Teresa · Rating 2 out of 5]

hmmm

Sooo…It had a crazy plot, underdeveloped characters, awkward wording, pov shifting oddly, and so much packed into a single short novella that was odd. Definitely Sci-Fi not paranormal though.

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not good, not bad

[Tony · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was not ready or prepared and actually probably never will either for merman pregnancies. That is all. Idk. I’m still just unsure of what I read... did I dream this?

[liminal cryptid · Rating 1 out of 5]

I only got through this by spite reading half of it out loud to my girlfriend and dying laughing. Almost killed her.

Not the take on mpreg I was expecting though so I guess that’s… something.

[Robert Fontenot · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm not sure what the author was going for but this is just terrible. It's more of a Mad Lib then actual story.

[Angel]

Rating and review posted on The Novel Approach Reviews.

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fun, fast read for the weekend. I liked the twist on the merman angle. The MC's are sweet together. Carlos and Ross are both broken and sexually dysfunctional in their own way. I appreciated the subtle nods to larger issues like AIDS and global warming too.

[Coty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining Merman mystery

I really enjoyed book one of Bay Cove. Nathan gives an excellent twist to the creation of mermen and the mystery surrounding them. I can't wait to read book two when it comes out later this year.