Fast Ships, Black Sails

Sir Hereward and Mister Fitz #2-Beyond the Sea Gate of the Sch

by Ann VanderMeer (Editor), Jeff Vandermeer (Editor), Naomi Novik (Contributor)

Do you love the sound of a peg leg stomping across a quarterdeck? Or maybe you prefer a parrot on your arm, a strong wind at your back? Adventure, treasure, intrigue, humor, romance, danger — and, yes, plunder! Oh, the Devil does love a pirate — and so do readers everywhere!
Swashbuckling from the past into the future and space itself, Fast Ships, Black Sails, edited by Ann and Jeff VanderMeer, presents an incredibly entertaining volume of original stories guaranteed to make you walk and talk like a pirate.

Table of Content

"Boojum" by Elizabeth Bear & Sarah Monette
"Castor on Troubled Waters" by Rhys Hughes
"I Begyn as I Mean To Go On" by Kage Baker
"Avast, Abaft!" by Howard Waldrop
"Elegy to Gabrielle, Patron Saint of Healers, Whores, And Righteous Thieves" by Kelly Barnhill
"Skillet and Saber" by Justin Howe
"The Nymph's Child" by Carrie Vaughn
"68° 07' 15"N, 31° 36' 44"W" by Conrad Williams
"Ironface" by Michael Moorcock
"Pirates Solutions" by Katherine Sparrow
"We Sleep on Thousand Waves beneath the Stars" by Brendan Connell
"Voyage of the Iguana" by Steve Aylett
"Pirates of the Saura Sea" by David Freer & Eric Flint
"A Cold Day in Hell" By Paul Batteiger
"The Adventures of Captain Black Heart Wentworth" by Rachel Swirsky
"Araminta, or, The Wreck of the Amphidrake" by Naomi Novik
"The Whale below" by Jayme Lynn Blaschke
"Beyond the Seagate ff the Scholar-Pirate of Sarskoe" by Garth Nix

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Genres: Fantasy, Short Stories, Pirates, Fiction, Anthologies, Science Fiction, Historical Fiction

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

Ann VanderMeer is an American publisher and editor, and the second female editor of the horror magazine Weird Tales. She is the founder of Buzzcity Press.

Her work as Fiction Editor of Weird Tales won a Hugo Award. Work from her press and related periodicals has won the British Fantasy Award, the International Rhysling Award, and appeared in several year's best anthologies. Ann was also the founder of The Silver Web magazine, a periodical devoted to experimental and avant-garde fantasy literature.

In 2009 "Weird Tales edited by Ann VanderMeer and Stephen H. Segal" won a Hugo Award for Best Semiprozine. Though some of its individual contributors have been honored with Hugos, Nebula Awards, and even one Pulitzer Prize, the magazine itself had never before even been nominated for a Hugo. It was also nominated for a World Fantasy Award in 2009.

Reviews

[Mir · Rating 3 out of 5]

Contents:
Boojum / Elizabeth Bear & Sarah Monette -- Castor on troubled waters / Rhys Hughes -- I begyn as I mean to go on / Kage Baker -- Avast, abaft! / Howard Waldrop -- Elegy to Gabrielle, patron saint of healers, whores, and righteous thieves / Kelly Barnhill -- Skillet and saber / Justin Howe -- Nymph's child / Carrie Vaughn -- 68* 07' 15" N, 31* 36' 44" W / Conrad Williams -- Ironface / Michael Moorcock -- Pirate solutions / Katherine Sparrow -- We sleep on a thousand waves beneath the stars / Brendan Connell -- Voyage of the Iguana / Steve Aylett -- Pirates of the Suara Sea / David Freer & Eric Flint -- Cold day in hell / Paul Battieger -- Adventures of Captain Black Heart Wentworth / Rachel Swirsky -- Araminta, or, the wreck of the Amphidrake / Naomi Novik -- Whale below / Jayme Lynn Blaschke -- Beyond the sea gate of the scholar-pirates of Sarskoe / Garth Nix.

I'm not the target audience for this collection because I am not interested in or sympathetic to pirates and piracy. I got the book to read stories by a couple authors I've enjoyed before.

Stories I read:
Boojum / Elizabeth Bear & Sarah Monette -- excellent interstellar space pirates story. Highly recommended for fans of the living-spaceship idea. 4 stars
I begyn as I mean to go on / Kage Baker -- Well written, although not actually fantasy of sci fi as far as I noted. Historical fiction -- possible alt history that I wasn't well-informed enough to catch? Probably the most realistic treatment of piracy in the books (dirty, dangerous, doesn't always pay, a job choice for people without better options). 3 stars
Ironface / Michael Moorcock -- That was not a story. It was a two-page description that felt like a Prologue. 2 stars
Nymph's child / Carrie Vaughn -- It is very romantic running away to be a pirate. It sucks if you get caught, but this will not dissuade anyone else. 3 stars
Adventures of Captain Black Heart Wentworth / Rachel Swirsky -- Oh, this is a about pirate rats. I don't like rats, or anthropomorphic animal stories in general. Skip.
Araminta, or, the wreck of the Amphidrake / Naomi Novik -- Interesting world building. I'd be willing to try something else in this setting, ideally sans pirates. 4 stars
Whale below / Jayme Lynn Blaschke -- I never figured out if this was an actual whale or something else, and there was too much nautical lingo for me, but it was a solid story. 3 stars
Beyond the sea gate of the scholar-pirates of Sarskoe / Garth Nix -- Boring. Too many descriptions for the amount of story, or something. I've read a couple other of Nix's with this duo with the puppet and liked them more, although less than his puppet-free novels.

Novik's contribution is available here: http://www.naominovik.com/araminta-or...

Bear & Monette's is here (and also included in Year's Best Science Fiction)
http://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/fic...

[Trin]

After slogging through the first story in this collection, I realized that rather than make myself grind through the whole book, I could just read the one story I checked it out from the library for: the one by Naomi Novik, which was excellent. And now, mission accomplished, I can take the book back, guilt-free!

This may seem like a duh thing to most of you, but I feel very adult and proud of this revelation.

[Wealhtheow · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of pirate stories, ranging from sf to fantasy to a HMS Pinafore/Peter Pan cross-over. The stand-outs were:
"Boojum," by Elizabeth Bear and Sarah Monette. A low-level grunt on a living space-ship grows increasingly uneasy about their latest cargo.

"Skillet and Saber," by Justin Howe. Hilarious tale of the cook's apprentice on a pirate ship. So good that I intend to seek out more of Howe's work.

"Pirate Solutions," by Katherine Sparrow. Futuristic coders start drinking bone rum and become old-fashioned pirates--but they hack instead of sail. I was initially wary of this premise, but Sparrow makes it work.

"Pirates of the Suara sea," by David Freer and Eric Flint. A female sea-captain (reminiscent of Malcolm Reynolds) does some clever dancing to defeat the pirates who overtake her ship. Good world-building (particularly rare in a short story) and characterization.

"The Adventures of Captain Black Heart Wentworth: A Nautical Tail," by Rachel Swirsky. Two crazed rats are the last of their pirate ship--and when one of them falls in love with a mercenary cat, it could be the last of them, as well. Funny, whimsical, but probably not everyone's cup of tea.

And my personal favorite of the collection:
"Araminta, or, The Wreck of the Amphidrake," by Naomi Novik. Very funny, a fascinating world (I want a whole series about it!), and a memorable main character. Captures the spirit of freedom, light morals, and bloody-mindedness of the best pirate yarns.

[Mayank Agarwal · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s anthology of pirate stories, I only read the story Araminta, or, The Wreck of the Amphidrake by Naomi Novik

I loved the world building and the main character, the story has the potential for a proper novel. The world setting is similar to ours 17th-18th century earth, time of ships and pirates, only this world has other wonders and dangers afloat, magic and beasts the likes of Leviathan. The plot revolves around our protagonist, a young woman sailing to meet her betrothed. She is one of the best characters I have come across, feisty, adventurous, fun, headstrong, resourceful. Its a story written with humor in mind. The story did have some problems, it did get confusing sometimes as the spell and how it works along with the world customs are not explained clearly, you get to know of it as the sorcerer happens.

The story is free to read and available online at the author's site. link: http://www.naominovik.com/araminta-or-the-wreck-of-the-amphidrake-2/

[Margaret · Rating 3 out of 5]

I resisted buying this for a long time, because I am really not a short story person and thus don't usually get along well with anthologies, but eventually I broke down and bought it. It turned out to be rather a mixed bag: some really good stuff, especially near the beginning and the end, but some I was less enthralled by (and a couple I frankly skipped, after reading a page or two and not being hooked).

I really liked Elizabeth Bear and Sarah Monette's "Boojum", about a living spaceship and one of her crew; Naomi Novik's (non-Temeraire-related) "Araminta, or, The Wreck of the Amphidrake" and its heroine who starts out as a lady and ends up as a pirate (but in an unexpected way); and Rachel Swirsky's "The Adventures of Captain Black Heart Wentworth", a tale of piratical rats (and one cat). I liked the conceit behind Howard Waldrop's "Avast, Abaft!", which begins with Captain Rackstraw of the Pinafore chasing the famous Pirates of Penzance, but ended up finding it disappointingly short and slight.

[Jamie Collins · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’ve only read a few of these stories so far, and I don’t usually enjoy short stories that aren’t part of a larger series, so don’t put much stock in my rating.

I thought these were well-written:
"Boojum" by Sarah Monette and Elizabeth Bear - a living spaceship run by a pirate crew.

"I Begyn As I Mean To Go On", Kage Baker. She was a hell of a writer and this is a good read, although the opening scene is the best part.

"Araminta, or, The Wreck of the Amphidrake" by Naomi Novik. Fantasy, cyberpunkish setting, with a feisty heroine who sees a pirate attack as opportunity rather than tragedy.

Despite the fact that I'm a Gilbert & Sullivan fan, I thought this story was less successful:
“Avast, Abaft!”, by Howard Waldrop. The Pirate King pursued by Captain Rackstraw in the HMS Pinafore, and Captain Hook is after both of them. It has a cute premise, with some funny lines ("Singing continues at eight bells, attack and repel boarders notwithstanding") but it was weird and fizzled out as a story - or else there’s something I didn’t get, possibly some Peter Pan references.

[Sheila · Rating 4 out of 5]

The stories I liked I really really liked...particularly "Araminta, or, The Wreck of the Amphidrake" by Naomi Novik (awesome, awesome heroine) and "A Cold Day in Hell" by Paul Batteiger, where the ocean froze over at the turn of the 17th century and ships catch the wind but slide on skates.

I read Araminta out loud to a friend, and was intrigued by the different way I understood the story, speaking it instead of reading it to myself. It made everything more immediate, since I couldn't stop and look back to doublecheck anything or stop and think further about what had just happened.

[Lori · Rating 2 out of 5]

Like most short story collections, this one is a decidedly mixed bag. A few are incredible, while the others barely mediocre.

The best of the collection are:

"Boojum" by Elizabeth Bear and Sarah Monette

"Skillet and Saber" by Justin Howe

"Pirate Solutions" by Katherine Sparrow

"Pirates of the Suara Sea" by David Freer and Eric Flint

"Beyond the Sea Gate of the Scholar Pirates of Sarskoe" by Garth Nix

The rest of the collection I cannot begin to recommend, even as a way to pass the time.

[Donald · Rating 2 out of 5]

This collection is a mixed bag. It started fairly well, but after the first story dropped off until about 2/3 of the way through. After that it was strong again, but the drop off was a bit too much to rate this book any higher.

Stories worth a read were from these authors.

Elizabeth Bear & Sarah Monette
David Freer & Eric Flint
Paul Batteiger
Naomi Novik
Jayme Lynn Blaschke
Garth Nix

The rest I didn't find worth the time.

[Vasha7 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of the more notable stories here were "Boojum" by Elizabeth Bear and Sarah Monette; "The Nymph's Child" by Carrie Vaughn; "Araminta, or, the Wreck of the Amphidrake" by Naomi Novik; "The Adventures of Captain Black Heart Wentworth: A Nautical Tail" by Rachel Swirsky; "The Whale Below" by Jayme Lynn Blaschke. On the whole, easily digested and easily forgotten.

[Shauna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some traditional pirate stories, some pirate stories with a twist. All fall within the fantasy or sf genre. If you like pirate stories, you'll love this book of short stories.

[Allison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good collection. Favorites were The Boojum, Beyond the Sea Gate of the Scholar Pirates of Sarsköe, The Whale Below and The Voyage of the Iguana

[Chris Jackson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great anthology of pirate tales. Quite varied in style and substance. Some I loved, some I only liked...but well worth the read.

[Karissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a somewhat mediocre collection of pirate stories. They all involve pirates somehow, a number of them were fairly traditional pirate stories.

My favorite of the bunch was “Elegy to Gabrielle, Patron Saint of Healers, Whores, and Righteous Thieves” by Kelly Barnhill this was a beautiful story that was masterfully told.

Others in this collection that I really enjoyed were: “Boojum” by Elizabeth Bear and Sarah Monette, “Skillet and Saber” by Justin Howe, “The Nymph’s Child” by Carrie Vaughn, “Ironface” by Michael Moorcock, “Pirate Solutions” by Katherine Sparrow, “Araminta, or, The Wreck of the Amphidrake” by Naomi Novik, and “Beyond the Sea Gate of the Scholar-Pirates of Sarskoe by Garth Nix.

Overall while there were a few really good stories, most of them were mediocre at best. Please see below for the full list of stories and a quick review of each story.

“Boojum” by Elizabeth Bear and Sarah Monette (4/5 stars)
This was a fun story about an engineer on a living spaceship. There was some good irony in here and the story was very creative and interesting.

“Castor on Troubled Waters” by Rhys Hughes (3/5 stars)
This was an okay story about a man who looses a card game. He goes to the cash machine to get money to pay his buddies and when he gets back he has quite the tale to tell about why he doesn’t have the money. It was set in modern times and was kind of a “fish” story type of story.

“I Begyn as I Mean to Go On” by Kage Baker (3/5 stars)
A story about some ex-slaves who sign on to work on a pirate ship were the Captain seems to be cursed. They follow rumors to an island full of riches only to be surprised by what they find there. This was a pretty typical pirate story and was okay.

“Avast, Abaft!” by Howard Waldrop (1/5 stars)
I read the first few pages of this story and it was an absolute mess. It was jumping around between a captain trying to tell his history and a constant pursuit of some other ship...and parts were told in rhyme. I ended up skipping the rest of it.

“Elegy to Gabrielle, Patron Saint of Healers, Whores, and Righteous Thieves” by Kelly Barnhill (5/5 stars)
This was an amazingly beautiful story about a magical young woman who was part pirate and part saint. I absolutely loved it.

“Skillet and Saber” by Justin Howe (4/5 stars)
This was a decent story about a young man who becomes assistant to a ship’s cook. He ends up in a cook-off against another ships cook as he fights for his life.

“The Nymph’s Child” by Carrie Vaughn (4/5 stars)
A story about a woman who escapes death by hanging and seeks a quiet life in a fishing village. However, her daughter seeks the exact same life that her mother ended up leaving behind. This was well written and easy to read.

“68 07’15”N, 31 236; 44”W” by Conrad Williams (2/5 stars)
In this story a pirate is trying to track down an evil pirate and take revenge on him. The story seemed a bit pointless and didn’t have any resolution. I feel like I missed something here but I am not sure what.

“Ironface” by MIchael Moorcock (4/5 stars)
Well done story about an intergalatic space pirate who decends to Venus to get paid his tribute. I was impressed at how much world-building Moorcock accomplished with just a few short pages of story.

“Pirate Solutions” by Katherine Sparrow (4/5 stars)
This was a very creative story about a punch of computer programmers/hackers who drink a bottle of run with a pirate bone in it. This convince them all to be pirates and shows them visions of other previous pirates. They end up starting their own strange programmer pirate colony on an abandoned island.

“We Sleep on a Thousand Waves Beneath the Stars” by Brendan Connell (3/5 stars)
In this story some pirates end up on a strange island where they capture a strange native girl. When typhus hits the boat and takes many lives, the girl undegoes a strange transformation. It was okay but not great.

“Voyage of the Iguana” by Steve Aylett (2/5 stars)
This was a collection of entries from a journal found about some pirates aboard the Iguana. They apparently went crazy at sea. None of it made much sense at all and I almost stopped reading it.

“Pirates of the Suara Sea” by David Freer and Eric Flint (3/5 stars)
This is a pirate story set on a different planet. It was okay.

“A Cold Day in Hell” by Paul Batteiger (2/5 stars)
This was a typical pirate story. I read the first few pages of it, though it was boring and stopped.

“The Adventures of Captain Black Heart Wentworth” by Rachel Swirsky (3/5 stars)
This story was about a bunch of rat pirates. I thought it was boring and only read the first few pages and then stopped. It was okay just very juvenile sounding.

“Araminta, or, The Wreck of the Amphidrake” by Naomi Novik (4/5 stars)
I enjoyed this story about a young noblewoman sent off to marry. When the ship she is on is attacked by pirates she dones a magical amulet to appear male and joins them on their adventures.

“The Whale Below” by Jayme Lynn Blaschke (3/5 stars)
I read a bit of this story and thought it was boring so I skipped the rest ofit. It involved a lot of airship battles.

“Beyond the Sea Gate of the Scholar-Pirates of Sarskoe by Garth Nix (4/5 stars)
I really enjoyed this story about a warrior and a puppet who seek the aid of a pirate ship to find a mysterious treasure. Excellent world-building, very creative, and well done characters made this a great story.

[Leigh Kimmel · Rating 5 out of 5]

On the whole it's a good anthology. All of the stories are professional-grade, but a number of the stories just weren't to my taste.

I think the CL Moore homage at the beginning set an expectation for me, such that the more mundane stories with historical settings and minimal magic were disappointing, and I felt like I had to slog through them. Also I read a number of those early ones while I was dealing with some serious medical issues, and I simply didn't have the energy to maintain interest in them. So the book ended up sitting on a table in my office for a number of years, half-read, before I decided it was time to go back and finish it.

My faves:
"Boojum" by Elizabeth Bear & Sarah Monette -- the Old Solar System that Northwest Smith would feel at home in, but with a modern sensibility and a nod to HP Lovecraft and to Lewis Carroll
"Pirates of the Suara Sea" by David Freer & Eric Flint -- more modern sf, but with the sly humor of two fave authors
"The Adventures of Captain Black Heart Wentworth" by Raches Swirsky -- a dressed-animal tale in the tradition of Beatrix Potter, but for grown-ups
"Araminta, or, The Wreck of the Amphidrake" by Naomi Novik -- an adventuring girl in a world not quite our own history
"The Whale Below" by Jayme Lynn Blaschke -- I think it's sf, even if I'm not sure about the degree to which the whales are biological vs mechanical
"Beyond the Sea Gate of the Scholar-Pirates of Sarskoe" -- a rather dark fantasy that includes a living puppet that could be Pinocchio's evil twin

my unfavorite
"Voyage of the Iguana" by Steve Aylette -- maybe this is supposed to be a satire and funny, but for me the sheer level of dysfunction aboard that ship brought back too many memories of dysfunctional workplaces I had to endure

[Alexander Gent · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well swash my buckles and give me a jolly Roger, this was a treat. As I have chronicled many times here, I love an anthology it does not matter to me that they can be so variable - they speak to the Saturday morning cartoon fan in me. You get a fast sugar rush of concentrated storytelling and sometimes that is what you need to scratch the itch. Ann and Jeff VanderMeer are accomplished editors and writers so when you combine them with a topic as fertile as pirates then the result is going to be good. For me only one tale felt out of place and maybe was less appealing but even that was a brilliant reinterpretation of the genre. So glad I was able to track down a copy, it now has a prized place in my treasure trove and I doubt it will be long before I press gang it back into service.
Please note: No rum, sodomy or the lash was consumed in the production of this review.

[Sara Tiede · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very strong collection with few misses! The opening piece, Boojum by Elizabeth Bear and Sarah Monette, was an excellent hook and ended up being my second favorite in the whole collection. (Araminta, or, The Wreck of the Amphidrake by Naomi Novik was my absolute favorite, the subtly of the world building was exact and never drew away from the excellent plot, which was awesome!) There was only one piece I didn't bother to finish, as the style and the characterization were choppy and became too hard to follow. But while some of the other pieces were a little slower paced or less exciting, all the rest of the pieces had something to offer, and it's a collection that I would highly recommend to other pirate enthusiasts!

[Annie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining collection of swashbuckler stories spanning time from traditional pirate times to outer space and future, other-worldly, inner-space. Just reading through the titles of the stories was great. I initially picked this up because Naomi Novik is one of the authors. Of all the stories (and I wouldn't call any of them bad, by any means), "Boojum" is probably my favorite, as well as "I Begyn As I Mean To Go On", “Skillet and Saber” (SO much fun!) and of course, "Araminta, or, The Wreck of the Amphidrake".

"Nymph's Child" will resonate with the mothers of daughters who know their own hearts.

[Bri Vogel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an anthology of short stories about pirates. I don't think I should have to tell you anything else to convince you that you should check it out :)

There were a lot of great stories in this one but my favorite, that really stood out, was definitely Boojum by Elizabeth Bear and Sarah Monette. Absolutely fantastic!

[Ron · Rating 3 out of 5]

The stories by Nix, Novik, Batteiger and Baker were the best and more than a few of the others were worth reading. There were unfortunately a handful of stinkers too. I rated each story and they averaged out to 2.88, which rounds up to three stars.

[Sheldon Wiebe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pirates in space. Rat pirates. Online pirates. Science fiction pirates. Fantasy pirates. Horror pirates.

If you love pirate tales, this is for you.

Of the eighteen tales included, only one was unreadable and several were brilliant (especially entries by Garth Nix and Naomi Novik).

[Alyssa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really well curated collection of Not-Your-Usual pirate stories! All the tales are fantasy and/or sci-fi and very well done. I definitely want to read more about Ice Pirates as well as gender-switching Aramin/ta!

[Dace Znotiņa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hmm, manā kopijā bija tikai viens stāsts, bet bija ok. Varbūt varētu būt vairāk sižeta pavērsienu, bet varbūt apjoms ierobežo.

[Marianne · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

A fair amount of dulse but an equal amount of oysters, and a few very lovely pearls.

[Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

As with most anthologies, there were a few I didn't like, but overall it was a good collection. I like how broad the definition of pirate got (space pirate, yay).

[Dana · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wish I could give myself half credit since I really skimmed and scanned this one. Best 2 stories were those by Sarah Monette/Elizabeth Bear and Naomi Novik.

[Jake · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable collection of short stories about pirates. I'll write a full review soon.

[le-trombone · Rating 3 out of 5]

An anthology of stories of pirates, in a wide variety of settings. What the best stories seem to have in common is a use of pirates as a background to the story.

“Boojum” by Elizabeth Bear and Sarah Monette. Piracy aboard a living ship.

“Castor on Troubled Waters” by Rhys Hughes A very tall tale of piracy at the local pub.

“I Begyn as I Mean to Go On” by Kage Baker The newest members of a pirate crew follow a truly unlucky pirate captain.

“Avast, Abaft!” by Howard Waldrop The Pirates of Penzance do battle with the crew of the Pinafore, with two ghostly interruptions.

“Elegy for Gabrielle, Patron Saint of Healers, Whores and Righteous Thieves” by Kelly Barnhill The daughter of a miraculous woman becomes a miraculous pirate.

“Skillet and Saber” by Justin Howe Insanely awful cook has to defend his cooking.

“The Nymph's Child” by Carrie Vaughn The tale of the only one to sail the Iron Teeth.

“68˚ 07' 15" N, 31˚ 36' 40"W” by Conrad Williams Obsession drives the Captain's hunt for a pirate to the poles of the Earth.

“Iron Face” by Michael Moorcock A short mood piece on an interstellar pirate.

“Pirate Solutions” by Katherine Sparrow Internet piracy is more than just a metaphor.

“We Sleep on a Thousand Waves Beneath the Stars” by Brendan Connell A pirate ship picks up an unusual woman on a remote island.

“Voyage of the Iguana” by Steve Aylett Captain's log of humorously disastrous voyage.

“Pirates of the Suara Sea” by David Freer & Eric Flint Pirates attack ships on another planet.

“A Cold Day in Hell” by Paul Batteiger A hunt for a Blackbeard-style pirate on frozen oceans.

“The Adventures of Captain Blackheart Wentworth” by Rachel Swirsky Shipboard life and piracy in the animal kingdom.

“Araminta, or, The Wreck of the Amphidrake” by Naomi Novik Sorcery and ransom for a hostage.

“The Whale Below” by Jayme Lynn Blaschke The pirate vessel discovers why the ship it is looting was abandoned.

“Beyond the Sea Gate of the Scholar-Pirates of Sarskoe” by Garth Nix A raid is made upon a magically guarded keep.

It's a nice mix of stories, from the fantastic to the science fictional (as usual, the Howard Waldrop is close to indescribable; as all of the characters come from theatrical works, perhaps “alternate theater” will do?). I expected some of the stories to be disappointments but was pleasantly surprised in most cases. For example, piracy in space is pretty silly to me, so I wasn't expecting much from the story by Bear and Monette, but it took an interesting twist when mid-way through the story I realized that the background was based on Lovecraft.

On the other hand, there weren't really any outstanding stories either, and the Freer and Flint story was completely uninteresting (the setting does not serve the plot at all, and the plot is a very flat story of revenge with all the tension of suspending the mail delivery). There are individual stories that are part of a larger framework (Garth Nix's story is his second one to use those characters, and Michael Moore is using his Eternal Champion again), and of course individual authors who can write well regardless of subject (Carrie Vaughn, for example). This is probably an anthology for dipping into rather than reading straight through.

[katnick · Rating 3 out of 5]

I chose Fast Ships, Black Sails because I love fun Pirates of the Caribbean style swashbuckling and several authors I like (Sarah Monette, Naomi Novik, and Garth Nix) had contributed stories. It was a bit of a slog to get through, especially in the middle, and overall I found it to be a tepid sort of mixed bag – most stories were at least okay but there was nothing I really loved.

Boojum by Elizabeth Bear and Sarah Monette – Space pirates in a living sailfish ship are set upon by brain-harvesting aliens. Creative, fascinating, and disturbing. 4 stars.

Castor on Troubled Waters by Rhys Hughes – A tall tale involving pirates told by a pub goer as an explanation for why he can't pay them back. Random and rambling - not a fan of the structure. 2 stars.

I Begyn As I Mean to Go On by Kage Baker – A pirate crew look for a gem mine on an island where all the native workers supposedly died of smallpox years ago. Yay for smallpox, boo for 'murderous natives' cliche. 3 stars.

Avast, Abaft by Howard Waldrop – A pirate crew being chased by the Royal Navy runs into another pirate ship anchored off a mysterious island. 90% references to other stories, most of which I didn't get. 2 stars.

Elegy to Gabrielle, Patron Saint of Healers, Whores, and Righteous Thieves by Kelly Barnhill – The life and times of the magical daughter of a witch and a monk who became a Robin Hood style pirate. Neat and fun. 4 stars

Skillet and Saber by Justin Howe – An unlucky young pirate becomes the apprentice of a mad cook who talks to his magical saucepan. Cool setup but it's one of those 'and everything was terrible' stories. 3 stars.

The Nymph's Child by Carrie Vaughn– A female pirate who escaped the noose years ago tries to stop her daughter from following in her footsteps. Romantic and swashbuckling – it's Pirates of the Caribbean: the Next Generation. 4 stars.

68 07' 15” N, 31 36' 44” W by Conrad Williams – A mad captain follows the pirate who murdered his crew to the arctic in a quest for revenge. The main character is crazy so I wasn't sure what's going on, especially at the end. 2 stars.

Ironface by Michael Moorcock – A space pirate descends to a Venice-like planet to collect tribute. Interesting, but reads like an encyclopedia entry. 2 stars.

Pirate Solutions by Katherine Sparrow – A trio of hackers form a coding collective on a tropical island where magical rum allows them to hallucinate that they are golden age pirates. Bizarre attempt to make computers not boring. 2 stars.

We Sleep on a Thousand Waves Beneath the Stars by Brendan Connell – A pirate crew begins to fall ill one by one after they capture a native woman with a mouth on her stomach. Written in a poetic style I didn't care for. 1 star.

Voyage of the Iguana by Steve Aylett – The logbook of a merchant ship detailing their bizarre exploits after everyone goes mad. Hilarious, if a bit too long. 4 stars.

Pirates of the Suara Sea by David Freer and Eric Flint – The captain of a fishing boat on an ocean planet turns the tables on the pirates that attempt to rob them. A bit like Firefly crossed with Waterworld. 3 stars.

A Cold Day in Hell by Paul Batteiger – The Royal Navy hunts pirates in sailing ships that skate across the surface of a long-frozen ocean. Cool (haha, get it?) world setup with a pretty standard plot. 3 stars.

The Adventures of Captain Black Heart Wentworth by Rachel Swirsky – A pair of piratical rats take to the open ocean in a homemade boat to prey on other rodent crews. Sounds like it should be cute and funny but is actually gruesome and brutal. 2 stars.

Araminta, or, The Wreck of the Amphidrake by Naomi Novik – The daughter of a wealthy family disguises herself as a man when pirates attack her ship and escapes her confining life. Interesting world, fun story, open-minded characters. 4 stars.

The Whale Below by Jayme Lynn Blaschke – An airship pirate crew on an ocean planet discovers an abandoned whaling fleet and a dead whale ripe for harvest. Gross, mysterious, and creepy, but the characters aren't very likeable. 3 stars

Beyond the Gate of the Scholar-Pirates of Sarskoe by Garth Nix – A knight and a sorcerous puppet trick a pirate crew into helping them assault a lost city filled with treasure. Great world building but length limitations mean the plan goes off like clockwork - would be better as a novel. 3 stars.

[Barbara Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the VandeMeer Anthology pirates have moved into space and beyond, chartering the vast unknowns while making their livelihood at what they know best. Within these covers is the perfect pirate story for any reader, presenting classic and unique stories of buccaneers sailing the seas of the cosmos.


Boogum by Elizabeth Bear and Sarah Monette – This is about piracy in space with unusual cargo taken from a captured freighter and a semi-sentient spaceship with Captain Black Alice who finds herself making a sacrifice.

Castor on Troubled Waters by Rhys Hughes – comic story of pirates and gambling debts well told.

I Begyn as I Mean To Go On by Kage Baker – a creepy classic pirate story. Two castaways are taken onto a ship, Martin Luther, whose captain has a bad reputation. By the law of the sea they are obliged to work on the ship, and things become interesting when they find their way to an ancient emerald mine in South America.

Avast, Abaft! by Howard Waldrop – found this one humorous and similar in nature to the HMS Pinafore and the Pirates of Penzance.

Elegy to Gabrielle, Patron Saint of Healers, Whores, and Righteous Thieves by Kelly Barnhill – about a woman with the ability to use magic whose daughter belongs to the sea.

Skillet and Saber by Justin Howe – a new sailor on a ship is assigned as the cook’s apprentice with some comedic episodes.

The Nymph’s Child by Carrie Vaughan– This is a story of a woman who poses as a man to be allowed to go to sea, and when caught by pirates must give up her daughter.

68° 07' 15" N, 31° 36' 44" W, by Conrad Williams provides a horror story about Captain Low on a revenge mission after his crew is slaughtered.

Ironface by Michael Moorcock – A very short piece about pirates in space on a trip to Venus that I felt should have been longer.

Pirate Solutions by Katherine Sparrow – This is an experimental piece about computer analysts who drink from a bottle of rum to become pirates, and setting sail in an old ship with masts. When they reach their isolated island, and dig up a treasure chest full of ancient rum bottles, they send out messages in bottle which in turn, bring other computer geeks from around the world to join them.

We Sleep on a Thousand Waves Beneath the Stars by Brendan Connell – A story about hungry pirates who don’t discriminate over what they eat.

Voyage of the Iguana by Steve Aylest – A story with a weird list of journal entries on said voyage with mishaps. This I found boring.

Pirates of the Suara Sea by David Freer and Eric Flint – This is a about space pirates in an alien sea where the vessel is manned by a woman captain. She manages to jettison part of the cargo when the pirates arrive, with special plans for the intruder’s captain.

A Cold Day in Hell by Paul Batteiger – provides a unique setting with three masted sailing ships on ice skates whizzing across frozen seas. Two ships leave Boston on an expedition to capture The Queen’s Revenge and its captain Frost, considered to be more monster than human.

The Adventures of Captain Black Heart Wentworth: a Nautical Tail by Rachel Swirsky – This story is great fun, featuring rat pirates and later a shipwrecked cat who had eaten her previous lover.

Araminta, or, The Wreck of the Amphidrake by Naomi Novik – An alternative Earth awaits the reader where England is ruled by Roman deities and the sacrifices of women are dominated by mens’ will. Araminta, the daughter of an important noble is kidnapped by pirates, but she has a few unique abilities to assist her in outwitting them.

The Whale Below by Jayne Lynn Blaschke – An alien story of a pirate spaceship seizes a ‘whaler’ ship only to find no one on board.

Beyond the Sea Gate of the Scholar-Pirates of Sarsköe by Garth Nix – This story is about a gentleman rogue and his magical puppet facing a priestess who happens to be a cannibal. There are some interesting scenes with shapeshifters.

With the varied selection of stories this is an excellent read for anyone wanting to tuck into an armchair with a drink of their choice.