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Tales from the Sea of Thieves
Narrated by three unique pirate captains the book will take a look at the world through their eyes. From laughable pirate suspicions to the towns and islands these hardened seafarers call home, they’ll introduce and explore the fantastical Sea of Thieves, home to krakens, mermaids and buried treasure.
160 pages, Hardcover
First published March 20, 2018
9 people are currently reading
197 people want to read
About the author
Paul Davis
208 books14 followersLibrarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
This profile may contain books from multiple authors of this name
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
This profile may contain books from multiple authors of this name
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
May 5, 2018
A brilliant companion book for Sea of Thieves, it's a collection of three light hearted stories of life on the high seas. Although it does have a few extra things thrown in e.g song lyrics to the shanties, cooking recipes and some fantastic artwork too.
The stories themselves are about as deep as you'd expect from a video game companion book but I enjoyed them none the less. It's quite self aware and doesn't take itself too seriously, plus the adventures you get taken on almost act as a tutorial for the game itself teaching you the basics of Pirate life and how to survive and thrive.
If you're a fan of the game I'd highly recommend it but without context it'll probably fall short.
The stories themselves are about as deep as you'd expect from a video game companion book but I enjoyed them none the less. It's quite self aware and doesn't take itself too seriously, plus the adventures you get taken on almost act as a tutorial for the game itself teaching you the basics of Pirate life and how to survive and thrive.
If you're a fan of the game I'd highly recommend it but without context it'll probably fall short.
December 19, 2018
It has a decent story but doesn't develop much
It is a great window into the world.of the game but wouldn't be able to stand alone without the game. Great art in it even if it did just feel as if they chucked it in wherever they could.
It is a great window into the world.of the game but wouldn't be able to stand alone without the game. Great art in it even if it did just feel as if they chucked it in wherever they could.
December 1, 2018
Lame. Play the game. Skip this "book". A real turd, this.
March 13, 2021
Tales from the Sea of Thieves starts out with such promise. It's a hardcover book that looks the part, with tattered pages, cool designs on the covers, plenty of concept artwork inside, and a journal format that could fit the idea of Sea of Thieves as a water-cooler game where you swap stories with your friends. Unfortunately, it's poorly written and only one of the three included stories is even slightly interesting.
Beyond occasional musings on islands, songs, food, animals, etc. that could almost serve as a guidebook for players looking for an introduction to the game, Tales from the Sea of Thieves is a journal that tells the tale of a mysterious chest and those who interact with it. The owner of the journal is the the son of skeleton captain Flameheart from the game, and his journey to the Sea of Thieves is the easiest to follow and most compelling part of the plot. After he finds a chest and his journey concludes, the journal comes into the possession of Nura and Bel, two pirates who almost act as player inserts as they go through the motions of fighting with other crews, finding mermaids and treasure, and generally interacting with the world in the ways that someone playing the game would. After a particularly nasty run-in with people who want Flameheart's chest, our final narrator is one of their crewmembers -- a man named Jean.
While Flameheart's story is solid if unmemorable, the writing styles of Bel, Nura, and Jean are distracting to the point that it became a chore to read to completion. They have different fonts and colors which makes for a nice visual change of pace, but apparently Paul Davis' idea of what people would write in a journal is that they would have poor grammar and syntax and say each other's names a whole bunch. Sure, these pirates are probably not especially literate, but people reading this book probably are and it's difficult to switch my brains off to take a buzzsaw to established writing conventions that don't even add personality -- it's just poorly written, not more interestingly written if that makes sense. The frequent use of names feels incredibly inauthentic for a journal, and all of the side conversations Bel and Nura have in the margins are totally worthless distractions.
I'd only pick this up for the looks, personally. It looks cool, has cool art, and even the words look cool if you don't try and read it. But be warned that if you do, you'll probably lose brain cells for how poorly written and useless it all is.
Beyond occasional musings on islands, songs, food, animals, etc. that could almost serve as a guidebook for players looking for an introduction to the game, Tales from the Sea of Thieves is a journal that tells the tale of a mysterious chest and those who interact with it. The owner of the journal is the the son of skeleton captain Flameheart from the game, and his journey to the Sea of Thieves is the easiest to follow and most compelling part of the plot. After he finds a chest and his journey concludes, the journal comes into the possession of Nura and Bel, two pirates who almost act as player inserts as they go through the motions of fighting with other crews, finding mermaids and treasure, and generally interacting with the world in the ways that someone playing the game would. After a particularly nasty run-in with people who want Flameheart's chest, our final narrator is one of their crewmembers -- a man named Jean.
While Flameheart's story is solid if unmemorable, the writing styles of Bel, Nura, and Jean are distracting to the point that it became a chore to read to completion. They have different fonts and colors which makes for a nice visual change of pace, but apparently Paul Davis' idea of what people would write in a journal is that they would have poor grammar and syntax and say each other's names a whole bunch. Sure, these pirates are probably not especially literate, but people reading this book probably are and it's difficult to switch my brains off to take a buzzsaw to established writing conventions that don't even add personality -- it's just poorly written, not more interestingly written if that makes sense. The frequent use of names feels incredibly inauthentic for a journal, and all of the side conversations Bel and Nura have in the margins are totally worthless distractions.
I'd only pick this up for the looks, personally. It looks cool, has cool art, and even the words look cool if you don't try and read it. But be warned that if you do, you'll probably lose brain cells for how poorly written and useless it all is.
October 4, 2022
I liked this a lot in the start, the journal of a huge baddie before he was even a pirate... And then... It didn't end, well, it did, but with pretty much no explanation. It just went to another pirate, and at first he would mention the big bad, but then that fell off as well and became all about a random chest? And I just found myself unable to care about this pirate I knew nothing about and a chest that isn't even part of a tall tale or something. Add in a dissatisfying ending to that tale as well, and then a chapter written by a third pirate who can't spell and I just speed read the end.
This had potential.
This had potential.
January 17, 2020
The stories seemed kind of disconnected and it was difficult to keep track of who was narrating. Story was hard to follow for the same reason. I would have like to see a clearer distinction between the narrators and an idea of who they are. I felt the author I assumed I already knew who they were. However, my love of the game helped me enjoy this book more than I would have otherwise. With that said, I would not recommend this book to anyone that is not familiar with or is not a fan of the game.
September 15, 2020
This book has some amazing illustrations and while the story isn't as interesting, the bits of lore about the world such as on merfolk and the various islands more than make up for it in my opinion. A good addition on your shelves if you have enjoyed the game.
July 18, 2018
Really great introduction to the world of Sea of Thieves with some colorful commentary by a few people reading the journal just before you are.
July 7, 2020
Fantastic lore of one of my favorite games, so much fun to read. It also provides some things that are now only being uncovered, and plenty of room for new things to pop up.
December 5, 2022
The lore, the legacy... it all makes sense now. This book is perfect.
September 3, 2024
Flameheart's own log, with notes from various pirates who later found the fearsome pirate's log. What's not to love?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 19, 2023
Yes yes.
I know that I gave a picture book accompany to a truly amazing video game (if I do say so myself) 4 stars, which seems like a lot.
But I really liked it because it was so accurate to the game and really brought the Sea of Thieves and the story line together in wonderful literary form.
I do not regret these 4 stars.
I know that I gave a picture book accompany to a truly amazing video game (if I do say so myself) 4 stars, which seems like a lot.
But I really liked it because it was so accurate to the game and really brought the Sea of Thieves and the story line together in wonderful literary form.
I do not regret these 4 stars.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews