Mariner's Wake

by Adam Marsh

Kara Nkosi is a Mariner—sworn to protect those of her blood and heart, sworn to protect the sea. Generations ago, her people escaped starvation and oppression on stolen boats, only to find themselves in the midst of increasingly violent storms, rising waters, and international scorn.

They were up for the challenge.

Now, at the dawn of the twenty-second century, Kara’s people are approached by their age-old adversary. When an ambassador from the United States begs the Mariners for help recovering a cache of unstable weapons of mass destruction, her people are naturally suspicious, but the threat of such weapons being unleashed in their waters is too great to ignore.

Only, the Mariners aren’t the only ones racing to recover the cache, and Kara and her shipmates find themselves pitted against powerful corporate mercenaries and hardened criminals, all in the name of helping their sworn enemy. An enemy who may not be telling them the whole truth.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction

388 pages, Paperback

Published October 25, 2021

About the author

Adam Marsh (also known by his pen name A. Michael Marsh) is a software engineer, U.S. Army veteran, and author of two science-fiction novels, The Changed, and Survived. His novels both received five stars from Foreword Clarion, and his work has been called “nearly impossible to put down,” by Kirkus. As an engineer and lover of all things fantastic, his work tends to straddle the line between the real and the unknown. Adam has a degree in Computer Systems Engineering and a certificate in Novel Writing, both from Arizona State University.

Reviews

[A M Aliano · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating book that brings you into the Mariners world. A world where it’s them against everyone else when it means taking care of the ocean’s farming and fishing in a sustainable manner.

This is yet another good book with a strong female lead, Kara - who is part of the mariner world and she has worked her way up to the position of Navigator.

There are quite a few intriguing characters even though this isn’t a very long book. It has a good mix with the bad guys, a good guy gone slightly off course, and let’s not forget the politician!

The writer has taken a wide mix of themes, stirred them all up, and out comes a compelling mystery with heart.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Bob Nelson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full Disclosure: My publishing company published this. Let me tell you why.

A great read. Murder, mystery intrigue and very entertaining antagonists. It is a very 360 degree thought through story. There are no cardboard stand ins, every character is someone you feel you want to understand better. Some you get to, and some you do not.

Fantastic extrapolation to a future state of the world, very believable storyline and strong science base make this a great book to get lost inside.

We have been blessed to be able to represent this work.

[Raina Ash · Rating 5 out of 5]

The world building is so expansive and detailed, so I was immersed in the world and its characters right away. I love the shipsies and their culture. I easily found myself rooting for Kara and her crew. Tren was also one of my favorite characters and provided some humor. This story delivered on everything I was looking for: immersive world, interesting characters I cared about, action and a great plot that kept me reading until the end! I hope there will be more stories in this world :)

[Karissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

The characters are engaging and this is an exciting read. Hopefully there’s more dystopian high seas stories to come because the world building is phenomenal. I love the idea of “shipsies” and the way the story melded high seas, dystopian, and futuristic imagery so flawlessly.