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Pirating Pups : Salty Sea-Dogs and Barking Buccaneers

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Enter a world of Barking Buccaneers, where piratical dogs sail the seas, seeking one tail-chasing adventure after another. Whether dealing with sea monsters, the doldrums, or bitter betrayal, these dogs have a true nose for adventure and always dig up their buried treasure.

Featuring thirteen daring “tails” of dogs, puns, and fun by: Chadwick Ginther; Jennifer Lee Rossman; Meghan Beaudry; Kristen Brand; Richard Lau; V.F. LeSann; Alice Dryden; Melanie Marttila; Mathew Austin; JB Riley; Frances Pauli; George Jacobs; and E. C. Bell.

184 pages, Paperback

First published August 9, 2022

13 people want to read

About the author

Rhonda Parrish

106 books243 followers
Rhonda Parrish has the attention span of a magpie. Not only can she not focus on a single project at a time, but she also fails at sticking to one genre or even one type of writing (she does manage to stay true to one hockey team, though – Let’s go Oilers!). Perhaps best known for her work as an anthology editor – the Ottawa Review of Books called her “Canada’s best-known and most prolific speculative fiction anthologist” – Rhonda also works as a short story writer, novelist, game writer and a poet. She has been honoured to be included in a handful of ‘Best of’ anthologies, earn a coveted starred review from Publisher’s Weekly and be shortlisted for several awards including the Rhysling Award, the Aurora Award, the Dwarf Stars Award and Alberta Book Publishing Awards.

Most of her work falls under the speculative fiction umbrella but she has also penned paranormal non-fiction and non-speculative work.

In an effort to impose some order in her chaos, these days most of her short fiction and poetry is published directly through her Patreon https://www.patreon.com/c/RhondaParrish .

More information about her, updates and calls for submission are posted on her website http://www.rhondaparrish.com/home/.

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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
1,140 reviews2 followers
July 26, 2022
A very nice collection.
Although I am not a dog person, I enjoyed these stories and liked "Boomer Bust" by JB Riley and 'What Gold Smells Like' by Frances Pauli.
Profile Image for Alice.
Author 39 books51 followers
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September 2, 2022
[Disclaimer: I have a story, 'New Tricks', in this anthology.]

A followup to last year's Swashbuckling Cats: Nine Lives on the Seven Seas, most of the stories in this collection are on the lighthearted side, with doggy puns galore and a fun juxtaposition of cutesy dog names and Serious Pirate Business. My favourites were 'Davy Bones and the Domestication of the Dutchman', with its glimpse of a complicated world and backstory behind the tale (plus some very good dogs) and, unusually for me, 'The Boomer Bust', which had no anthropomorphic elements at all but made me laugh a lot.
Profile Image for Barbara Harrison.
3,393 reviews85 followers
September 9, 2023
Thirteen family-friendly short stories about piratical pups to fill a day.

The Empress of Marshmallow by Chadwick Ginther: The Empress asserts her dominance over the Thing in the Lake at Gimli in Canada. 1 hour 5*

Davy Bones and the Domestication of the Dutchman by Jennifer Lee Rossman: Post-apocalyptic Flying Dutchman. Have tissue. 20 minutes 5*

Johnson the Terror by Meghan Beaudry: Johnson is a mop with three legs. 20 minutes 5*

Ghost Pirate Dognapper by Kristen Brand: set in St. Augustine Beach, FL half hour 5*

Blackbark's Collar by Richard Lau: Sharpei'd by the Pugrats of the Caribbean. 20 minutes 5*

Let the Water Drink First by V.F. LeSann: a stolen ship and a broken taboo. 40 minutes 5*

New Tricks by Alice Dryden: Airpirates attack airship Cavalier King Charles. 22 minutes 5*

Torvi, Viking Queen by Melanie Marttila: Fenris challenges Queen Torvi. 25 minutes 5*

Under the Curse of Jupiter by Mathew Austin: Captain Hacker finds the saboteur. 40 minutes 5*

The Boomer Bust by JB Riley: Decatur Elementary's production of Peter Pan. 30 minutes 5*

What Gold Smells Like by Frances Pauli: The Nose, formerly Captain of the now sunken Widowmaker, is about to walk the plank...1 hour 5*

Artistic Appropriation by George Jacobs: Buccleuch O'Bassett undercover. 10 minutes 5*

What Frisky Wrought When the Wheels Fell Off the World by E.C. Bell: Lucky, Queen of the Pirates, assisted by Tripod, answers the call from Edmonton Queen on the North Saskatchewan River. 1 hour 5*.

I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.
46 reviews1 follower
December 10, 2025
I'm embarrassed that this adorable anthology took me so long to read, but I needed a lighthearted, non-committal book to help me get through LSAT prep. This fun anthology was just the ticket! I picked it up well over a year ago and enjoyed half the stories, but then life took over. And then I started law school - goodbye dedicated reading time! Thankfully, I was able to pick it up again as I got through law exam season (o joy) and these easy-to-read tales (tails!) were just the ticket to distract me between giant to-do lists when my brain commitment needed a switch-up.

This anthology is a follow-up to the glorious, award-winning Swashbuckling Cats: Nine Lives on the Seven Seas. I'm a lover of both cats AND dogs, plus my glorious former sidekick mini daschund Lincoln would've heartily approved of this anthology, so I had to give it a go.

Almost all of the tales are lighthearted and fun. There's quite a wide assortment of pooches, and some unsurprising themes that run throughout the tales, such as a dog's unwavering loyalty and

f the Dutchman', with its glimpse of a complicated world and backstory behind the tale (plus some very good dogs) and, unusually for me, 'The Boomer Bust', which had no anthropomorphic elements at all but made me laugh a lot.
Profile Image for Cat Bowser.
Author 6 books43 followers
September 15, 2023
I received a free ARC copy of this book and am leaving a review voluntarily.

Oh, now, this is fun and cute idea! I love dogs so any book focused on them immediately catches my eye. A book with pirate pups? How great is that?

And it doesn’t disappoint! Each story is different and unique, as special as each dog inside the tales. I love how their canineness plays into the story. They’re all very sentient but you never forget they’re dogs.

And the worlds we spend time in with dogs in such a fun position if power? I love how each story is a different approach. Some reference humans and some don’t. Some take place after humans are gone, some don’t. It’s a wonderful mix.

The author has generously included a “does the dog die” section if that sort of thing bothers you. I was very grateful for it. I skipped the story Under the Curse of Jupiter as it referenced dogs becoming ill and I just lost a dog to sickness. I will likely revisit that story at a later date.

Absolutely check out this fun and creative adventure!
Profile Image for Melanie S.
1,841 reviews35 followers
September 16, 2023
This is a great compilation of short tails-er, tales- wildly imaginative, occasionally silly, and utterly enchanting Humans who love canines will revel in the antics of these anthropomorphized fearless furry characters. Snarl at the cringing villains. Howl with mirth at the clever canid tricksters. Bite back tears at the bravery and heroics of Man's Best Friend. From Shih-tzus to Saint Bernards, pure-breds to mutts, it's all dogs on deck for the literary dog show of the year. Thank Rhonda Parrish for the curator's genius, and BookSprout for the ARC. AHWROOO!.
Profile Image for Rachel Anne.
320 reviews9 followers
February 23, 2023
A great romp!

Lovely series of short stories with such a range of plots, but all focused on pups.

I had initially thought this book would be targeting children or teens but it was in fact great for adults.

I thoroughly enjoyed the occasional pup puns scattered throughout the book and I certainly admired the overarching themes of loyalty and canine superiority.

Dogs rule, cats drool.
Profile Image for Toni.
2,358 reviews24 followers
September 18, 2023
This is the cutest series of stories I've ever read. Tales of pirating dogs, flying dogs, regular dogs who guard humans against the unknown. Each story tells a tale worthy of a dog.
A fun series of stories!!. But beware, there are sad times and bad times too.

I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Profile Image for Kat M.
5,193 reviews18 followers
September 5, 2023
This had everything that I enjoyed from previous Rhonda Parrish collections. I really enjoyed the concept as a whole and thought it worked well together. The authors wrote their stories well and I loved the use of dogs.

I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Profile Image for enjoyingbooksagain.
794 reviews72 followers
September 15, 2023
This is a great collection of short stories by different author about Dogs. Animal lover will truly enjoy this.

I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews

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