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Deadwind Sea
No one could believe their eyes when Sergio, the unluckiest shepherd in the village, married Ivette, the most beautiful woman in medieval Europe. But when Ivette dies six days after their wedding, Sergio embarks on a fantastic voyage across the Western Sea to bring her back from the Land of the Dead.
The story begins in 14th century Spain, making stops in Rome, Byzantium, and the North Pole before following the setting sun into the timeless Land of the Dead. On the way we encounter a ship-full of lazy pirates, a monster hunter displaced in time, a psychotic Kris Kringle, and some seriously mind-bending cosmology. At last, arriving on the untouched continent that history would later call “America” where spirits prepare a New World for the imminent arrival of the living, Sergio finds himself at the heart of a drama to liberate the new frontier from stagnation, a drama that takes him far beyond the world’s horizon.
The story begins in 14th century Spain, making stops in Rome, Byzantium, and the North Pole before following the setting sun into the timeless Land of the Dead. On the way we encounter a ship-full of lazy pirates, a monster hunter displaced in time, a psychotic Kris Kringle, and some seriously mind-bending cosmology. At last, arriving on the untouched continent that history would later call “America” where spirits prepare a New World for the imminent arrival of the living, Sergio finds himself at the heart of a drama to liberate the new frontier from stagnation, a drama that takes him far beyond the world’s horizon.
178 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2009
1 person is currently reading
226 people want to read
About the author
Josh Wagner
40 books29 followersJosh Wagner was born with a hole in his heart, a Ventricular Septal Defect (VSD). He’s fine now.
Wagner’s writing has been described as lyrical, whimsical, and incisive. He works primarily in the realm of magical realism and fantastic fiction. Having studied Creative Writing and English literature at the University of Montana, he went on to earn his MSc from the University of Edinburgh.
Wagner has released four novels ("Shapes the Sunlight Takes," "Deadwind Sea", "Smashing Laptops," and "The Adventures of the Imagination of Periphery Stowe"), several stage plays ("Salep & Silk" and the collection "Bleached Bones"), graphic novels ("Fiction Clemens", "Sky Pirates of Neo Terra"), the short story/poetry collection "Nothing in Mind," and the novella "Mystery Mark," collaboratively illustrated by Theo Ellsworth. His short fiction has been published by Cafe Irreal, Not One of Us, Cleaver Magazine, Medulla Review, Lovecraft eZine, and Image Comics.
His first graphic short appeared in Image Comics "24Seven vol. 2", which was nominated for an Eisner award. "Fiction Clemens" won Project Fanboy's 2008 "Best storyline" award. His short play "Bleach Bone" won the 2012 Westcliffe Center's New Rocky Mountain Voices competition.
Wagner spent his formative years close to the ocean and then later in the mountains. Torn between these forces, Josh can’t sit still for very long. He rarely lives anywhere for more than a year, and his constant travels contribute to the particular imaginative flavor of his work.
He is currently living in Ireland working on his PhD and developing a suite of novels called The Changing Things. He is facinated by rhizomes, paradoxes, things left unsaid.
Wagner’s writing has been described as lyrical, whimsical, and incisive. He works primarily in the realm of magical realism and fantastic fiction. Having studied Creative Writing and English literature at the University of Montana, he went on to earn his MSc from the University of Edinburgh.
Wagner has released four novels ("Shapes the Sunlight Takes," "Deadwind Sea", "Smashing Laptops," and "The Adventures of the Imagination of Periphery Stowe"), several stage plays ("Salep & Silk" and the collection "Bleached Bones"), graphic novels ("Fiction Clemens", "Sky Pirates of Neo Terra"), the short story/poetry collection "Nothing in Mind," and the novella "Mystery Mark," collaboratively illustrated by Theo Ellsworth. His short fiction has been published by Cafe Irreal, Not One of Us, Cleaver Magazine, Medulla Review, Lovecraft eZine, and Image Comics.
His first graphic short appeared in Image Comics "24Seven vol. 2", which was nominated for an Eisner award. "Fiction Clemens" won Project Fanboy's 2008 "Best storyline" award. His short play "Bleach Bone" won the 2012 Westcliffe Center's New Rocky Mountain Voices competition.
Wagner spent his formative years close to the ocean and then later in the mountains. Torn between these forces, Josh can’t sit still for very long. He rarely lives anywhere for more than a year, and his constant travels contribute to the particular imaginative flavor of his work.
He is currently living in Ireland working on his PhD and developing a suite of novels called The Changing Things. He is facinated by rhizomes, paradoxes, things left unsaid.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
March 23, 2022
The kind of book that brings goodness into the world and could only have come from a kind, and warm heart.
This book should be read and then read again. Filled with colorful characters, wild travelling, and magic, 'Deadwind Sea' is a work of staggering imagination.
Josh Wagner is an enormously gifted writer. He has been working at his craft for years, and it shows. He knows when to handle a subject with a heavy hand, and when to be light and whimsical.
I got chills at many points reading it and it blew my mind. I never knew what was coming next. It's a delight, a treat, a book to gift your friends, your parents, your children, your unborn grandchildren. It is a beautiful ode to imagination, love, loss, healing. A young man embarks on a journey of self-discovery, with many twists and turns.
I felt it followed in the footsteps of Jack Kerouac, but in a magical world. At points it reminded me of the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, of he who had to go to Hades to get back their lover.
To anyone still reluctant to get it :
Do yourself a service and get this one right now. I guarantee you won't regret it !
This book should be read and then read again. Filled with colorful characters, wild travelling, and magic, 'Deadwind Sea' is a work of staggering imagination.
Josh Wagner is an enormously gifted writer. He has been working at his craft for years, and it shows. He knows when to handle a subject with a heavy hand, and when to be light and whimsical.
I got chills at many points reading it and it blew my mind. I never knew what was coming next. It's a delight, a treat, a book to gift your friends, your parents, your children, your unborn grandchildren. It is a beautiful ode to imagination, love, loss, healing. A young man embarks on a journey of self-discovery, with many twists and turns.
I felt it followed in the footsteps of Jack Kerouac, but in a magical world. At points it reminded me of the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, of he who had to go to Hades to get back their lover.
To anyone still reluctant to get it :
Do yourself a service and get this one right now. I guarantee you won't regret it !
February 25, 2011
“You could spend your whole life chasing a single story and the only ending you’ll find is your own.”
Comics writer Josh Wagner is best known for his own series Fiction Clemens and the multi-media spin-off Sky Pirates of Neo-Terra, but his new novel reveals a writer with even more varied talents than his graphic bibliography previously suggested. Deadwind Sea has all the visual creativity of Wagner’s sequential storytelling, but perfectly adapted to the chosen medium. Wagner’s narrative is intelligent and imaginative, and his genial prose creates a vivid world of fairy tale and myth.
Deadwind Sea is the story of Sergio and Ivette, the village idiot and the beautiful orphan child who falls in love with him. Set in an undisclosed time in an invented land, the tale takes off after their brief courtship and even briefer marriage. Ivette dies days into the union, and convinced that she can yet be saved, Sergio sets off to find the Land of the Dead. His journey is an ingenious trek across the map of storytelling itself. Wagner creates a Russian doll with words. As one tale is told, another is buried inside, and so on until we are deep into multiple anecdotes, each adding to the thematic growth of the other. Wagner’s lines crackle with the pacing and familiarity of the oral tradition, making Deadwind Sea a kind of missing link between Boccaccio and David Mitchell, whose Cloud Atlas comes to mind for the way multiple narrative lines run into each other like a string of fictional dominoes. It’s a fun trick to watch unfold, each tumble inviting the reader to roll right into the next.
Impressively, Deadwind Sea never gets predictable. Wagner embraces world mythology and science fiction to come up with new scenarios and new metaphors to lead us further along in Sergio’s expedition. It would have been easy for the writer to get lost in all his symbols or to lose track of the many threads he unspools, but as the novel approaches its end, the story picks up genuine steam and somehow the author reels everything back in. Connections are made between elements that previously seemed separate, and characters and concepts take on new meaning. More importantly, there is a real conclusion to Sergio and Ivette’s love story, and it both satisfies and confounds reader expectations while also being unabashedly romantic. The final line of the book is truly lovely, and it brings everything to a finish in just the right way. Deadwind Sea is one of those books where, once you are done, you’ll close the back cover, tap your hand on its surface, and think to yourself how good reading it was. Warmth emanates from its pages.
It should also be noted that Josh Wagner is part of the movement to promote creative visions and individual ownership in comics, and that DIY attitude is also brought to this book. Let me tell you from experience, that’s a difficult garden to tend, the prose biz is not an easy one. But Deadwind Sea is a professional looking publication with enough polish to rival anything from a big publishing house. Like his own hero, the author has taken a chance and taken charge of his own fate, and you should be like the travelers Sergio meets on his expedition and lend a hand (and an eye, and an ear) to get him on his way.
Comics writer Josh Wagner is best known for his own series Fiction Clemens and the multi-media spin-off Sky Pirates of Neo-Terra, but his new novel reveals a writer with even more varied talents than his graphic bibliography previously suggested. Deadwind Sea has all the visual creativity of Wagner’s sequential storytelling, but perfectly adapted to the chosen medium. Wagner’s narrative is intelligent and imaginative, and his genial prose creates a vivid world of fairy tale and myth.
Deadwind Sea is the story of Sergio and Ivette, the village idiot and the beautiful orphan child who falls in love with him. Set in an undisclosed time in an invented land, the tale takes off after their brief courtship and even briefer marriage. Ivette dies days into the union, and convinced that she can yet be saved, Sergio sets off to find the Land of the Dead. His journey is an ingenious trek across the map of storytelling itself. Wagner creates a Russian doll with words. As one tale is told, another is buried inside, and so on until we are deep into multiple anecdotes, each adding to the thematic growth of the other. Wagner’s lines crackle with the pacing and familiarity of the oral tradition, making Deadwind Sea a kind of missing link between Boccaccio and David Mitchell, whose Cloud Atlas comes to mind for the way multiple narrative lines run into each other like a string of fictional dominoes. It’s a fun trick to watch unfold, each tumble inviting the reader to roll right into the next.
Impressively, Deadwind Sea never gets predictable. Wagner embraces world mythology and science fiction to come up with new scenarios and new metaphors to lead us further along in Sergio’s expedition. It would have been easy for the writer to get lost in all his symbols or to lose track of the many threads he unspools, but as the novel approaches its end, the story picks up genuine steam and somehow the author reels everything back in. Connections are made between elements that previously seemed separate, and characters and concepts take on new meaning. More importantly, there is a real conclusion to Sergio and Ivette’s love story, and it both satisfies and confounds reader expectations while also being unabashedly romantic. The final line of the book is truly lovely, and it brings everything to a finish in just the right way. Deadwind Sea is one of those books where, once you are done, you’ll close the back cover, tap your hand on its surface, and think to yourself how good reading it was. Warmth emanates from its pages.
It should also be noted that Josh Wagner is part of the movement to promote creative visions and individual ownership in comics, and that DIY attitude is also brought to this book. Let me tell you from experience, that’s a difficult garden to tend, the prose biz is not an easy one. But Deadwind Sea is a professional looking publication with enough polish to rival anything from a big publishing house. Like his own hero, the author has taken a chance and taken charge of his own fate, and you should be like the travelers Sergio meets on his expedition and lend a hand (and an eye, and an ear) to get him on his way.
December 16, 2013
Josh Wagner entered my list of favorite writers when I read The Adventures of the Imagination of Periphery Stowe. But with Deadwind Sea he shot right to the top of that list.
Not only is Josh an amazing storyteller, he’s also a poet. And I don’t mean the sappy, beatnik, I-feel-embarrassed-for-this-guy kind of poet. What I mean is that every one of his sentences is like a little bit of word magic. He can paint entire worlds, dimensions and alternate universes with just a few unlikely, but perfectly chosen words in such a way that it will move your soul.
Deadwind Sea is the story of Sergio, a 14th century Spanish shepherd boy, who travels to the Land of the Dead to bring his true love back. But it’s not just that story. There’s stories upon stories entangled inside this story, and if you thought Inception was deep, you might want to fasten your imaginary seatbelt, ‘cause Josh will take you on a damn wild ride.
What starts out as lighthearted comedy quickly delves into much darker, much deeper and much larger tales than I could ever have anticipated. The stories that flow forth from Josh’s imagination feel like they were actually passed on through countless generations, countries and cultures, and each one reveals more about the intricate nature of Josh’s unfolding worlds.
By the end of the book, I felt as if I’d actually been on an epic journey through ages, eras, lands, seas, dimensions and worlds, and I wanted nothing more than to see Sergio reunited with his one true love. That might not sound like something special, but this is coming from a guy who doesn’t believe in one true love, marriage or even monogamy. I am pretty much allergic to romance and especially to romance stories (let alone “romance novels”).
I find myself at a loss to find anything even remotely negative to say about Deadwind Sea, so I think you can just call me one of Josh Wagner’s true fans. I humbly tip my old imaginary hat to you, sir.
Not only is Josh an amazing storyteller, he’s also a poet. And I don’t mean the sappy, beatnik, I-feel-embarrassed-for-this-guy kind of poet. What I mean is that every one of his sentences is like a little bit of word magic. He can paint entire worlds, dimensions and alternate universes with just a few unlikely, but perfectly chosen words in such a way that it will move your soul.
Deadwind Sea is the story of Sergio, a 14th century Spanish shepherd boy, who travels to the Land of the Dead to bring his true love back. But it’s not just that story. There’s stories upon stories entangled inside this story, and if you thought Inception was deep, you might want to fasten your imaginary seatbelt, ‘cause Josh will take you on a damn wild ride.
What starts out as lighthearted comedy quickly delves into much darker, much deeper and much larger tales than I could ever have anticipated. The stories that flow forth from Josh’s imagination feel like they were actually passed on through countless generations, countries and cultures, and each one reveals more about the intricate nature of Josh’s unfolding worlds.
By the end of the book, I felt as if I’d actually been on an epic journey through ages, eras, lands, seas, dimensions and worlds, and I wanted nothing more than to see Sergio reunited with his one true love. That might not sound like something special, but this is coming from a guy who doesn’t believe in one true love, marriage or even monogamy. I am pretty much allergic to romance and especially to romance stories (let alone “romance novels”).
I find myself at a loss to find anything even remotely negative to say about Deadwind Sea, so I think you can just call me one of Josh Wagner’s true fans. I humbly tip my old imaginary hat to you, sir.
February 18, 2010
A whimsical romp through a strangely familiar landscape filled with pirates, airships, sheep, blunderbusses, magical mirrors and, of course, a quest for true love!
With Josh's boundless imagination and crisp storytelling, this book belongs on the shelf with Gaiman's Stardust and Golding's Princess Bride.
With Josh's boundless imagination and crisp storytelling, this book belongs on the shelf with Gaiman's Stardust and Golding's Princess Bride.
March 10, 2021
I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway
This book starts with a sheep stuck in a tree, a wedding and a death. The main character Sergio must travel to the end of the world to save his beloved. Through his travels he is told stories from several other characters.
The book is interesting and a fun read.
This book starts with a sheep stuck in a tree, a wedding and a death. The main character Sergio must travel to the end of the world to save his beloved. Through his travels he is told stories from several other characters.
The book is interesting and a fun read.
March 6, 2010
Thank you Josh for writing a book I had always wanted to read. It was sincerely a joy every time I got to pick it up. I am glad my life got in the way of me just reading it all down in one big gulp. It was really great to enjoy over the course of a week.
April 3, 2016
Josh Wagner does a fine job of taking the reader on a mystical journey across fantastical landscapes, connecting time with space. This book is like one of those Russian nesting dolls, with the very middle filled with satisfying delight
May 25, 2012
This is also an amazing read by Josh. I read this first and loved it. The main character will totally tug the heartstrings. Yeah, Josh. I'm a big fan!!
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews