Two excellent nautical newsletters came out within the past few days — Astrodene’s Historic Naval Fiction Log Book and McBook Press’ Quarterdeck. Both feature news and reviews of nautical fiction and non-fiction and each also feature reviews of new books by Old Salt Press writers. Starting with Historic Naval Fiction Log Book, here are a few excerpts:

From David Hayes’ review of The Elephant Voyage by Joan Druett:

This book was interesting, not just for the story outlined above, but for it’s insights into both life in New Zealand at this time and also the establishment by them of huts and stores on the various remote islands for the use of castaways and what can be regarded as an early move towards modern search and rescue.

From David Hayes’ review of The Guinea Boat  by Alaric Bond:

A well paced story featuring various South Coast towms and action in the English Channel with a disparate bunch of interesting characters on both sides of the Smuggling/Revenue divide. Highly recommended.

From my review of Blackwell’s Homecoming by V.E. Ulett (reposted with permission):

Blackwell’s Homecoming is the third of V.E. Ulett’s Blackwell’s Adventure series. There is no shortage of adventure. The pacing is fast, the action dramatic and well portrayed. The books, however, are much more than simply “adventure.” They are a wonderful portrait of a complex family, bound by duty and driven by love.