The Voyage South — Seymour Hamilton

Astreya isn't like the other boys in his remote fishing village. When Astreya leaves home, his widowed mother gives him his father's knife, a riddling notebook, and a bracelet with a mysterious and powerful green stone. He sails south with an adventurous fishing boat skipper, hoping that in the world beyond, he can find out who his father was, what the three enigmatic gifts mean, and whether there is any value to the looks, skills and talents that have set him apart from everyone he has ever known. They voyage to a village where all the inhabitants have met a grisly end, and fearing this may be the work of the legendary sailors cursed to sail forever, they dare the open ocean. A storm blows them to a land unlike their own, where Astreya is betrayed by his shipmate and abandoned by his skipper. Escaping slavery, he makes his way to The Castle, where he believes he can learn more about his father's gifts. Along the way, he meets Gar, an itinerant painter, and his striking assistant, Lindey, who can take care of herself with the forces of truth, logic, reason, and the occasional shrewd blow from her quarterstaff. They learn to trust each other, even though all three guard secrets. Accomplished painter, able seaman, and now a proven knife fighter, Astreya is just imagining a new destiny with Lindey when a man from the past he never knew alters the course of his life toward the adventures that continue in Book II, The Men of the Sea. Astreya is a tale of the sea, a mystery, and a love story from another time and a different coast where true-to-life adventures challenge believable characters. "...a trilogy that will fascinate all those who have the sea in their blood and yearn for those days of sail. This is a sailor's yarn brilliantly told... I could not put this book down." -- Commander David Newing, LVO, Royal Navy retired For more about Astreya's world, visit AstreyaTrilogy.com