On an island off the coast of Chile, Captain Amaso Delano, sailing an American sealer, encounters the San Dominick, a Spanish slave ship in distress. He boards the ship, providing much-needed supplies, and tries to unravel the mystery from its aloof and disturbed captain, Benito Cereno.

This tale delves into themes of racism, the slave trade, and madness. It explores the tension between representation and reality, featuring at least one unreliable narrator. Melville's novella has captivated and frustrated critics for decades.

Twenty-five-year-old Jack Sparrow is a clean-cut merchant seaman pursuing a legitimate career as a first mate for the East India Trading Company. He sometimes thinks back to his boyhood pirating days, but he doesn't miss Teague's scrutiny or the constant threat of the noose. Besides, he doesn't have much choice—he broke the Code when he freed a friend who had been accused of rogue piracy, and he can no longer show his face in Shipwreck Cove.

When Jack's ship is attacked by pirates and his captain dies in the altercation, he suddenly finds himself in command. The wily sailor's skillful negotiations with the pirate captain—who turns out to be a woman from his past—result in a favorable outcome that puts Jack in line for an official promotion.

After making port in Africa, Jack is summoned by Cutler Beckett, who makes him captain of a ship called the Wicked Wench. Beckett gives Jack an assignment. He has heard a legend about a magical island named Zerzura whose labyrinthine bowels are said to contain a glorious treasure. Beckett suspects that one of his house slaves, a girl named Ayisha, is from Zerzura. He asks Jack to take her along on his voyage and seduce her into divulging the island's whereabouts. In payment for his services, Beckett promises Jack a share of the treasure.

But this task isn't as easy as Jack initially believes. Before she agrees to reveal the location of her home, Ayisha insists that Jack take her to the New World to rescue her brother, who has been sold into slavery in the Bahamas. Their voyage is long and arduous, and as they weather a vicious storm and a surprise attack from an old pirate foe, Jack grows to respect and admire Ayisha's bravery. He knows that Beckett intends to enslave her people after robbing them of their treasure, and Jack's moral compass revolts at the idea.

It might be possible to deliver Ayisha safely to Zerzura, obtain some of the treasure, and convince Beckett that he never found it... but the greedy E. I. T. C. official has eyes everywhere, and if he learns that Jack has foiled his plans, he could take away the thing that Captain Sparrow loves most: his ship—and his freedom.

Once caught, it’s harder still to let a pirate go.

When Annalisa Townsend’s ship is set upon by pirates in search of her father’s treasure, one of the crew, James Sterling, discovers her in the hold. When he moves to take her necklace, she begs him not to, as it is all she has left of her mother. He accepts a kiss in exchange for the necklace. “A fair trade, m’lady,” he tells her afterward, before disappearing.

A year later, with a forged letter of marque, Annalisa is intent on hunting down the wretched James Sterling and reclaiming her father’s treasure from him. But now she’s in danger of him stealing something far more vulnerable this time: her heart.

The year is 1667. Sir Francis Courtney and his son Hal are on patrol in their fighting caravel off the Agulhas Cape of South Africa. They are lying in wait for one of the treasure-laden galleons of the Dutch East India Company returning from the Orient. So begins a quest for adventure and the spoils of war that sweeps them from the settlement of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa to the Great Horn of Ethiopia far to the north.

At a time when international maritime law permitted acts of piracy, rape, and murder otherwise punishable by death, Wilbur Smith introduces a generation of the indomitable Courtneys and thrillingly re-creates their part in the struggle for supremacy and riches on the high seas.

From the very first pages, Wilbur Smith spins a colorful and exciting tale, crackling with tension and drama, that builds and builds to a stunning climax. Packed with vivid descriptive passages of the open seas, breathless pacing, and an extraordinary cast of characters, Birds of Prey is a masterpiece from a storyteller at the height of his powers.

Post Captain is a thrilling adventure set during the Napoleonic Wars. In 1803, as Napoleon shatters the Peace of Amiens, Captain Jack Aubrey, R. N., finds himself in a precarious position. Taking refuge in France to escape his creditors, he becomes interned.

With daring and ingenuity, Aubrey escapes from France, evades debtors' prison, and navigates the turbulent waters of a possible mutiny. His relentless pursuit of his quarry leads him straight into the heart of a French-held harbor. This installment of the Aubrey & Maturin series brilliantly surpasses expectations set by Master and Commander.

Patrick O'Brian's masterful storytelling captures the essence of the era, weaving together themes of friendship, loyalty, and the high-stakes drama of naval warfare. Readers are in for an exhilarating journey on the high seas, filled with epic battles and rich historical detail.