Fast Ships, Black Sails (Paperback)

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Saintly pirates, loony pirates, pirate cooks and talking animal-buccaneers slash and swagger through the Caribbean, the Internet, the perpetually frozen Atlantic and the seas of distant planets in this collection of 18 original stories. The anthology begins strongly with Elizabeth Bear and Sarah Monettes Boojum, a tale of one space pirates self-discovery, and concludes equally well with a gentleman rogue and his magical puppet in Garth Nixs Beyond the Sea Gate of the Scholar-Pirates of Sarsköe. The levity of Castor on Troubled Waters, Rhys Hughess playful romp through time and space, and Howard Waldrops conflation of fictional pirates, Avast, Abaft!, are balanced by 68° 07' 15" N, 31° 36' 44" W, Conrad Williamss baffling little chunk of horror. These ingenious variations on a theme deserve to be savored slowly. (Dec.)
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From Booklist

The VanderMeers impressed some high-quality scribes into contributing, and, whether comic or dramatic, almost every one of this pirate-themed anthology’s 18 stories is well worth reading. Naomi Novik’s “Araminta, or, The Wreck of the Amphidrake” is a beaut of a variation on the theme of the (disguised) lady who outwits pirates and receives her heart’s desire. Rachel Swirsky’s “Adventures of Captain Blackheart Wentworth” is a wonderfully funny tale of pirate rats. Carrie Vaughn’s “Nymph’s Child” tells the bittersweet story of what happens after a female pirate is spared because of pregnancy. Howard Waldrop’s “Avast, Abaft!” takes off on Gilbert and Sullivan, while Rhys Hughes’ “Castor on Troubled Waters” is a complex, comic story of pirates and gambling debts. Elizabeth Bear and Sarah Monette’s “Boojum,” while referencing another deucedly clever Victorian’s work, is the scary tale of a semi-sentient pirate spaceship. The other 12 are mostly up to snuff with those half-dozen. By the way, the editors’ preface includes various references that those interested in piracy may find very interesting. --Frieda Murray

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Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Night Shade Books (October 15, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1597800945
• ISBN-13: 978-1597800945
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #112,846 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars FAST SHIPS, BLACK SAILS EDITED BY ANN AND JEFF VANDERMEER, January 18, 2009

By	Alex Telander "BookBanter" (Roseville, CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

While this may not be the first pirate story anthology, Fast Ships, Black Sails doesn't hold back, with its captivating cover featuring a classic pirate standing proud at the prow of his ship, while small glowing-eye dragons fly around, a tiny dragon skeleton sits on his shoulder, and in the cloudy distance is what appears to be a ghost pirate ship. This collection edited by Ann and Jeff VanderMeer features a combination of classic swashbuckling pirate tales, as well as fascinating stories of the fantastic from authors like Conrad Williams, Garth Nix, Elizabeth Bear, and many more.

In the opening story, "Boojum" from Elizabeth Bear and Sarah Monette - possibly the best in the collection - we are in space, and the mighty spaceships are living entities that grow and change and have mouths; they are biomechanical. The authors do an excellent job of creating an interesting world that leaves the reader wanting more. In Naomi Novik's -- author of the successful Temeraire series - "Araminta, or, The Wreck of the Amphidrake," the daughter of a very important noble is kidnapped by pirates and thought murdered, but Araminta is a special woman with some unique powers allowing her to outwit the pirates who have taken her hostage. In Michael Moorcock's too short story "Ironface," there are pirates in space and Ironface is the most feared in the solar system, who makes the trip to Venus to accept the expensive bribe that he collects each decade, then his ship, Pain, floats back out into the dark realms of space.

Fast Ships, Black Sails has the perfect pirate story for any reader, as it presents both the classic and the unusual stories of privateers and buccaneers sailing the high seas, as well as the dark matter clouds of the cosmos.

Find more reviews, as well as a selection of my writing, and a link to the book review podcast BookBanter at www.alexctelander.com.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Pirates Pick Particular Prose, December 8, 2008

By	Sacramento Book Review "SacramentoBookReview.com" (Sacramento, CA) - See all my reviews

An entertaining collection of Science Fiction and Fantasy pirate stories. Eighteen all-original pirate tales, all good. The VanderMeer's have done several previous collections (Steampunk, New Weird) and this is as good. Authors include Kage Baker (I Begyn as I Mean to Go On), David Freer & Eric Flint (Pirates of the Suara Sea), Michael Moorcock (Iron Face) and a story by Garth Nix (Beyond the Sea, Gate of the Scholar-Pirates of Sarskoe). In total, stories that make it feel ok to talk like a pirate. Though we don't recommend getting a peg leg just for the authenticity. A parrot would be ok though.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Some great stories, April 12, 2009

By	rooreads - See all my reviews

Naomi Novik's name drew me to this anthology, since I like her Temeraire series so much, but the standout story of this collection is the first one, BOOJUM by Elizabeth Bear and Sarah Monette. Of the others, some were enjoyable diversions, while others had me skipping pages. Some were engaging stories, others felt self-indulgent (taste is an individual thing, after all).

An anthology like this can serve a couple of purposes - not just enjoyment for itself but also as a taster of various authors' work. I've found a couple of new ones to follow up, so that's good.

There is such diversity that it doesn't necessarily read well story after story, but as a dipper, one story at a time rather than several in a row.

It's an engaging and varied collection of bonbons, pirates in all sorts of times and places, not all involving peglegs and parrots. But the one I've read over again, the one that will stay with me, is Boojum.