The Black Ship: A Novel of Crosspointe (Paperback)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: four charmers, compass post, blood oak, Diana Pharaoh Francis, Inland Sea, Lucy Trenton (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

The successor to The Cipher (2007) doesn’t involve that book’s protagonists until firmly establishing the character of Thorn the pilot, who has the magical gift for navigating the dangerous oceans of Crosspointe, full of the sylveth, contact with which can transform one into a monster. Since Thorn also likes to be disturbing, his guild bans him from sailing. But then he is abducted and forced to pilot an unregistered black ship, whose unlucky crew is on the verge of mutiny. With fast and furious action, convincing if seldom sympathetic characters, and a setting, Crosspointe, that develops apace, this is a page-flipper. --Frieda Murray

Product Description

Thorn is a member of the Pilot’s Guild—those who possess the magical ability to navigate Crosspointe’s deadly seas. When a malevolent master within the Guild bans him from the sea, it seems his life is over. Then he is kidnapped and forced to serve aboard the rogue ship Eidolon—pitch black from bow to stern—and Thorn finds himself battling a mad captain, a mutinous crew, and the terrifying magic of the sea.

But there is a saboteur on board, trying to make sure the Eidolon never arrives safely in port. Thorn begins to realize his kidnapping may have been no mere chance— and that the cargo the black ship carries may seal his doom…

Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Roc (November 4, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451462424
• ISBN-13: 978-0451462428
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #93,796 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fastastic Adventure Upon a Dangerous Magical Sea, May 20, 2009

By	A. Lee (L.A., CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Sylbrac is a member of the important Pilots Guild, one of the men necessary to any ship sailing the hazardous, magic-filled waters of the black Inland Sea surrounding the Kingdom-Isles of Crosspointe. But he's a loner, eschewing friends, uncaring about making enemies and flouting Guild customs and politics. He finds that he has finally stepped too far and crossed those in the Guild who have the power to keep him from the sea--the only thing he has a passion for in life. Then he finds himself kidnapped, forced to serve as Pilot on a Black Ship, a vessel operating outside the law, captained by a man stripped of his license and thought mad, and crewed by the dregs and the cursed of seafaring society.

Taking the name Thorn, he faces killer storms, ravenous creatures of the deep, a mutinous crew, enemy ships, pirates, death magic, and the horrific spawn-inducing magic of the sylveth that is the source of power and danger in the sea. But he also, surprisingly finds a sense of brotherhood among the outcast crew of the ship.

The story is full of page-turning action and adventure, harrowing danger and narrow escapes. The characters are compelling, with horrific pasts, and they all develop in fascinating ways. The world is equally intriguing, with its magic and gods and various warring societies and political intrigue.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I love historical sea adventure, as well as fantasy, so the mix was a happy one for me. Thorn was a strong and memorable character. The world was well-developed and was full of mystery and dangerous magic. Although the book ends without a cliff-hanger, the voyage is not complete and there are story threads that need to be concluded. I sincerely hope the adventures of Thorn and Captain Plusby and the Black Ship Eidolon continue in a sequel. I did not want to leave this world and these amazing characters.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fabulous Installment in Crosspointe Series, November 10, 2008

By	MelaLyn "Missy S" (Cleveland, OH United States) - See all my reviews

Diana Pharoah Francis has done something very unique. Each book focuses on someone new. The old characters are there, but not focals. Each installment builds on the last, allowing the readers to learn more about different aspects of Crosspointe, to get deeper glimpses of the large groups which are struggling to govern their world.

After reading Lucy's story in The Cipher, I wasn't sure how I would feel not following her into the next. I'd seen her grow, seen her change. But then I met Thorne. He's so intriguing and in The Black Ship I get drawn into sailling and being on the water and learning more about the origins of Pilots, even meeting the enemy face to face. I couldn't put the story down and I didn't feel like I'd missed anything. I'm just eager to get to the next one, The Turning Tide. Can't wait for it to come out!

5.0 out of 5 stars Perilous High Seas Fantasy Adventure!, November 16, 2009

By	Amy C (New York) - See all my reviews

Before there was Thorn, there was Sylbrac, and before him there was Fish. But before each of them, there was Geoffrey Truehelm, son of the lord chancellor, and after a terrible incident in his youth, he swore he would never let his father use him in such a manner again and fled. He became known as Fish, and over the years he made his way on the cruel streets and eventually found himself a position on a ship, where he later discovered the blessings of being a Pilot--a rare and highly prized person to navigate the seas. Without them, ships have no chance surviving all the dangers that lie in wait. And on that day, Fish died and Sylbrac was born.

Now finding himself betrayed and sold by, Sylbrac can only assume, his own fellow Pilots, Sylbrac leaves that name behind and calls himself Thorn. Now the Pilot aboard the Eidolon, along with a motley crew who have been given another chance at the open sea, risk their lives in order to see a ship filled with unknown cargo to its destination. At first Thorn sees his kidnapping as a curse, but later sees it only as a gift as he makes friends from the most unlikeliest of people. And friends are something Thorn never thought he needed or wanted. Of course, that is what got him in this predicament in the first place, never making any alliances within the Pilots Guild, and realizing too late the error of his ways.

Brilliantly crafted and fully realized world, Diana P. Francis excels at writing a believable and highly engaging fantasy. I found myself immersed and lost aboard the Eidolon, for which Thorn was kidnapped to Pilot this illegal ship, otherwise known as a Black Ship. The crazy amount of research she had to do in order to make the scenes come to life aboard the ship was astonishing in my eyes.

The Black Ship is fraught with perilous adventure, raging sea storms, and the dangers that lie within the depths of the water, as well as a need to learn what it is exactly this black ship is transporting. The vivid characters drove this story. Thorn is such a great character. At first you think him rather selfish, but that's just the way of Pilots. But then you see that he is different from the rest of his ilk. He actually cares, and is quite an honorable guy. There is much fantastical things to sink your teeth into within the pages of The Black Ship, and I found it to be quite an experience, full of action and adventure! This is an amazing author whom I've grown quite fondly of since reading the two books I've read--This one and The Cipher (Book one in the Crosspointe Chronicles.)

So put on your majicked boots and clothes to keep yourself dry and hop aboard the Eidolon for a sweeping adventure on the Inland Sea. But watch out for the silvery majickal substance known as sylveth, for it could turn you into spawn, a hideous and evil type of creature!