Ancient Mariners by David Burton 
Coming of Age, Horror
Ancient Mariners is a dark coming-of-age revenge novel for adults and mature young adults

Beth, 14, and her crewmate, Silas, 45, have lost their families to violence. They sail the South Pacific, seeking solace for their grief.

Beth Portman’s parents died in a home fire four years ago, while Beth, then a normal, happy 14 year-old girl sails with Silas Tufts, an ex-Navy SEAL and family friend. With no other family, Beth stays with her best friend, Judy and her lecherous father. After a few uncomfortable months Judy asks Beth to leave and she’s glad to go, beginning her coming-of-age journey to become anything but a “normal” teenager.

Silas also lost his family to tragedy. He has roamed the sea for years fleeing his guilt and grief. Beth joins him on his sailboat, both seeking solace and peace. In Mexico, they believe they have found the new love and family they seek with a beautiful Mexican woman. Soon, though, tragedy forces Beth and Silas to sail into the South Pacific, wandering aimlessly.

But Death, in the form of a black Albatross, has a task for them. Over the next four years Death surreptitiously guides their journey and prepares their bodies and minds for its mission.
Beth’s transformation begins with an attack in the Philippines that changes her life forever. In a beautiful Great Barrier Reef lagoon Beth saves a life, but another tragedy shows her and Silas Death’s purpose.

Pirates, butterfly poachers, a jungle spirit, and a merciless Hong Kong crime boss, are encountered on Beth and Silas’s journey to an act of revenge that will set them free.




5 out of 5 fairies

Ancient Mariners is absolutely chilling. Death is a silent companion on this quest for freedom and revenge. It’s there at every turn guiding Beth to vengeance for the injustice that no one has ever righted. Now, out on the sea where she is most at home with her friend and mentor Silas, Beth will follow death’s lead until she claims her due.


Where to buy: Amazon
Add to your TBR list: Goodreads
About the Author: David Burton is an American writer living in sunny Southern California. He traveled by motorcycle through Mexico, US, Canada and Alaska. From motorcycles he turned to the ocean, building and sailing his own boats to Mexico, Tahiti, Hawaii, and through the Panama Canal to Florida. He spent a lot of time reading while on the water, so he decided to write books he would have wanted to read at sea. Having swallowed the anchor he now mops floors and collects trash for money, writes for a living, and has become a (temporarily?) unrequited sailor.