The Astreya Trilogy will appeal to fans of both nautical fiction and fantasy. The first book, Astreya: The Voyage South, follows the story of a young man who sets out to discover his heritage. He is the son of a mysterious shipwrecked sailor who died before he was born and about whom his mother, and the people of the village where he lived, knew little. We follow his journey, partly by sea and partly by land, as he starts to get some clues as to his ancestry and inheritance, a bracelet with a green stone which glows when he puts it on and seems to have some power.
In the second book, Astreya: The Men of the Sea, he finds himself aboard the three masted ships of his father's people, the Men of the Sea, who have been wandering the oceans for years and are feared by those on land.
The author makes full use of a fictional timeline and whilst the mysterious green stones form an element of fantasy the stories will have a familiar feel to readers of nautical fiction set in the Age of Sail. The books feature a pirate (though not the much caricatured Caribbean kind), knife fights and much more as factions within the ruling family of the Men of the Sea struggle for supremacy.
Mr Hamilton has produced a set of well rounded characters who you can empathise with and they are pacey novels which are hard to put down. I look forward to reading book 3, Astreya: The Wanderer's Curse.
EDIT: In book 3, Asteya: The Wanderer's Curse, the author does a skilful job of keeping the suspense going as the many mysteries surrounding the back history of the characters are revealed to bring the series to it's final conclusion. The various family members are soon in a sea chase aboard their ships and boats as they plot for supremacy over the Men of the Sea, until Astreya reaches his final destiny. The individual books and the series as a whole are recommended.
Description of: The Astreya Trilogy
Author: Seymour Hamilton
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