Teresa Radice (writer) Stefano Turconi (art)
In the summer of 1807, the Explorer, a ship from Her Majesty's Navy recovers a young shipwreck off the coast of Siam, Abel, who can only remember his name. He soon becomes friends with the first officer, acting as a captain because the commander of the ship has apparently absconded with the ship's treasure. Abel returns to England with the Explorer and finds accommodation at the inn run by the three fugitive captain's daughters. Well before he can recover his memory, however, he will discover something deeply disturbing about himself, and he will understand the true nature of some of the people who helped him.
A haunting and intense book that digs into the soul of the protagonists as well as the reader, with a generous helping of good 'ole fashioned salty adventure along with many a shanty sung, and a sprinkling of magic dust. Presented in a handsome old style, worn-looking hardcover, as if taken from a ship captain's library. An uplifting, enthralling escape.
REVIEWS:
"Truths are slowly revealed in a rich story that's one to spend a winter evening with. A lump in the throat and a tear or two should be entirely normal as we fall in love with several people, all of them kind, understanding, with tragedy in their lives and driven by compulsions they don't fully understand. It's great."
-Slings & Arrows
"Sometimes when I open packages containing books for review, I am simply blown away by what I see before I even open the book itself. Some books just stand apart for their pure craftsmanship inside and out. That was the experience when I opened the package containing "Forbidden Harbor."Â The look of the volume took me back to my childhood reading of old books about adventure on the high seas and the dangers of travel in the old days."
-William Kulesa, NJ.com
"That rare gift of a graphic novel that embeds itself in a reader's memory, worthy of occupying permanent space in the mind and on the bookshelf."
-Foreword STARRED REVIEW
"This heartfelt paean to sailing culture will treat readers to a resplendent expedition." -Publishers Weekly
"Radice's flowing prose and Turconi's fanciful pen invite even the utterly uninitiated to delve into the delight of a sailor's tale."
-Library Journal Starred Review
"Radice and Turconi expertly spool out a complicated, genuinely surprising series of plot turns punctuated with poetic imagery. More sophisticated than the usual swashbuckler, this is a great pick for fans of literary adventure stories."
-Booklist
7 ½ x 10 ½, 320pp., B&W with color sketchbook, old-fashioned hardcover, $29.99
ISBN 9781681122328
Buy the e-book: $18.99