Dark Sails Series

The Dark Sails Series was a Kickstarter backed project that Hedone Books adopted to publish to ensure these titles got out into the world. Some titles are now under Hedone Books main works (marked). Please CLICK HERE to see the entire series!

The Flesh of the Sea by Lor Gislason and Shelley Lavigne (Hedone Books)

After Wilford Bowen is denied entry into the Royal Society of London, he sets off on a mission to discover natural marvels and earn his place in the scientific community. But his mission is off to a rocky start when he’s kidnapped by pirates, encounters parasitic wasps, and a host of other incredible Eldritch creatures. On the high seas, Wilford will need to find support within his new crew, survive dangerous encounters, collect scientific evidence of impossible beasts, all while tangling with his own complicated feelings for the friend he left behind: Jean Baptiste de Beaupré.

With every new discovery, a new mystery is unveiled and Wilford is left wondering if the greatest secret is perhaps what is hiding in the treasure room.

Pitched as Our Flag Means Death meets Lovecraft Country!

 

Island of the Unclaimed by Alyson Hasson

Sybil never imagined leaving her home in London. It was a luxury she could never afford. Her entire life was spent scraping the bottom of the barrel, sneaking scraps, and making do with what little money her brother Walter could smuggle back to them from Nassau.


But as time passes and the last delivery from her brother becomes more distant, she soon realizes that she might finally be on her own. Left with nothing but a heading and a broken compass, she ventures into unknown waters.

While the seas are rough, her journey becomes even rougher as she joins a pirate crew. Desperately tracing her brother’s footsteps, she finds herself hurtling towards the same fate. Her last hope lies in unearthing her family secrets and making it to her brother’s last known location, a cursed island in the middle of the ocean.

 

Dead Men's Chests by William Sterling

It is a favorite pastime in Southern Louisiana taverns to speak of the Dread Pirate LaBelle and his cursed treasure. In hushed tones and careful whispers, drunken storytellers regale the interested with descriptions of a sinking ship and LaBelle’s cursed treasures lost among the marshes.

For Trevor, these stories are more than just rumors. Trevor thinks that he’s tracked down the map to LaBelle’s final resting place, and a guide who is brazen enough to take them there. With the first puzzle piece to a centuries-long riddle is in his grasp, Trevor and his friends expect the adventure of a lifetime.

But there’s a reason that LaBelle’s treasure has never been found. And old, dead pirates don’t like to tell their tales.

"Dead Men's Chests plays like a modern day sequel to The Mummy, giving readers the promise of adventure before dropping us into a house of endless horrors. Much like the author's pirate antagonist Labelle hoarding cursed trinkets, Sterling has infused his tightly-plotted story with a plethora of surprising and disturbing horror concepts, crafting a series of nightmares for our core explorers. It's the most fun you'll have being scared this year."
—Joey Powell, author of Nightmares From the Gray

 

Dead Soil by Sylvester Barzey

In treacherous pirate-infested waters, a horrifying tale unfolds, intertwining the brutal reality of the transatlantic slave trade with the relentless onslaught of the undead. Dayo and Kofi, two souls promised to each other, are ripped from their homeland and thrust into the abyss of the zombie apocalypse. They must fight not only for their survival but also for the redemption and freedom of their people. After a revolt on a slave ship sends Kofi to a watery grave, Dayo must face this new world alone.

As the sea churns with the echoes of her ancestors' pain, Dayo must confront her own demons and forge an unlikely alliance with the very soul who helped enslave her people to stop a flesh-crazed crew of zombie pirates. From the blood-soaked decks of slave ships to the haunted shores of cursed islands, Dayo must navigate through betrayal, treachery, and overcome the monsters created by Dead Soil.

 

The Nine Teeth of the River Styx by Damien Casey

A crew of pirates find themselves on an island covered in black vegetation, elephantine insects, and where the grass whispers. They are recruited by Lilith to travel the nine levels of Hell in search of Satan’s treasure. On each level, they must find a tooth that is to be used as a key to travel further downward. Each tooth comes with its own share of monstrosities. Can the nine teeth be collected?