Sea legends and pirate adventures charm eight-year-old Swift, until an encounter with the deadly power of the ocean shocks him into reality. Swift struggles to hang onto his childhood fantasies, but his new grasp of the fragile nature of life and of friendship threatens to swamp his hope. Under the guidance of his older brother, Swift must learn to brave the rough waters of change without losing himself to their destruction.
Sea legends and pirate adventures charm eight-year-old Swift, until an encounter with the deadly power of the ocean shocks him into reality. Swift struggles to hang onto his childhood fantasies, but his new grasp of the fragile nature of life and of friendship threatens to swamp his hope. Under the guidance of his older brother, Swift must learn to brave the rough waters of change without losing himself to their destruction.
I come out of hiding, from among the jumble of foremast ropes on my fatherâs ship.
Crossing the deck of his brigantineâthe Regulus, is a risk. That scallywag promenading as the good and upright fishing ladâJohnny Minnowâcould be bunkering anyplace. And he knows Iâm onto him.
But the deck remains empty and quiet, except for the whistling of Captain Justus (my father, good natured enough to don a feathered pirate cap for the ride home, to make things feel more epic).
The sun beats on my bare shoulders, and the rock of the boat on this blue Celtic water feels like the dancing of the Earth. Its rhythm is even and cool. No drumbeat of scampering footsteps troubles the deck.
Empress Adara and Caius the Magistrate, along for the sailing trip, are resting at the stern of the ship, watching the shore come. They seem oblivious that dark deeds are astir.
âSteady as she goes, Swift,â my father, Justus, calls to me, playing his role well enough. Though, heâs forgotten that Iâm not plain âSwiftâ at the moment, but the dauntless ocean adventurerâCaptain Swift Corkscrewâa privateer, fearless in the face of all wrongdoing; a buccaneer resolute to make good on my oath to Empress Adara and set this sea safe from all piracy.
âKeep a weather eye on the horizon,â says Captain Justus.
But I canât mind my post of lookout right now. Not when foul acts of treason and pillaging have been committed by that picaroon, âJohnny Minnow,â whom I suspect is the dread Captain Ash Coxswain, Pirate Tormenter of the Cold Celtic Sea. I need only find the proof of his deceit.
Captain Justus, wise as he is, doesnât interfere nor does he question my business as I cross the deck and slip furtively into the trap door leading down to the galley.
Captain Justus gives me a supportive nod and trains his own gaze on the horizon, where a storm indeed brews.
I close the trap door and slink down the dark ladder into the galley.
âI know youâre in here, you trickster,â I speak to the darkness.
There isnât a sound in reply. Not a breath. Not a stifled laugh. Nothing.
I flick on my flashlight and turn a fast circle, training its beam all around and expecting that artist of duplicity, Johnny Minnow / Ash Coxswain, to leap out with his rapier and slay me.
Ash doesnât leap out, though. He doesnât seem to be anyplace down here.
But. My light brushes something that sparkles.
I kneel before the galley sink and throw back the dishtowel concealing its pipes.
âI knew it,â I whisper.
I clench a fistful of wealth from the troveâMonopoly money and glittering coins and real chocolate galleons and jewels so shining they seem made of sugar, and pearls so swollen and glossed they look fake.
âJohnny Minnow says heâs no more than an honest fishing lad,â I say. âBut here, I find evidence that heâs telling lies.â
I stand, cramming as much of the wealth as possible into my trouser pockets.
A voice hisses from the darknessââSo what if I lied?â
I spin and catch the swipe of a rapier blade on my own.
âI suspected you kept a dark secret.â I bear down on the marauder, the swindler. âYouâre not Johnny Minnow, the jolly fishing lad from bonny Bristol. Youâre the notorious pirate, Ash Coxswain! Admit it.â
With a mighty burst, the false Johnny Minnow throws me back against the sink. âThatâs Captain Ash Coxswain, Pirate Tormenter of the Cold Celtic Sea.â
Heâs wrapping both his hands around the hilt of his rapier, as though readying to plunge it straight through my body, to fasten my bones to his trove as a trophyâone more of a long line of souls that heâs claimed.
Ash lungesâI feign, and I spinâIâm behind him now, clenching him into a headlock and swiping his blade from his hand.
âYou think you can get away with murder, donât you?â I ask.
Ash shouts, âI have gotten away with murder.â
He struggles to get free, but canât. Ash is shirtless, as I am, and we stick to each other. My arm crossing his chest is as strong as a hawser rope.
âAnd Iâll get away with much worse,â says the villain.
Indeed, Ashâs elusiveness is his genius. Heâs clever enough at school to never get caught breaking rules. He even regularly springs meâhis best friendâfrom tight places.
But now itâs me, Captain Corkscrew, whoâs onto him.
âNot this time.â I cut free the dishcloth hanging over the sink pipes and with it, bind his wrists. âCaius the Magistrate is on board,â I tell him.
âCockle shardsânot Caius the Magistrate!â Ash squirms. âPlease, Iâll do anything. Iâll give you half of what Iâve plundered. Just donât deliver me to Caius the Magistrate.â
But the famed luck of the notorious Captain Ash Coxswain has run out because the galley trap door is opening, and at its brink stands the right noble Caius the Magistrate.
âWeâll be docking in a few minutes,â says Caius. âYou lads want to watch me lower the sails?â
Ordinarily, we would. But now that Iâve proven who our dear and doe-eyed Johnny Minnow really is, there are more important matters at hand.
âLet me watch him work the sails one last time,â says Ash. âBefore Iâm condemned.â
âQuiet, you!â I haul him to the ladder and force him to its top under the threat of a blade to his bottom.
âYouâll never believe it,â I tell Caius the Magistrate, once Ash and I are both out of the hole, Monopoly money and jewels overflowing both our pockets. âThis scoundrel, who we thought was a man of civilityâheâs the notorious Captain Ash Coxswain, Pirate Tormenter of the Cold Celtic Sea. Heâs robbed from every soul on this ship.â
Caius the Magistrate doesnât miss a beat. âItâll have to be a trial, then.â
Caius is the best older brother imaginable. It doesnât matter that heâs leaving for medical school in Bristol in a couple of weeks; it doesnât matter that heâs as tall as Justus and as magnificent as a Norse hero.
Despite everything that occupies him, Caius is clearheaded. He gets how important it is to address pirate offenses committed by eight-year-old boys.
âYou going to make me walk the plank?â Ash asks him.
Caius takes into his hand a fistful of jewels from Ashâs pocket and examines the evidence.
Some of the coins and rings have gone melty in the sun, and they stick to his fingers. âI have a much more fearsome fate in mind for you.â
Ash twists in my clutches. âCockle shards!â
I lead Ash to the deck, where Captain Justus can look on with his resolute eye, which always makes a sentencing feel more dire.
Caius stands on the steering deck before us. âFor crimes committed against this sovereign ship, I hereby convict Johnny Minnowâhereafter to be known as Captain Ash Coxswain, Pirate Tormenter of the Cold Celtic Seaâto suffer a hindrance in the race from this ship, over that wild coastâwhereon weâll shortly make landfallâto the gentle front porch of our beach house.â
âNooo!â cries Ash âMercy!â
âTo a counting of fifteen shall you wait, Captain Ash,â says Caius, âand if you still believe you can best Captain Corkscrew in a contest of speed, well⌠God be with you.â
Caius steps down from the steering deck solemnly, his hand covering his heart.
Caius passes me on his way to the foremast, and I canât take my eyes off him. He knows every inch of this ship and can command its sails as well as Justus can. Caius can read the weather by the feel of the wind, and he knows the seaâs temper by its waves. Caius can navigate bodies of water and human bodies alike, and he knows the name of each one of my bones.
Caius visits the sails, easing their flashing and fastening them to their masts.
I pick up a length of rope, loose on the deck and hand one end to Ash, which he grips with his towel-cuffed hands. Together we knot itâor try toâlike Caius is doing.
Ash watches Caius like I do, with awe in his eyes. Things are not happy for Ash at his home, and Iâm glad that heâs here and can share my big brother.
After a few moments, Caius has put all the sails to bed, and Captain Justus is steering the Regulus true to her berth. We cut to the coast through a cacophony of white frothy wavesâwaves splashing up spray and casting to us the tang of the sun-heated shallows, with their seaweed and salt-crusted reef tips and plankton and roe.
The second the Regulus touches her pier, I shoutââLandfall.â
I strip the dishtowel handcuffs from Ash and tear over the length of the ship.
I leap the gap stretching between the bow and the beach, andâdespite the chiding from Empress AdaraâIâm off, pounding the hardened sand and making for a woodland a hundred meters away.
Our beach house and its front porchâthe finish lineârests just on the other side of its trees.
Tragedy is narrowly averted when eight year-old Swift and his best friend and fellow pirate, Ash, suddenly discover the power of the restless sea.
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After being warned not to play by the water alone, Ash tumbles into the deep. Frantic, Swift calls for help. But no one comes. So he dives in after Ash - and emerges with a fractured friendship.
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Bewildered and confused by Ashâs sudden rejection post-rescue, Swift struggles with a friendship fabric torn asunder. As his older brother, Caius, helps Swift slowly realize he canât control others, Swift discovers the anguish and frustration that accompanies the desire to help someone who needs help but canât or wonât receive it.
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As Swift mourns a friendship gone south, he slowly learns that sometimes letting go is all thatâs left. And that change âis the nature of life.â But âhow not to lose oneself?â Swift wonders. âHow not to lose those you love in the face of unstoppable pain?"
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This is one of the most clever, contemplative books Iâve read all summer. In addition to a tightly woven plot, the author demonstrates a masterful command of the language in every paragraph thatâll keep you turning pages until the end.
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Propelled by delicious prose, Night Swiftly Falling is poignant and heartfelt. Itâs relatively short â just seven chapters. But this beautifully written novella packs a punch. Itâs poignant, honest, and hopeful all at the same time. An exceptional achievement.Â