About two years ago, right around the time Wolfgang was published in 2016, I met A. F. Stewart, an author of Horror and Fantasy literature. Since that time, I have read various works of hers, ranging from short stories to full length novels, and they keep impressing me. So here we are again, I having had the privilege to read the second story in her Saga of the Outer Isles series, Souls of the Dark Sea. It is nothing short of some good time high sea adventure fun. Here is my review and take on the story. Enjoy!

The nightmare crow returns in, Souls of the Dark Sea, by A. F. Stewart. The black bird once again plots to deal vengeance on the family of God’s who’s watched over the Outer Isles since the beginning. Using a deeper and darker plot to cause woe upon the land, the crow plants a new seed to deceive the gods.

A new darkness rises from the depths of the sea and our longtime hero-captain protagonist, Rafe Morrow, is set upon a quest he is not expecting.

One day, while the God of Souls is out searching for the dead to ferry to the afterlife, he comes across a battered ship torn upon the rocks with no evidence of the living--or the dead--except for one fortunate man. Something is out there eating the souls of humankind and it is up to Captain Rafe to figure out who or what it is. Written in the style of an adventure seafaring tale, elements of Pirates of the Caribbean mesh with the overtones of Indiana Jones as Captain Rafe sets out to recover ancient artifacts that must be used against the terrible terror below the ocean. With the help of his goddess sisters, he sails across dangerous and forbidden oceans to find the tools crucial to restoring the fate of the world.

Souls of the Dark Sea is the second in its series and aims to answer many of the impossible questions brought forth in the first book, Ghosts of the Sea Moon. How did the gods come to be? Why was there so much angst among the gods family? Why are they cursed? You get to learn a lot of history in part two and a family tree is included in the back of the book along with a new map to accompany you during your high sea adventure.

With fewer battles to be seen in this new edition, the ones that do occur are without a doubt more fantastical then its predecessor. Impossible outcomes wagered against impossible odds. The dead rising from the sea in monumental ocean swales attacking ships. The descriptions were incredible. Who will be victorious in this second book of magical-swashbuckling adventure? I won’t spoil it for you. But you will come to love or hate certain characters, this I can assure, and some from the past revisit.

I give the story a solid 4 out of 5 stars for its creativity and relativity to the first book. I thank the author for giving me the opportunity to read and review, Souls of the Dark Sea, before its release date.

~ F. D. Gross

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