Waters of Darkness (Pulp Hero Press, October 19, 2020). Cover uncredited.

Pulp Hero Press has reprinted David C. Smith and Joe Bonadonna’s classic sword & pirate novel Waters of Darkness. Joe and Dave are well known to readers of Black Gate, and their first collaboration was very warmly received when it first appeared from Damnation Books in 2013. Here’s a slice from William Patrick Maynard’s enthusiastic BG review, “Set Sail on the Waters of Darkness.”

The shade of Robert E. Howard lingers over every page of Waters of Darkness, the first collaboration by these two talented authors to see print.

The principal characters, Crimson Kate O’Toole and Bloody Red Buchanan, would have fit in nicely had this 17th Century swashbuckler first seen print in the pages of Weird Tales in the 1930s. A quest for fabled treasure sets these two buccaneers sailing for the Isle of Shadow in the far distant Eastern Seas. They find themselves combating an evil priest of Dagon and the sorcerer in his thrall along the way and most of the crew of the Raven pays the cost for their having crossed paths.

This book is extremely fast-paced and is perhaps the new pulp title that most closely rings with the authentic flavor of classic pulp. It is not surprising since David C. Smith was always among the top echelon of Robert E. Howard pastiche writers, and Joe Bonadonna has quickly established himself as a breath of fresh air in the new pulp world.

Together, the mixing of both men’s styles (classic pulp of the finest caliber with quirky and highly literate mixing of fantasy, hard-boiled humor, and an expansive cinematic vocabulary) produces what will doubtless be hailed as one of the finest new pulp titles of the year…. This has already been a strong year for new pulp, but this is one swashbuckler that isn’t likely to be equaled.

Waters of Darkness was published by Pulp Hero Press on October 19, 2020. It is 200 pages, priced at $14.95 in trade paperback and $4.99 in digital formats. The cover art is uncredited. Read a generous excerpt as part of our Black Gate Online Fiction imprint.

See all our coverage of new releases by Black Gate authors here.