Happy Easter to those who celebrate it today! I hope your weather is wonderful and you can enjoy some outside time. I’ll be helping my little one hunt for eggs, so it should be exciting!

The Ship's Crew: A Marridon Novella by Michelle Franklin
Series: Marridon #3
Published by The Frewyn Herald on December 30th 2016
Genres: Fantasy
Pages: 90
Format: Kindle Edition
Source: Author
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Rating:

I received this book for free from Author in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

The crew of the HMS Myrellenos are about to receive a new addition. After having made contact with the Baracan, the secret underground in league with Prince Lamir of Lucentia, Captain Danaco is eagerly awaiting information that will bring him home as leader of the prince's rebellion, but after a mishap on the ship and a chance meeting at a local tea house, the captain will have to chose whether to harbour a wayward agent until the next missive from the prince arrives. The third in the Marridon novellas.

The Ship’s Crew is the third Marridon Novella and picks up right from the end of The Barrican. Captain Danaco is awaiting word back from Lucentia and in the meantime, the crew of the Myrellenos amuse themselves.

This is a whimsical, meandering piece for much of the story developing the characters of the crew and Danaco’s masterful handling of their eccentric and colorful personalities. Librarian- and yes, scientist- Bartleby keeps them all dancing with his verbal gymnastics and exacting demands whether it is fixing a hole in the deck, the precise way to read a manuscript, or the etiquette for serving tea. The man must have things ‘just-so’ and it is amusing to watch them all tweak his tail.

There is an advancement for Danaco with a message from Prince Lamir and a startling new person on the scene. Rannig and Bartleby are there with Danaco to help save the day. I am eager to see these revolutionaries especially Captain Danaco work to put Lamir on the Lucentian throne.

For those just encountering the series, this is not a good place to start. The Leaf Flute introduces this particular story arc though it also assumes the reader is somewhat familiar with the Haanta universe. I personally started with The Commander and the Den AsaanRaatu, which is where I always recommend newbies start, and read my way through the Tales of Frewyn series, Khantara, and then the on-line short stories on the author’s blog.

I enjoy any chance I get to slip into this fantasy world including this latest series of Marridon Novellas that tell of a Captain and his crew that help depose a tyrant from his throne and put the rightful heir in his place. These have an old-style fantasy feel, classical tones, entertaining characters, and witty dialogue (aka fun challenge learning obscure synonyms and lingual gymnastics).