
Ahoy, me hearties! Season 2 of Our Flag Means Death has been announced, and even though we still don’t have a definite date, we know it’s coming later this year in October. There are still a couple of months to wait until its release, but don’t despair! In the meantime, you can get your fix of pirates with some of the excellent indie books I compiled in this list. Plenty of swashbuckling and seafaring adventures in these standalone or series-starter novels.
1. Sinking Sands, by Monica Boothe
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Sinking Sands is a 17th-century swashbuckling adventure filled with mystery, romance, and a splash of magic. Great for readers who like enemies-to-lovers romances and plot twist novels.
2. Sailing by Orion’s Star, by Katie Crabb
Sailor Nicholas Jerome wants to leave his father’s pirate past behind. Joining a new crew, he gains a chosen younger brother in René Delacroix, grandson of Jamaica’s cruel governor.
While the Delacroix household becomes unbearable, René finds solace in the stories of Robin Hood-like pirate Ajani Danso. An uprising against colonialism begins and Jerome and René must decide what part they take in it.
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Sailing by Orion’s Star is the origin story of The Constellation Trilogy, a familial epic spanning from 1695 to 1718. The trilogy pulls on the hidden threads of the past and uncovers the truth behind who pirates really were—people of color, poor sailors, desperate runaways, women, and queer people—an army of all nations who dared to fight for a better world.
3. The Rusted Lantern, by Bill Patterson
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The Rusted Lantern seamlessly weaves historical facts with fanciful fiction to create a tapestry of fantasy that will hook the reader from the very first page. This coming-of-age, young adult mystery is for readers of all ages who crave a pulse-pounding adventure full of excitement, danger, and romance.
4. Return, by Elliott Baker
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Rapier sharp pulse pounding action across the warp and weave of the seventeenth century. Sailing ships, pirates, and past lives contend in this first book of an award-winning trilogy.
5. Endless Seas: Never Meet Your Idols, by John Champaign
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6. The Tryphon Odyssey, by S.D. Howarth
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7. The Journey, by Kelsey Ketch
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8. Graveyard Gods, by Steve Higgs, Joseph Daniel & Bryan Arneson
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The currents sweep east, but the dead float south. This corpse laden tide carries with it the destinies of a tomb raider, a knight turned captain, and an empire fraying at the seams.
9. Murdoch’s Choice, by Wayne D. Kramer
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10. The Bloody Chorus, by John Marco
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A murdered ruler. Magic on the march. Can a band of avenging misfits save their homeland from a ruinous war?
11. The Empress of Timbra, by Karen Healey & Robyn Fleming
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Award-winning author Karen Healey and co-writer Robyn Fleming have created thrilling high fantasy adventure in an intricate world of magic and intrigue.
12. The Brotherhood of the Black Flag, by Ian Nathaniel Cohen
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An empire in peril. A quest for redemption. The high-seas adventure of a lifetime!
13. The Roar of the Lost Horizon, by K.N. Salustro
Nate’s magic makes him a perfect candidate to work on a ship for the imperial navy. Everyone skilled with magic must serve the empire, but Nate’s ability is not strong enough. Captain Arani offers Nate a life free of the empire on her ship, not out of the good in her heart, mind you, only Nate’s magic will help her track something she’s been looking for.
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14. Wrath of the Olympus, by E.M. Kkoulla
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The Roman Empire never fell. The Gods are real. Ships are alive.
15. Staked: A Vampire’s Tale, by Kim Catanzarite
Ellery Page inherits a failing bookstore and a falling-down mansion in the quaint seaside village of Pirate’s Cove on Buck Island, Rhode Island. While it may seem as every aspiring writer’s dream, things take a turn for the worse when he finds rival bookseller Trevor Maples dead, and the murder weapon is the cutlass hanging over the door of Ellery’s bookstore.
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16. India Bones and the Ship of the Dead, by Set Sytes
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India Bones and the Ship of the Dead is the first book in a thrilling new pirate fantasy series, featuring the adventurous exploits of the young India Bones in an exotic yet dangerous world as different from our own as it is similar.
17. Leeward, by Katie Daysh
A victorius battle leaves Captain Hiram Nightingale physically and mentally wounded, and he is now tasked with hunting down a mutinous ship. The mission is more complex than he expected and he finds himself entangled in a web of secrets, with a crew that doesn’t fully accept him, and figures from his past trying to bring him down.
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A deeply poignant tale of naval warfare, political intrigue and a love between two men that stands tall in an unaccepting world. Perfect for fans of Hornblower, Sharpe and Outlander.
18. The Calamities of Camden Callahan, by Brittany Tucker
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19. Heart of the Sea, by Moriah Chavis
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20. Emerald of the Sea, by Kimberly Pearl
The merchant ship is the only home Emma’s ever known, but she’s tired of the captain’s lies and she’s planning to leave it for good as soon as they hit the next port. Her plans are disrupted and she finds herself running away with a man she probably won’t see ever again, and for whom she’s started developing feelings.
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Bonus!
Because not all pirates are bound to the seas, we also get some sky pirates!
21. Savage Skies, by Kat Ross
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22. Bones to the Wind, by Tatiana Obey
As a coming-of-age ritual, every child must succeed a trial, and Rasia is determined to break every record. Rasia’s biggest obstacle is being trapped in the same ship as Nico, who’s focused on helping her little brother succeed in the trial to avoid getting him banished by their father. Nico needs to find the ship her brother is in before he gets killed by whatever lives in the desert.
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Bones to the Wind is a coming-of-age sword and sorcery fantasy adventure. Action-packed and humorous, the novel includes strong female characters, LGBTQIA+ representation, and mature themes. It is appropriate for a NA/Adult audience, 18+.
23. A Canopy of Stars, by R.J. Louis
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Outgunned. Outnumbered. Outmatched. Under pressure and fighting for their lives. This is when The Kingfisher’s wild crew shines brightest. They must live recklessly, or die trying. But sooner or later, their luck is going to run out…
24. Broken Sky, by Morgan K. Bell
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25. River in the Galaxy, by Natalie Kelda
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In River in the Galaxy Merlon fights to keep his crew alive and suppress his prolonged grief and depression. But he must face his own struggles in order to protect the ship and the people aboard.
Please share with me your favourite indie high seas and swashbuckling adventures in the comments.


























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