Fellengrey

Thomas’s debut imagines a magical 18th century in which intrepid mariners and piratical villains contend at sea. Destined by lore for a nautical life, Hale Privet learns from traveler Noll Slate, actually the infamous mutineer Rye Blackbird, that even villains can be good-hearted and decent. This lesson, which re-emerges in the climactic scene, infuses a moral aspect into the nonstop action: ghostly encounters, mysterious damsels in distress, a comedy of errors when the wrong woman drinks a love potion, an island of little people, and fanatic assassins. Sea-moths, rump whales, and intelligent rats provide a mythic feel, and sea battles have authentic grittiness, but the two elements never quite marry. Fans of classic fantasy will appreciate a world where decency—and, of course, romance—can prevail despite the machinations of evil and the abundance of clichés. (Dec.)