Skulls X Bones

Edited by

David B. Coe & Joshua Palmatier

(Zombies Need Brains LLC, December 2025, 312 pp.)

“Half Life” by Steven Harper

“No Prey, No Pay” by Alex Bledsoe

“Caesar at Sea” by Alan Smale

“Of Scourge & Skulduggery” by E. J. Delaney

“The Judgement” by Violette Malan

“The Sea Wolf” by Adam Stemple

“Unmoorings” by Nemo Herndon

“Juggernaut” by Alena Van Arendonk

“The Pirate and the Frog” by Gloria Wickman

“Pirates of the Mississippi” by R. S. Belcher

“More Than Blood in the Water” by Jennifer Brozek

“Blackrock” by R. M. Olson

“Home by the Sea” by Misty Massey

“The Only Thing Worse Than Pirates” by C. C. Finlay

Reviewed by Victoria Silverwolf

As its title implies, this anthology collects new stories of imaginative fiction dealing with pirates. Tales set in the past, the present, the future, or in worlds that never existed offer a wide range of variations on the theme.

The narrator of “Half Life” by Steven Harper deals with supernatural problems in a fantasy version of the modern world in which numerous magical beings exist. She helps a pirate get back his heart, which he has literally given to a witch. (The heart, kept in an enchanted box, allows the pirate to live for many centuries.) In exchange, the witch demands that she undergo a dangerous quest to obtain an elixir that provides immortality.

This is a story that blends many different fantastic elements into its plot. In addition to what I have indicated in the above synopsis, there is also Mayan legend, Greek mythology, and a vampire involved. Some readers may find this a bit too much of a mixed bag. The mood ranges from serious philosophical musing about the nature of immortality to sheer silliness, particularly in the form of a minotaur that says “Moo.”

“No Prey, No Pay” by Alex Bledsoe takes place aboard a ship in a fantasy world of gods and monsters. Members of the crew are killed in gruesome ways by someone or something that puts everyone to sleep during the murders. It’s up to the protagonist to stop the slaughter before mutiny breaks out.

To some extent, this is also a whodunit (or whatdunit) with a rebellious member of the crew as a red herring. As such, it is not particularly distinguished. The plot proceeds as one would expect, with only a slight surprise at the end.

“Caesar at Sea” by Alan Smale begins with a real historical incident, in which a young Julius Caesar was captured by pirates and held for ransom. In our world, he was released after payment was made and eventually tracked down and executed the pirates. In this alternate version of events, he aligns himself with the pirates and even forms a very unlikely alliance with another famous figure from ancient history.

The author creates a convincing portrait of the time and place. Readers need to be familiar with the early career of Julius Caesar to fully appreciate the story. Others may not be sure where actual history ends and speculation begins. For those with the necessary background information, this is an interesting example of alternate history.

“Of Scourge & Skulduggery” by E. J. Delaney has the flavor of cyberpunk fiction. Operatives working for a corporation create virtual representations of a pirate ship as part of their effort to manipulate events. In addition to battling enemy virtual ships, the leader has to face the fact that the team’s employer is not what they thought it was.

I have explained the premise very badly, I think, because I found this story confusing. I never understood how virtual sea battles (perceived only by those with the proper implants) relate to events in the real world. The author’s narrative style is dense and full of unfamiliar allusions and vocabulary. Readers willing to make the effort to unravel the story’s enigmas will at least find something very unusual.

We return to a fantasy world in “The Judgment” by Violette Malan. The captain of a ship tries to frame another vessel for the acts of piracy he actually committed. His motive is the fact that he was exiled from his native people, who operate the ship he intends to blame, because he was unable to communicate telepathically with sea creatures like others of his kind. Frustrated in his effort to frame them, he pursues the ship instead, intending to capture it.

The psychic communication is the story’s most interesting aspect. In other ways, it is a familiar tale of pursuit and battle at sea. The climax comes very suddenly. The antagonist is the most memorable character, with his obsessive desire for revenge and his denial that the telepathic sea creatures even exist.

“The Sea Wolf” by Adam Stemple is a work of historical fantasy. The narrator, formerly an English privateer, now acts as a pirate for the Turks. When his crew captures an abandoned vessel, they discover a woman in chains aboard. Holding her for ransom, they discover she is not what she seems to be.

The reader is likely to figure out the woman’s nature long before the narrator does. The story ends with a twist that is unexpected but unconvincing. The historical background is more effective than the fantasy plot.

In “Unmoorings” by Nemo Herndon, an admiral hires the narrator, the former associate of a dead pirate, to aid him in his effort to track down and destroy the dead man’s ghost. The narrator is one of those who possess special abilities due to the fact that they survived nearly drowning. The quest leads to a battle between the living and the dead.

The story is vividly written, with evocative descriptions of the dead pirate’s ghost ship. The battle ends quickly, in a fashion that readers may find too simple. The relationship between the narrator and the pirate is ambiguous. They seem to be both lovers and enemies, which might seem confusing. On the other hand, it could be intended to reflect the fantasy premise that each person has a so-called anchor that keeps one bound until it is released.

“Juggernaut” by Alena Van Arendonk is set in a steampunk version of imperial England. The narrator is a secret agent of the empire carrying small items that provide enormous power. He is captured by rebels who want to use the devices in their effort to destroy the secret fortress of the empire that floats above London, hidden from the populace by the city’s heavy cloud of smoke.

Some aspects of this story will be very familiar to readers of steampunk fiction, particularly the use of airships. The immense weapon found inside the fortress is more original. Readers may find the narrator’s shift in loyalty too sudden to be fully believable.

“The Pirate and the Frog” by Gloria Wickman takes place in a fantasy world inhabited by anthropomorphized beings who resemble various animals. An amphibian hires the fish-like captain of a pirate ship and her crew of humanoid crustaceans and birds to obtain a valuable substance from a remote island, where it is guarded by mammalian soldiers. The amphibian has an additional motive as well.

The bizarre characters are the most intriguing aspect of this story. Without them, this would be an ordinary sea adventure. At times they seem too much like human beings, making it hard to picture them in their true forms.

“Pirates of the Mississippi” by R. S. Belcher takes place in a fantasy version of the United States, not long after the Civil War. The protagonist is the leader of a secret organization whose members use magic and martial arts to battle supernatural evils. She fights a being who kidnaps people and uses them as slave labor in his search for a treasure.

The historical background is convincing, and the premise of the organization is intriguing. The protagonist is so powerful, both in all forms of combat and in the use of magic, that she defeats her enemies easily. Even the main antagonist, who has his own supernatural abilities, is hardly a challenge.

In “More Than Blood in the Water” by Jennifer Brozek, a ship passes through a mysterious mist and winds up in unknown waters. The crew pulls a woman out of the sea, whom the captain intends to hold for ransom, expecting her ocean-dwelling kin to pay for her return. This turns out to be a bad idea.

Readers of the works of H. P. Lovecraft will quickly recognize allusions to a premise from his stories. Although this notion is used more for dark fantasy here than for cosmic horror, this familiarity lessens the story’s suspense. As with many tales of this kind, one has to question why characters who know they have captured a supernatural being fail to realize how dangerous it is.

“Blackrock” by R. M. Olson takes place on a space station that serves as a refuge for the desperate and the disreputable. The main character, who runs a tavern for the inhabitants, meets a woman whose companions were killed or captured by space pirates. After the woman takes revenge on the leader of the pirates, his crew returns in force to kill her.

A major premise of the story that I have not mentioned is that people who have traveled faster than light and then died come back as ghosts intent on killing the living. This fantasy concept seems out of place in what is otherwise a space opera. I have also not talked about the main character’s situation. This is an important part of the plot but makes me wonder why she did not act earlier.

In “Home By the Sea” by Misty Massey, a pirate captain who has magic powers and her crew discover an abandoned ship with a strange woman aboard. The woman demands that the crew tell her stories of their experiences, which drains them of life. The captain has to use her magic to avoid the same fate.

Readers of this anthology should realize by now that a mysterious woman on an empty ship or pulled out of the sea is going to be trouble. The premise of a story vampire is unique, but the plot plays out as one would expect.

“The Only Thing Worse Than Pirates” by C. C. Finlay takes place aboard a one-person spaceship hauling materials from the asteroid belt. A pirate ship approaches the vessel, and a small craft carries two women escaping from it to the cargo ship. The woman running the cargo ship, her artificial intelligence companion, and the two refugees have to work together to survive an attack and to prevent a disaster that threatens many thousands of people.

The story’s mood changes from grim to light, the latter in the form of the sardonic AI and the ship’s cat. At times this makes it difficult to take the characters’ desperate situation seriously. The climax is dramatic enough to satisfy the reader, at least.

The anthology as a whole is notable for the wide variety of speculative fiction it offers. With cyberpunk, steampunk, alternate history, other world fantasy, historical fantasy, dark fantasy, space opera, and hard science fiction, it has something to please the taste of almost any reader of imaginative stories. None of the works is destined to be a great classic, but each one offers a reasonable amount of escapist entertainment.

Victoria Silverwolf is not a pirate.