Authors K - Kei
Karig, Walter, (1898-1956)
Don't Tread on Me : a novel of the historic exploits, military and gallant, of Commodore John Paul Jones with eye-witness accounts of his many engagements related by the then Midshipman Manesseh Fisher. Bantam, 1954. 311 pages
Katcha, Vahé (1928-2003)
The Sea Duel. Avon, 1970. 234 pages
During WW II a Japanese captain and US surgeon hold power of life and death over each other, neither will give an inch.
Katz, William (1940- )
North Star Crusade. Putnam, 1976. 287 pages
Executive officer of US nuclear missile submarine takes over his boat and tries to start WW III by sinking a Russian ship and lobbing missiles at the US.
Kauffman, Reginald Wright (1877-1995)
Barbary Bo : passages from the recollections of Martin Rowntree. Penn, 1929. 261 pages
The Rowntree chronicles: How he lost the government gold and tried to find it. How he served as cabin-boy to Capt. Wm. Bainbridge (U.S. frigate Philadelphia) and was enslaved by the Barbary pirates. How he fought under Lieutenant Stephen Decatur aboard the U.S. ketch Intrepid, against the buccaneers' nest at Tripoli, extracted out of the Roundtree family papers
Kavanagh, Patrick (1950- )
Gaff Topsails. Cormorant, 1996. 431 pages
A Newfoundland fishing village reflects the souls of its colorful inhabitants.
Kay, Ross
Dodging the North Sea Mines : the adventures of an American boy. Barse & Hopkins, 1915. 249 pages
WW I tale.
The Go-Ahead Boys and the Racing Motor-Boat. Barse & Hopkins, 1920. 254 pages
The boys embark on an innocent expedition, a race from Yonkers, New York to the Saint Lawrence Valley, but soon run afoul of evil-doers; in this case crude canal-boat men, apparently a less desirable element around this time. Kay also uses this as an opportunity to impart some useful information about canals around the world.
Keating, Mark
Patrick Devlin series:
The Pirate Devlin. Grand Central, 2010. 343 pages
U.K. title: Fight for Freedom. Sold by his father as a child for four guineas, captain's servant Patrick Devlin knows how cheap a man's life can be. But his instinct for survival is strong, and when his master's ship is sunk by pirates, Devlin makes his choice – to trade his servile existence for a life of dangerous liberty.
Hunt for White Gold. Hodder & Stoughton, 2011. 436 pages
Only one material enables the kings, queens and rising middle classes of Europe to drink without burning their fingers on the handles of their cups - Chinese porcelain. A letter has gone missing which has the formula for the manufacture of Chinese porcelain, and whoever can find the letter can name his price - and even change the course of history, by enriching the nation that owns the secret. Valentim Mendes, a Portugese noble who has crossed swords with Devlin before, now seeks to blackmail him into finding the letter.
Blood Diamond. Hodder & Stoughton, 2012. 334 pages
Fearles pirate captain Devlin is invited to London by the Prince of Wales, no less, and offered an amnesty if he will carry out a daring crime. Devlin is tasked with going to Paris to steal the biggest, most valuable diamond ever found - the Pitt Diamond - now in the possession of the French Prince Regent.
Cross of Fire. Hodder & Stoughton, 2013. 420 pages
The pirate Olivier Levasseur, 'the Buzzard', has captured the greatest ship ever to sail the high seas, the Virgin of the Cape, a Portuguese ship carring a solid gold cross seven feet long: The Fiery Cross of Goa. Levasseur is hiding somewhere in the Indian Ocean, but Patrick Devlin is on his tail. However, Devlin's former master, and bitter enemy, John Coxon, has been sent to kill him. Devlin traverses Guinea and the slave coasts of Africa and the pirate islands of the Seychelles with the Royal Navy blocking his path, his old pirate enemies hunting him and his murderous former master hot on his heels.
Keegan, Mel
Fortunes of War. Gay Men's Press, 1995. 347 pages
In the spring of 1588, two young men fell in love: an Irish mercenary, Dermot Channon, serving the Spanish ambassador in London, and the son of an English earl, Robin Armagh. After Dermot had to leave England due to impending war with Spain, Robin despaired of hearing from him again. But when Sir Francis Drake leads a fleet bound for Panama, Robin sails with him to ransom a kidnapped brother. His ship is attacked by privateers, commanded by Dermot Channon. The couple's adventures together on the Spanish Main make a swashbuckling romance in the best gay pirate tradition.
Keene, Brian
Dead Sea. Leisure Books, 2007. 337 pages
As zombies, driven by the need to kill and feed off human flesh, terrorize the streets, a small group of survivors finds a safe haven in an old Coast Guard ship out at sea where their isolation soon becomes their downfall. The shorter, self-published sequel, (Entombed: Deadite Press, 2011) has no maritime component.
Keeton, G. W. [George Williams] (1902-1989)
Mutiny in the Caribbean. G. Bell & Sons, 1940. 273 pages
A Sea Story for Boys
Keffer, James (1963- )
Hornblower's Legacy Series
Hornblower and The Island. Penmore, 2021. 284 pages
Brewer and the Barbary Pirates. Penmore, 2019. 378 pages
Brewer's Luck. Penmore, 2015. 376 pages
Brewer's Revenge. Penmore, 2017. 364 pages
Brewer and the Portuguese Gold. Penmore, 2020. 404 pages
Brewer and the Black Rose. Penmore, 2022. 396 pages
Hornblower and the Journey Home. Penmore, 2021. 338 pages
Brewer’s Private War. Penmore, 2023. 384 pages
Kei, M.
Pirates of the Narrow Seas series:
The Sallee Rovers. Keibooks, 2011. 280 pages
Lt. Peter Thorton of the 18th century British navy must struggle to come out gay while surviving storms at sea, ship to ship battles, duels, kidnapping, and more in his quest for true love and honor.
Men of Honor. Keibooks, 2011. 290 pages
Peter Thorton and his lover set out on a quest to rescue a captive duke who is the pretender to the throne of Portugal. Thorton is arrested and placed on trial for desertion and sodomy.
Iron Men. Keibooks, 2011. 252 pages
Back in service with the British navy, Lt. Peter Thorton suffers misfortunes in love and war. Temporarily placed in charge of His Britannic Majesty's frigate Ajax, he is badly outnumbered by the vengeful Spanish and must fight his way free with the assistance of the dishonored HMS Resolute. On the way back to England he must ferret out mutiny and balance friendship against honor, only to be arrested once again, and face a final showdown with his old nemesis, Captain Bishop.
Heart of Oak. Keibooks, 2011. 248 pages
Lt. Peter Thorton's divided loyalties are tested in the crucibles of love and war. A pawn in the war for Portuguese independence, he is marked for revenge by the Spanish, and comes perilously close to losing both his life and ship. Discarded by friends and lovers, his health wrecked, and at the nadir of his career, he discovers what really matters and must make a choice that will seal his fate.
Man in the Crescent Moon. Keibooks, 2013. 232 pages
Isam Tangueli is a gangly youth of nineteen, longing to leave home and become a famous corsair, and trying to understand his attraction to men. He joins the crew of the Grey Wolf and fights the Spanish on land, at sea, and under water. Under the command of the short but feisty Rajet Rais, young Isam learns the skills of navigation and leadership necessary to become "Captain Tangle," the most notorious corsair of the age.
The Sea Leopard. Keibooks, 2014. 280 pages
Isam Rais, captain of the xebec, Sea Leopard, is on a swashbuckling adventure in the Mediterranean Sea. Battling unfriendly allies as much as his enemies, he plays a deadly game of cat and mouse with a much more powerful frigate, only to see victory snatched from his grasp by the resolution of the opposing captain. In debt and needing to repair his fortunes, he accepts a dangerous commission from the Dey of the Sallee Republic to hunt pirates—Muslim pirates—disloyal to the country that gives them refuge.
Keith, Bill [pseud. William H. Keith, Jr.] (1950- )
Sharuq. HarperCollins, 1993. 313 pages
Arabs buy Soviet Oscar-class SSGN, and use it to torpedo US supertankers in the Carribean. The US responds by hunting down the sub with a "carrier submarine" that hosts mini-sub "fighter" craft.
Stingray. HarperCollins, 1994. 314 pages
Second and final novel of this abortive series.