Authors G - Ga
Gage, William H.
The Cruel Coast. New American Library, 1966. 243 pages
Disabled WW II U-boat seeks refuge on neutral island off Irish coast, takes advantage of fisherfolk.
Gaines, Charles (1922- ) & Esther E. Miles
Last Convoy to Europe. Writer's Club, 2001. 129 pages
A story of a voyage of the just commissioned Liberty Ship Peter J. Lipscomb during the waning days of World War II, featuring a young narrator and his alcoholic Captain.
Gallery, Daniel V. (1901-1977)
"Fatso" Gioninni series:
Now, Hear This! Norton, 1965. 254 pages
Fatso Gioninni's adventures aboard the USS GUADACANAL in the Mediterranean. Fatso has wangled the job of the ship's incinerator operator, the better to run his numerous rackets and shenanigans.
Stand By-y-y to Start Engines. Norton, 1966. 218 pages
Adventures of the pilots aboard the GUADACANAL in the Med. Fatso is in this one, but this book shows how the officers can raise every bit as much Hell as the enlisted personnel.
Cap'n Fatso. Norton, 1969. 192 pages
Fatso now "commands" an LCU in the Med. He ends up stranded when his mother ship is sent to Viet Nam, and the Suez is subsequently closed due to the 1967 Arab-Israeli War. He uses the opportunity to irritate the Russian Navy, while cruising the Eastern Med in search of fun.
"Away Boarders". Norton, 1971. 190 pages
Cap'n "Fatso" Gioninni and his inimitable crew wage a Mediterranean war with the Russian navy, become enmeshed in an Arab-Israeli caper, and emerge smelling of roses.
The Brink. Doubleday, 1968. 317 pages
American nuclear submarine nukes a Russian destroyer in the arctic, causing all kinds of embarassment and possibly WW III, not a comedy.
Gallico, Paul (1897-1976)
The Snow Goose. Knopf, 1941. 37 pages
Against the backdrop of the Dunkirk evacuation during World War II, friendship develops between a lonely crippled painter and a village girl, when together they minister to an injured snow goose.
The Poseidon Adventure. Coward-McCann, 1969. 347 pages
The luxury liner "Poseidon" is hit by a massive tsunami on New Year's Eve, rocking the ship upside down; and a small ban of trapped survivors must work their way through the labyrinth of the ships' underbelly to escape.
Beyond the Poseidon Adventure. Delacorte, 1978. 237 pages
Three survivors return to the ship, Poseidon, where they find pirates who have come to plunder.
Gann, Ernest K. (1910-1991)
Fiddler's Green. Sloane, 1950. 302 pages
Criminal on the run hides out by going commercial fishing in a boat based in San Francisco. Filmed as "Raging Tide".
Twilight for the Gods. Sloane, 1956. 306 pages
The owner-captain of the CANNIBAL, one of the last commercial sailing vessels, attempts to take his hogged and decaying barkentine from Suva to Mexico in October 1927. Captain Bell has a checkered past and a drinking problem, and the crew and passengers are all misfit has-beens. The movie of this one starred Gann's own brigantine, the ALBATROS.
Song of the Sirens. Simon and Schuster, 1968. 318 pages
Gann's experiences aboard his seventeen "wonderful sirens" (i.e. sailing vessels)
Gannon, Michael (1927-2017)
Secret Missions. HarperCollins, 1994. 359 pages
Semi-nautical. German spy is landed by U-boat in Florida in early 1942. A Catholic priest learns of the spy's presence during confession, and sets out to stop the spy, while maintaining the confidentiality of the confession. Then they stumble on the Dolittle raiders practicing for their Tokyo mission. Much of the action involves ASW off the Florida coast. Most of the action takes place on, or over, water. A fun novel.
Gant, James
Columbus. Sphere, 1971. 235 pages
Yet another fictionalized Columbus bio, with the focus on his first American expedition. Despite the claim above the title on the cover, this novel never became "a major motion picture starrring Omar Sharif".
Gardner, Erle Stanley (1889- 1970)
The Case of the Substitute Face. William Morrow, 1938. 308 pages
When Perry Mason meets Mrs. Carl Newberry on a vacation cruise. Mrs. Newberry suspects that her husband embezzled the company he worked for and their new-gotten fortune is illegal. She turns to Mason for legal advice, and mentions during the interview that a signed portrait of their daughter, who looks quite similar to a well-known movie star, has been stolen from her suitcase. When Mr. Newberry dies suddenly and his wife is left holding his hefty money belt, Perry wonders if his grieving client is really a black widow.
Garfield, Leon (1921-1996)
Jack Holborn. Longman, 1964. 199 pages
A pirate story for younger readers set in the 18th century. A young orphan stows away and then falls in with a gang of pirates. The pirate captain claims to know who Jack's father was, and strikes a strange bargain with him. If Jack saves the captain's life three times, the captain will tell the boy who his father really is.
Child O'War. Collins, 1972. 127 pages
Again, written for younger readers. The fictionalised memoirs of Sir John Lee, an officer in the Royal Navy who was present at the Battle of the Nile, amongst other events.
Garford, Lyle
The Evan Ross series:
Dockyard Dog. Self published, 2016. 346 pages
In 1784 Lieutenant Evan Ross serves as a spy for Nelson against the smugglers, but they aren't his only foe. French and American spies supporting the smugglers are playing for far higher stakes, sowing the seeds of violent unrest. Lieutenant Ross is soon in the midst of desperate action and working with a beautiful slave woman to gain information as he struggles to stop to their plot..
The Sugar Revolution. Self published, 2016. 324 pages
In 1787 a family of rich, young French nobles travel to the island of St. Lucia to promote freedom from slavery throughout the Caribbean. But they know that will take more than talk to achieve success. In secret they are distributing weapons to runaway slaves on both British and French islands, using fear of a slave revolution to force plantation owners to change. With plantations burning and owners murdered in their beds, Commander Evan Ross and Lieutenant James Wilton are tasked with finding out who is behind the violence and ending it. But French and American spies are prowling Caribbean waters and more is at stake than Commander Ross knows. .
The Sugar Sacrifice. Self published, 2017. 330 pages
A representative of the new French revolutionary government arrives to assume command of the island of St. Lucia and royalist supporters are forced to flee or be sent to the guillotine. Staunch royalist supporter Captain Marcel Deschamps is imprisoned on St. Lucia as a spy for the British. Commander Evan Ross and Lieutenant James Wilton are tasked with finding out what has happened to their source and saving him if possible. While on reconnaissance their agent Manon Shannon, Lieutenant James Wilton's lover, is captured and imprisoned.
The Sugar Rebelion. Self published, 2018. 318 pages
In 1796 war with revolutionary France has turned the Caribbean into a battleground for the last three years. On the island of Grenada a young leader, Julien Fedon, is inspired by the success of the slave revolution in St. Domingue. Taking advantage of the turmoil, his rebel forces strike at their British masters. With the conflict a bloody stalemate and all except the capital of Grenada under rebel control, the British despair as no troops can be spared to turn the tide. The beleaguered British turn to Commander Evan Ross and Lieutenant James Wilton to infiltrate the rebels.
The Sugar Inferno. Self published, 2019. 209 pages
With the flow of desperately needed riches from Saint Domingue to France badly disrupted a new French administrator is sent to Saint Domingue to assume control. Joining him in support are two devious French spies who British Royal Navy officers Evan Ross and James Wilton have battled with before. But the local black leaders have their own ideas about who should be in charge in Saint Domingue. British Army General Thomas Maitland seeks to reverse British fortunes with the support of Captain Ross and Commander Wilton. The two Navy officers find themselves in a tangled web of alliances and deadly strife while cannons blaze as they struggle to find a clear path to victory over the French.
The Admiral’s Pursuit. Self published, 2020. 297 pages
Final novel of the series. The Caribbean becomes the centre of a desperate hunt to bring the French to battle with Nelson and his fleet. To help Nelson’s pursuit Captain Evan Ross and Commander James Wilton must sort through a tangled web of rumours spread by master French spy Hubert Montdenoix.
Garner, Hugh (1913-1979)
Storm Below. Collins, 1949. 227 pages
HMCS RIVERFORD fights boredom, the enemy and the weather, as she escorts a convoy across the Atlantic to Newfoundland in 1943. An accident, a few days from arrival, results in the death of one of her seamen and the Captain thinks it appropriate to retain his body on board so he can be buried ashore rather than at sea. A novel of the war at sea, but really a well observed study of the Canadians who crewed these ships.
Garnett, Richard
The Undersea Treasure. Vanguard, 1960. 191 pages
Teenagers dive for 50-yr-old treasure.
Garrett, George P. (1929-2008)
Death of the Fox. Doubleday, 1971. 739 pages
A study of Sir Walter Raleigh
Garrison, Paul [pseud. Justin Scott] (1952- )
Fire and Ice. Morrow, 1998. 389 pages
Drs. Michael & Sarah Stone use their yacht as a traveling western Pacific medical clinic and refuge from their past. Leaving Michael on a remote deserted atoll to tend a dying islander, Sarah and their daughter answer a distress call from a LNG carrier that really has no business being in that area in the first place. Michael watches in disbelief as his yacht is hoisted onto the ship, which then sails off, leaving him alone on the atoll. He has nothing but a primitive and damaged canoe with which to save himself and find his wife and daughter. Finding them, of course, involves finding out what they accidentally stumbled into, avoiding assassins who seem to know everything he does before he does it, dealing with some very dangerous people in Hong Kong and Shanghai, and lots of exciting sailing.
Red Sky at Morning. Morrow, 2000. 384 pages
An armada of Chinese submarines filled with soldiers has launched an attack on Manhattan, aiming to hold the city and the United States hostage. Tugboat captain Ken Hughes and his new love, book editor Kate Ross, are swept up by events. Ken is captured by Chinese Admiral Tang Li, who wishes to be emperor of China, while Kate escapes to try and warn a disbelieving Gotham.
Buried at Sea. Morrow, 2002. 400 pages
Physical training expert Jim Leighton knows nothing about sailing boats, but signs on for what should be a pleasant and profitable body-conditioning six-week ocean voyage to Rio as the personal trainer of an elderly and eccentric capitalist, Will Spark. They will sail alone on Spark's new diesel-powered sailboat, the Hustle. But Jim soon finds himself on a wilder ride than he had expected, forced to crisscross the Atlantic to escape Will's implacable enemies.
Sea Hunter. Morrow, 2003. 352 pages
Grief-stricken after scattering his former lover's ashes at sea, journalist-turned-sailor David Hope is rushing back to Tortola in the Leewards (where he ekes out a living chartering his catamaran, Oona, to scuba-diving tourists) when he sees a dolphin as large as a killer whale. Arriving back in Tortola, Hope finds his much-needed end-of-the-season charter-which was to provide the money for long-overdue boat repairs-has canceled. Serendipitously, he is approached by Sally Moffitt, an underwater filmmaker intent on making a film on the breeding habits of short-snouted spinner dolphins. She charters his boat, and they scarcely make it out to sea when they encounter the giant dolphin. After the sighting, they are invited aboard a huge, anachronistic sailing vessel owned by a wealthy naturalist, Bill Tree, who is doing suspicious research on dolphins. While they're aboard, Tree bugs the Oona so he can eavesdrop on Hope and Moffitt, and all are led north by the dolphin, which is soon revealed to be a "killphin," programmed for a mission of doom.
The Ripple Effect. Morrow, 2004. 416 pages
In 2001, the Page brothers, Aiden and Charlie, are in their World Trade Center office plotting a way to prop up the failing investment banking business they helm and at the same time respond to a threatening letter from the Department of Justice. Suddenly, a passenger jet slams into the building, and the fiery aftermath presents a possible solution. In the heavy smoke the brothers become separated, but each escapes the building and disappears. Months later, Aiden's 15-year-old daughter, Morgan, is mourning the loss of her father and Uncle Charlie in the Trade Center disaster when she receives a three-second silent phone call that she insists is from her father. No one believes her, so she runs away and makes a 6,000-mile journey in a 27-foot sailboat to search for him. The brothers, each unaware that the other is alive, flee independently to Blind Man Island, the South Sea hideaway of their boss, the secretive Henry Ho Hong--even though Henry may have been the man who turned them in to the Justice Department. The brothers' journey is fast-paced and exciting, but spunky Morgan's heroic solo sail is the real nail-biter.
Garstin, Crosbie (1887-1930)
China Seas. Chatto & Windus, 1930. 279 pages
Captain Alan Gaskell sails the perilous waters between Hong Kong and Singapore with a secret cargo: a fortune in British gold.
Penhale Trilogy:
The Owl's House. F. A. Stokes, 1923. 393 pages
Ortho Penhale becomes involved in smuggling and is eventually carried off by Barbary pirates.
High Noon. F. A. Stokes, 1925. 331 pages
Ortho Penhale escapes from a British warship, rejoins the fleet in time for a battle with the French, and returns to England to marry. His marriage is so unhappy, Ortho is forced back to sea.
The West Wind. F. A. Stokes, 1926. 345 pages
Ortho finishes his glorious life afloat in a final gesture of noble self-sacrifice.
Garve, Andrew [pseud. Paul Winterton] (1908-2001)
The Megstone Plot. Harper, 1956. 182 pages
Clive Easton, to raise a substantial sum to maintain the very desirable Isobel, agrees to her preposterous plan which involves his disappearance for a time on an island, some misleading manoeuvers which will tag him as a traitor, an ambiguous parting letter to another girl, and his eventual return to put in a sizeable claim for damages. Marooned on the Megstone, an injury makes him a genuine castaway and he endures a real ordeal and he return to face not only the suspicion of a ubiquitous reporter- but also betrayal.
The Narrow Search. Harper, 1957. 153 pages
A mother searches English canals for her kidnapped daughter on a narrow boat.
The Cuckoo Line Affair. Harper, 1953. 212 pages
A Hero for Leanda. Harper & Row, 1959. 182 pages
Gaunt, Michael
Belle Isle. Hodder & Stoughton, 1957. 320 pages
In 1760 England and France have been at war for 5 years, therefore David Hepburn, a bilingual Engish naval officer takes on the identity of a French planter's son from the West Indies when he's shipwrecked off the Breton Coast.
The Invaders. Hodder & Stoughton, 1959. 252 pages
David Hepburn returns as a captain of marines to Belle Isle, French stronghold in the Bay of Biscay.
Gavin, Catherine
The Devil in Harbour. Morrow, 1968. 310 pages
WW I romance, Battle of Jutland.