SYNOPSIS
Victorian London. Joseph Winter is a master criminal, known around the backstreets as Trace–because he never leaves one. That is, until a tip-off about a fabled treasure map turns sour, shattering his reputation and turning his dreams to dust. With nothing left to lose, Joseph decides to take the leap and persuades a group of interesting strangers to join him on the hunt. After taking to the waves, they are catapulted into a wonderous odyssey stretching across the globe, unearthing not only missing clues but their own hidden depths when pushed to extremes demanded by the sea. The treasure hunt leaves questions. Yet soon Joseph begins to ask his own...Why are they doing this? Who can I trust? Who am I now?
REVIEW
This is not your traditional hunt for treasure kind of book. It intricately weaves in not only a sense of adventure but also self-discovery, after being categorised by society as misfits and criminals this is their big break in life. Nothing is clearly black and white and Joseph Winter, our main character shares this exact concept.
The book itself is gripping as it not only gives us a fantastical treasure hunt to find the mysterious Scott's Trove but the realities of how life at sea is not always "plain sailing". Decisions have to be made to survive and to thrive in the new life that they have created for themselves. But despite this, we get to see vivid scenery and exciting new places on their journey, it truly is an odyssey, not only for travel but the mind as well.
The clues were interesting as well, they connected easily to the overall plot and seemed to take on stories for themselves which you can't help but wonder more about them. They are accessible in the best kind of way, especially for those who haven't really read this particular genre before.
This story really does have heart. Despite their beginnings, this book really does give a great message that you don't have to be confined by your history to go on to have a fantastic adventure. You just have to take the leap of faith. Trust most of all, that truly is the real adventure.
The question that should now be on everybody's lips is, what is next?
RATING: **** (FOUR STARS)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Alex Fisher grew up in Cambridgeshire with his parents and two sisters, and still lives there today. Alex says, “Despite the obvious beauty of the flat fields and ongoing horizon there is not much to do, and you need to be able to drive to get anywhere. My active imagination extended beyond childhood, although now I exchange action figures for blank sheets of paper and a keyboard.”Alex has learned many things whilst on the trowel and honed his skills these past few years so that he can build houses of a quality standard. He also has some experience in other trades too such as plastering, tiling, groundworks and drainage, but bricklaying is his main area of expertise. This, as well as creative writing. After an idea had been planted, he began writing Seadogs and criminals when he was 18, making sure to at least write for an hour a night after work. Toward the end of the book though, this turned into three and a half hours a night and became an obsession. It was a thrill to write, absorbing him into the story so much so that he became lost in the pages with the characters. It was a mixture of sadness and exaltation to finish the book and now, after years of proofreading and editing, he managed to self-publishSeadogs and Criminalsinto a series of two books, the second of which was published in August. Even though this is the end of a chapter, he somehow feels that this is not the end of the book. There is more to come and he is excited to discover where his journey leads next.
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