Absalom’s Wake, Part Six: The Eye Of Tangaroa by Nancy A. Collins

Biting Dog Publications, 2014

ASIN:  B00I3L72UE

Available:  eBook(Kindle, Nook, Smashwords)

Absalom’s Wake, Part Six: The Eye of Tangaroa completes the tale of Jonah Padgett, and the ship known as Absalom.  The story picks up with Koro escaping into the sea, leaving his friend, Jonah, facing the angry looks of his shipmates.  “The man’s a wizard!” declares the crew, preparing to throw Jonah to the sharks.  Jonah is saved by the mercy of Captain Godward, who puts him into the small dinghy normally used to taxi about when in harbor,  now towed behind the Absalom.  Rations are thin, to say the least.  The crew sets about the business of hunting King Jim’s harem.  Jonah can only watch as the first kills are brought in.  King Jim’s response is fast and deadly.  The Absalom and all hands, save one, Jonah, go to Davy Jones‘ locker.  King Jim, better known as Tangaroa, Lord of the Ocean, has avenged his brides.  Jonah is all alone on the open sea.  His supplies dwindling, he must struggle to survive.  All is lost, except for one hint of hope; Koro!

Part six is a fine ending to the series and I enjoyed reading all of it.  The tone continued in this part and flowed well.  The multiple plot lines came together efficiently and with good result to make for a great ending.  The characters voices continued to keep me engaged.  The tension built as each conflict point emerged and was resolved.  The ending itself was really good.  My only criticism is the large number of typographical errors in this part: these really disrupted the story.  I found multiple cases of either repeated words or tenses and just outright missing words that made me guess what the author was trying to say.  I cannot overlook errors of this sort, and it is an unfortunate flaw in the conclusion of what is otherwise a great story. While The Eye of Tangarora is not up to the standards of the previous parts of the story, the series overall I would give a “Recommended” Rating.  Previous works by this author I have read are: Absalom’s Wake, Part One: Gone A’ Whaling; Absalom’s Wake, Part Two: Blood on the Beach; Absalom’s Wake, Part Three: The Whale Rider; Absalom’s Wake, Part Four: Terror Comes Aboard; Absalom’s Wake, Part Five: Ocean Born. 

Reviewed by Aaron Fletcher

Note: Absalom’s Wake is a six-part ebook serial. Check out these reviews of earlier parts of the story!

Absalom’s Wake, Part One: A Serial Adventure of Terror on the High Seas

Absalom’s Wake, Part Two: Terror on the Beach

Absalom’s Wake, Part Three: The Whale Rider

Absalom’s Wake, Part Four: Terror Comes Aboard

Absalom’s Wake, Part Five: Ocean Born