The Black Ship, (A Crosspointe Novel), by Diana P. Francis

Description:
Thorn is a member of the Pilot’s Guild—those who possess the magical ability to navigate Crosspointe’s deadly seas. When a malevolent master within the Guild bans him from the sea, it seems his life is over. Then he is kidnapped and forced to serve aboard the rogue ship Eidolon—pitch black from bow to stern—and Thorn finds himself battling a mad captain, a mutinous crew, and the terrifying magic of the sea.

But there is a saboteur on board, trying to make sure the Eidolon never arrives safely in port. Thorn begins to realize his kidnapping may have been no mere chance— and that the cargo the black ship carries may seal his doom… 

Review:
The Black Ship is the second novel of Crosspointe, not a true sequel it can stand on its own.  The novel doesn't follow the main protagonists of the first novel, although there are some cameos late in the book.  

As the book starts we are introduced to Sylbrac, a Pilot who is attending the guild's special meeting. We learn that Sylbrac is no friend to the rest of his guild, deliberately antagonizing himself from the group by tempting the gods to curse him with bad luck. At the end of the guild's summit, when each Pilot is given an assignment, Sylbrac is astonished to find he will be grounded for the season.

Devastated, Sylbrac wanders through Crosspointe, losing track of time he is soon weak and disoriented. At this point he is kidnapped by rogue seamen and spirited away. When it becomes clear that his guild has essentially sold Sylbrac to the rogue crew, he changes his name to Thorn and agrees to pilot a doomed voyage on a black ship.

As the ship, the Eidolon, attempts to get under-way they are plagued by a series of misfortunes. They are attacked by unknown men, the captain may be crazy, the crew will probably mutiny and someone has poisoned the water supply. In spite of these challenges, Thorn attempts to raise crew moral by pulling them together. His attempts seem to fail, and when he is injured, it appears as though ship moral can't get any lower. At this point the ship encounters pyrate ships, giant waves and other dangers on the sea. It seems as though the voyage is cursed to end before they begin.

Francis does a wonderful job creating intrigue and building her characters. The main characters, Thorn, Captain Plusby and Halford are all well constructed and fleshed out.  As the novel progresses we find Thorn changing and we see the ties that are creating strong friendships between him and the rest of the crew.  Their personal stories are very strong and fully realized.  The plot of the novel hits a few slow parts, but mostly Francis creates enough strain on the characters to keep the novel moving along.  The setting of the ship felt a bit scattered and in my opinion never really filled out.  This is probably because Thorn spends the majority of time above deck or in his cabin.  Nevertheless with the constant danger, and harrowing experiences the book is a must read.

Finishing on a sort of cliff hanger, the book leaves the reader wanting more.  Five out of Five!