Fire Down Below

Introduced by Kate Mosse, lose yourself in an epic naval journey in the final novel in the Booker Prize-winning historical fiction Sea Trilogy by the author of Lord of the Flies.

I think there has been death in my hands.

On the last stretch of its epic voyage from England to Australia, a disintegrating warship inches towards land. But there are still trials ahead, as the vessel is smashed against an ice cliff and blasted by a great storm, while the claustrophobic passengers battle erotic desires, masculine rivalry and violent power struggles – all experiencing a sea change in their natures. And when an unseen fire begins to smoulder below decks, the other side of the world has never seemed further away …

‘Fantastic … Gems tumble off the pages … A strong sense of drama … Much of the pleasure of reading his work is his original imagery.’ Annie Proulx

‘A truly noble achievement’. Patrick O’Brien

‘The best novel I’ve read this year … The language fizzes and spits.’ Daily Telegraph

‘Reeks and resounds with authenticity … The epic imaginative enterprise [is] as formidable a feat as the year-long odyssey it charts.’ Sunday Times

‘Golding writes the past as present [with] uncanny skill and tremendous intuition.’ Ben Okri

To The Ends of the Earth: A Sea Trilogy – Book Three