Saltswept

A ragtag crew. A perilous quest. First, they need a boat. Next, they need to learn how to sail it.

A pirate faces the gallows drop. A farmer is given a terrible ultimatum to save her daughter. An acolyte ascends to priestesshood . . . only to find that a blessing really can be a curse. These unlikely bedfellows band together with an inscrutable pickpocket and a talking ottercat in pursuit of the most hopeless of causes: to sail into the Maelstrom – a raging whirlpool from which no one has ever escaped – and the mysterious treasure hidden within it.

The quest will test their fragile allegiance to its limits, but there is more at stake here than getting rich: the magic of the world is in peril, and the barrier between life and death has never been so thin. And in the Bastion, the seat of power in Paranish, the queen has an unquenchable thirst that threatens the world and everyone in it.

Can there be honour amongst thieves? Without it, they might never see another sunrise.

Lush and lyrical, Saltswept is a vibrant debut – the first book in an epic fantasy duology based on Southeast Asian mythology. Perfect for fans of The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi, The Bone Ships, and Godkiller.

Author Biography

Katalina Watt is an Edinburgh-based author of speculative fiction. They were selected for a 2025 Literature Matters Award from Royal Society of Literature, AIR Literature UNESCO 2024 Gothenburg Writer in Residence, and 2023 Hugo Award Finalist for Best Semiprozine as founding Audio Director for khoreo. Saltswept is their debut novel.