Or Else My Lady Keeps the Key

Or Else My Lady Keeps the Key

Illustration By Edward Miller

Subterranean Press is proud to present an exclusive pirate novel by the author of the acclaimed "Company" series.

His name is John James--at least, that's the name he gives to anyone asking. He's a former pirate just back in Port Royal from the sack of Panama, and he has every intention of settling down and leading a respectable life. First, though, he must honor a promise and deliver a letter to the mistress of one of his dead comrades.

But the lady is much more than she seems, and the letter turns out to contain detailed instructions for recovering a hidden fortune. It's one thing to know where treasure may be found; finding it, and keeping it, is quite another. On his quest for a prince's ransom John is joined by two unlikely allies: a black freedman named Sejanus Walker and a humble clerk named Winthrop Tudeley. Pirate attacks, hurricanes, shipwrecks, sharks, unearthly visitations and double-crosses follow. Especially double-crosses...

Or Else My Lady Keeps the Key will be available exclusively from Subterranean Press in two unique editions

Limited: 2000 signed hardcover copies
Lettered: 15 signed leatherbound copies, housed in a custom traycase

From Locus
"The tale is beautifully and ironically told, with a lot of fine invention, such as the subplot of an ex-slave who has embraced rationality but whose ancestral African gods and spirits simply will not leave him alone. At the conclusion John is bereft all over again, perhaps a little wiser, with a further short novel or two possibly on the horizon. Agreeably picaresque stuff."

From Booklist:
"One fine day in 1671, young seaman John James steps into a tavern in Port Royal. Just back from the sack of Panama, he plans to settle down and live respectably in the future. First, he has to deliver a letter to the mistress of a dead comrade... John James is definitely a sadder but wiser man when the tale ends. Baker's characters are convincing and delightful, and the action keeps one flipping pages. As the setting is a time and place in which almost anything could happen, the yarn's fillips of fantasy fit right in."

artists_list:
Edward Miller
authors_list:
Kage Baker
book_case:
None
book_length:
184 pages
book_type:
Novel
country_of_manufacturer:
United States
isbn:
978-1-59606-162-0
is_subpress:
Yes
print_status:
Out of Print
year:
2008