Warriors (A Novel)

“A fascinating, gritty, and realistic historical novel about Alaskan commercial fishing in the exciting decade after WWII . . . a great read!” —Joe Upton, author of Alaska Blues: A Season of Fishing the Inside Passage

Following the final, crushing moments of World War II, Japanese officer Kiyoshi Tsurifune, Sergeant Jones Henry, and Resistance fighter Swede Scorden struggle to regain normalcy and any contact with the shimmering, fish-filled sea. Lost honor, fallen friends, their cultural identities gone in the wake of a nuclear blast—these fishermen-turned-soldiers have a long way to go until they regain the waters in which they feel most at home.

But as each man finds his way to the bays of Alaska—Jones as a fisherman, Swede eager for work in the cannery, Kiyoshi an ambassador for the Japanese trade—life on the Pacific isn’t as easy as he’d dreamed. A new union calls for a strike during the height of the salmon season, and expensive new engine boats on Bristol Bay are replacing the sails and oars that fisherman like Jones have relied on for years. Plus, unhealed wounds make the impending deal that would allow Japanese ships to fish Alaskan waters painful for many. Behind every conversation, the question looms: Will these men ever find peace again?

In this sweeping and powerful prequel to Highliners, Breakers, and Raiders, William McCloskey is back and better than ever. Warriors is a meditation on the eternal struggle of finding normalcy after war and how quickly the world can leave you behind.