The Ship

While still a teenager, Paul Crimson (1947 - 1973) was drafted by the U.S. Army and trained to kill in the Viet Nam war. When he returned home after three years, he employed his only other talent to write a novel about his war experiences. His effort, Velvet Nights, became a runaway bestseller. The royalties from the book sales allowed Crimson to sink deeper into the drug abuse he had acquired in Viet Nam. His editor eventually convinced him to write a follow-up to his success novel, and the book you now hold in your hands was the result. Shortly after Crimson finished The Ship, he was found dead from a drug overdose. On the surface “The Ship” is about three people stranded in a snowstorm who find shelter onboard a Spanish galleon. There they encounter seven psychopaths whose actions make you cringe with suspense as they force their wills upon their visitors. Yet, the story Crimson wrote is truly about his attempt to cleanse his troubled mind from the insanity his soldiering days had provoked. It’s worth noting that, although the setting is fictitious, he personally witnessed or committed the acts he describes. Due to complex legal issues in the wake of his death, Paul Crimson’s book The Ship was never published. Now, for the first in over forty years, this disturbing document by a talented, prematurely dead young man is finally available to the public.

"This novel is original, with the main character immersed in a psychotic, isolated world where animalistic behavior takes over. The plot comes across as solid and well structured. The author has a gift for writing beautiful and lyrical prose … a well-done psychological study of humans." Amazon Editorial Evaluation