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Altered Course - The Passage
An abandoned vessel. A missing past. A world lost in time.
When a fully rigged forty-five-foot wooden schooner is found drifting off the Florida coast—intact, empty, and untraceable—boatbuilder Nathan Kirks is sent to investigate. The vessel appears recently built using traditional New England methods, yet no record of her construction exists.
Granted permission to sail her north to Brunswick for a maritime festival, Nathan embarks with two close friends and a cautious museum curator. But once they’re offshore, instruments fail, radios fall silent, and the sea itself begins to change.
When they finally make landfall, the marinas are deserted, the towns abandoned, and the world they knew has vanished. Will they find a way back—or become stranded forever in a time that isn’t their own?
From Scott B. Williams, author of In Times to Come and Feral Nation—a new series where the fight to survive begins beyond the edge of time.
When a fully rigged forty-five-foot wooden schooner is found drifting off the Florida coast—intact, empty, and untraceable—boatbuilder Nathan Kirks is sent to investigate. The vessel appears recently built using traditional New England methods, yet no record of her construction exists.
Granted permission to sail her north to Brunswick for a maritime festival, Nathan embarks with two close friends and a cautious museum curator. But once they’re offshore, instruments fail, radios fall silent, and the sea itself begins to change.
When they finally make landfall, the marinas are deserted, the towns abandoned, and the world they knew has vanished. Will they find a way back—or become stranded forever in a time that isn’t their own?
From Scott B. Williams, author of In Times to Come and Feral Nation—a new series where the fight to survive begins beyond the edge of time.
232 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 14, 2025
181 people are currently reading
15 people want to read
About the author
Scott B. Williams
138 books61 followersScott B. Williams has been writing about his adventures for more than twenty-five years. His published work includes dozens of magazine articles and twenty-five books, with more projects currently underway.
His interest in backpacking, sea kayaking and sailing small boats to remote places led him to pursue the wilderness survival skills that he has written about in his popular survival nonfiction books and travel narratives such as On Island Time: Kayaking the Caribbean, an account of a two-year solo kayaking expedition he undertook at age 25.
With the release of The Pulse: A Novel of Surviving the Collapse of the Grid in 2012, Scott moved into writing fiction full time. His post-apocalyptic and action & adventure stories draw heavily on his personal wilderness and ocean experiences to create believable scenarios often set in dire circumstances. To learn more about his upcoming books or to contact Scott, visit his website: www.scottbwilliams.com
His interest in backpacking, sea kayaking and sailing small boats to remote places led him to pursue the wilderness survival skills that he has written about in his popular survival nonfiction books and travel narratives such as On Island Time: Kayaking the Caribbean, an account of a two-year solo kayaking expedition he undertook at age 25.
With the release of The Pulse: A Novel of Surviving the Collapse of the Grid in 2012, Scott moved into writing fiction full time. His post-apocalyptic and action & adventure stories draw heavily on his personal wilderness and ocean experiences to create believable scenarios often set in dire circumstances. To learn more about his upcoming books or to contact Scott, visit his website: www.scottbwilliams.com
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
December 28, 2025
Good plot
A brand new wood sail boat is found drifting in the Atlantic ocean. A museum curator is asked to check the ship out. He and a few friend sail the boat and discover themselves transported into the future and will want to return to their own timeline. Nice plot
A brand new wood sail boat is found drifting in the Atlantic ocean. A museum curator is asked to check the ship out. He and a few friend sail the boat and discover themselves transported into the future and will want to return to their own timeline. Nice plot
January 30, 2026
Having read the 'In Times to Come' series, I had an idea of what to expect here. Suffice it to say, there are common themes and style of writing of course.
We have a mysterious ancient schooner - found in pristine condition, with zero modern amenities and zero information or crew - found floating around. We then have the naval museum assigned to trying to find out any info about the ship, in this case taking it to a wooden ship fair in a town close by. Our guy Nathan and his two friends, along with the most annoying man called Henry, decide to take it out. The three friend's subterfuge of wanting to take the ship into the ocean versus what Henry wants, which is sticking on the known little waterway - actually leads to them being pushed to the future. The story is quite interesting and has plenty mystery.
The author is meticulous and takes his description of ships very seriously - much to the detriment of readers who have no such knowledge of ships & simply want to read a book. He also has a knack for his books being under 250 pages - this wouldn't be an issue if he didn't go into so much detail in conversations that really can be skipped. This means that the books abruptly ends without much plot lore being revealed. Considering the second book isn't released yet...
We have a mysterious ancient schooner - found in pristine condition, with zero modern amenities and zero information or crew - found floating around. We then have the naval museum assigned to trying to find out any info about the ship, in this case taking it to a wooden ship fair in a town close by. Our guy Nathan and his two friends, along with the most annoying man called Henry, decide to take it out. The three friend's subterfuge of wanting to take the ship into the ocean versus what Henry wants, which is sticking on the known little waterway - actually leads to them being pushed to the future. The story is quite interesting and has plenty mystery.
The author is meticulous and takes his description of ships very seriously - much to the detriment of readers who have no such knowledge of ships & simply want to read a book. He also has a knack for his books being under 250 pages - this wouldn't be an issue if he didn't go into so much detail in conversations that really can be skipped. This means that the books abruptly ends without much plot lore being revealed. Considering the second book isn't released yet...
February 11, 2026
The book started very slow and took almost 70% of the book before the pace picked up enough to be interesting. Since it finally started to be interesting, I preordered the second book that won't be available until July 2026. I can't help to think that this slow start with excessive "filler" was designed to push people to buy the second book.
February 23, 2026
Excellent story
I love the genre of this book. I would recommend it to any boating, time travel enthusiast. Its well written and wonderfully describes the South East coast of Florida and Georgia. My only disappointment is haven't to wait until the end of summer for its sequel.
I love the genre of this book. I would recommend it to any boating, time travel enthusiast. Its well written and wonderfully describes the South East coast of Florida and Georgia. My only disappointment is haven't to wait until the end of summer for its sequel.
November 18, 2025
Altered Course – The Passage is a gripping, time-bending adventure full of suspense, maritime mystery, and a chillingly empty world that will keep readers hooked from start to finish.
January 2, 2026
This is only part one of the full story
So I gave it half the number of stars. It probably could be a good story if it were finished.
So I gave it half the number of stars. It probably could be a good story if it were finished.
February 21, 2026
Trouble ahead
This story has good character development and action. I hope that there another book in the series because the story came to an abrupt end.
This story has good character development and action. I hope that there another book in the series because the story came to an abrupt end.
February 23, 2026
what will happen next
I really enjoyed this book and looking forward to book 2. Any one wanting a contemporary mystery novel set in Florida this is for you.
I really enjoyed this book and looking forward to book 2. Any one wanting a contemporary mystery novel set in Florida this is for you.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews