The Sea-Wolf. Jack London

As Humphrey van Weyden rides a ferry across San Francisco Bay, he reflects proudly on the publication of his latest essay in the Atlantic. When a sudden collision rips a hole in the ship’s hull, the ferry sinks like a stone, throwing the literary critic into the icy harbor. Rescued by the Ghost, a seal-hunting vessel, van Weyden counts his blessings. Little does he know he’s boarded a ship bound straight for hell.

Brilliant and amoral, Capt. Wolf Larsen rules the Ghost with an iron fist. Forced into backbreaking service as a cabin boy, van Weyden watches helplessly as Larsen terrorizes his crew. But when mounting tensions finally result in outright mutiny, the mild-mannered intellectual will be forced to take a stand against the ruthless tyrant who saved his life.