#94 in Adventure
The Sea-Wolf
- 321
- Pages
- about 6 h
- Reading time
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Our view
“The Sea-Wolf” is a gripping psychological sea novel, dominated by one of adventure fiction’s most formidable captains. Humphrey Van Weyden, a literary critic pulled from the water after a collision, falls under the rule of Wolf Larsen, a self-taught man of great strength and no scruples. Some readers keep returning for the verbal duels between the two men and the critic’s growth; others find the book more intriguing than enjoyable.
The view of the BookRank editors, written from readers’ ratings and comments. It does not affect the score or the book’s place in a ranking.
About the book
The Sea-Wolf is a 1904 psychological adventure novel by American writer Jack London. The book's protagonist, Humphrey Van Weyden, is a literary critic who is a survivor of an ocean collision and who comes under the dominance of Wolf Larsen, the powerful and amoral sea captain who rescues him. Its first printing of forty thousand copies was immediately sold out before publication on the strength of London's previous The Call of the Wild. Ambrose Bierce wrote, "The great thing—and it is among the greatest of things—is that tremendous creation, Wolf Larsen... the hewing out and setting up of such a figure is enough for a man to do in one lifetime... The love element, with its absurd suppressions, and impossible proprieties, is awful."
Where the score comes from
The sources average 7.9 across 64 ratings — not yet many, so the reader vote carries 30% of the weight and the rest pulls toward the Adventure average of 7.8. That is how 7.8 comes out.
| Source | Average | Ratings | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open Library | 8.2 | 9 | 14% |
| Hardcover | 7.8 | 55 | 86% |
Frequently asked
How long is The Sea-Wolf?
It has 321 pages — shorter than 66% of the ranked books in Adventure.
In this book
Themes this book shares with others — each leads to the best books on it.
If you liked this
Same shelf — Adventure — with scores between 7.7 and 7.9, closest to this book.
