``And Other Red-Blooded Sea Stories'' is the subtitle that hints at the tone and telling in this collection of eight short works, some previously published in magazines by Taylor (The Bomb, 1995, etc.). In the title story, a girl is trapped in the cabin of her sloop, which was capsized by a giant wave; there are stories about taking revenge on a great white shark, landing blind on an aircraft carrier, serving under a cruel captain, and--in the gem of the collection, saved for last--the story of the ruthless mental fencing between interrogator and Nazi captain. All are engrossing, told in Taylor's trademark straight-ahead prose, which occasionally becomes a bit stiff-upper lip: ``And death, he knew, was sitting beside him on this September morning, 1950.'' Nevertheless, these will captivate even reluctant readers. (Short stories. 12+)
