Taylor Zajonc Books In Order

Publication Order of The Adventures of Samuel Oliver Books

Publication Order of The Wrecking Crew Books

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Taylor Zajonc is an award-winning author, maritime historian, deep-sea shipwreck expert, and a member of the Explorers Club hailing from Washington, United States. He likes to write thriller, fiction, horror, adventure, and suspense novels. Zajonc has successfully written The Wrecking Crew series and several mind-blowing standalone novels, including the very popular The Maw. He is the winner of the 2018 Clive Cussler Adventure Writer’s Competition and a finalist of the 2019 Ken Kesey Award/ Oregon Book Awards for Fiction. The real-life adventures of author Zajonc are believed to exceed the adventures of the fictional counterparts depicted in his books. Zajonc’s fascination with exploration deep sea wreckages started when he was included as a member of the Russian expedition that visited and researched the deepest archaeological place on the Earth. Aboard a submersible of the Soviet era, Zajonc and his team descended almost 3 miles into the Bermuda Triangle.

Following this expedition, Zajonc has undertaken 2 RMS Titanic expeditions and has been a part of a number of essential shipwreck finds in the last 10 year. Some of the important shipwreck discoveries that he has contributed to include the Second World War U-boats and treasure ships, HMS Victory of Admiral Balchen, and SS Connaught. Zajonc made his debut as a novelist with the 2016 novel called The Wrecking Crew. Though he likes covering expeditions for others, Zajonc enjoys carrying out his own expeditions even more. His passion has translated into his novels, blogs, nonfiction writing, speaking, etc. Zajonc loves to be part of and explore all kinds of expeditions. His background lies in historic shipwrecks, but his passion is in being a part of explorations of all kinds. Author Zajonc thinks that hunting long-lost shipwrecks is his family business. He got involved in this business during the late 1990s because of his father.

Zajonc accompanied his father on his expedition to the Titanic, which was his first expedition ever. Later, he followed in his father’s footsteps and joined an exploration & research company. After undertaking a few smaller missions as an assistant, Zajonc took the big step forward and went on to become one of the prominent personalities of shipwreck expeditions. Diving into the Bermuda Triangle is his most favorite adventure story. Zajonc had gone on this expedition along with a team of Russian engineers, scientists, and professional crewmen. The inspiration behind Zajonc’s first novel was his special project in which he was involved in finding German U-boats in the English Channel while taking an underwater survey. The project turned out to be an opportunity for him to identify the lost submarines mentioned in the German records and integrate & correct the historical records as per his findings. This project made Zajonc fall in love with the stories involving World War II submarines.

The part that Zajonc enjoyed writing the most in his first novel is the rescue scene in which the main protagonist meets his love interest for the first time and develops feelings for her. Zajonc has said that he had great pleasure in writing about his main character named Jonah Blackwell. Jonah is seen being thrust into impossible situations one after the other and figuring out his way to escape, make alliances, and strike back in each of those situations. Zajonc likes a hero who possesses guile, leadership qualities, endurance, etc., and he has created Jonah Blackwell in a similar manner. The character of Bettencourt is also depicted as an excellent villain. He is shown as a man with a vision, who wants to help people and make the world a better place. But, the ways he employs in working towards his visions make him the bad guy, even though he thinks that he is the good guy in his own mind.

An exciting novel penned by author Taylor Zajonc is entitled ‘The Wrecking Crew’. It was released by the Blank State Press in 2016. The book features the central characters in the roles of Jonah Blackwell, Klea, Charles Bettencourt, and a few others. Initially, Jonah Blackwell is introduced as a deep-water diver. He gets caught and kept in a secret prison in Morocco. In exchange for his release, Jonah is asked to lead a secret mission to find a missing team of researchers in the dangerous waters near the coast of Somalia. The area is also dangerous because of the high number of pirates roaming around in search of preys and the red tide that is shockingly killing all the marine life. Jonah Blackwell agrees to take up this mission in order to set himself free. But, when the expedition poses as a threat to billionaire industrialist Bettencourt’s ambitions, Jonah’s life falls in much more danger. In order to overcome the dangers, Jonah hijacks a hostile submarine. He assembles a crew and continues with the expedition. Simultaneously, Jonah tries to investigate the origin of the mysterious plague and defeat Bettencourt’s henchmen.

Another mind-blowing book written by Zajonc is called ‘The Maw’. It was published in 2018 by the Skyhorse publication. This book features the primary characters in the form of Milo Luttrell, Riley DeWar, and several others. Zajonc has set this novel in Tanzania. The novel opens by depicting Milo Luttrell as a historian. He visits an ancient cave located in rural Tanzania and feels that he doesn’t fit to be on the expedition. He is made to join the team of archaeologists with the false promise of a life-changing opportunity. As soon as Milo learns that the search team is heading into the largest underground system of the African country, he suspects a foul play. Later, he discovers that the expedition is being carried out to find about the mysterious disappearance of the popular explorer Riley DeWar, who had disappeared around a century ago, Milo starts taking a keen interest. He sees the expedition as a second chance to regain his fledgling career. He descends with the exploration team into the secret underground system filled twisting passages, ancient fossils, and pitch-black paths. Later, he assists the team in overcoming a difficult situation and come out of the cave safely when a storm hits the base camp and leaves everyone stranded. This book was highly appreciated for its rich description of the storyline and exciting characters.