Food should be simple. On Serma Island, food is a war of timing, pain, and mistakes you can't afford twice.
In Nader and Barq: The First Fishing (Book 5), Nader and his dog Barq step into the sea with tools that barely deserve the name-hooks shaped by stone, a spear made from driftwood, and a net that wants to tear the moment it touches water. The shoreline looks calm, but it hides sharp rock, sudden pull, and silent threats that don't need teeth to destroy you.
This is the book where survival turns personal.
Because the first true attempt at fishing doesn't just test skill-it tests endurance. A single slip can change everything. A small cut can become a serious problem. And once food finally appears, it brings a new kind of pressure: guarding it, preserving it, and protecting it from the island's hunger that isn't only theirs.
Barq's role deepens here. He becomes the warning before danger arrives, the eyes that spot movement first, and the force that keeps fear from turning into panic. Together, they learn the sea the hard way-by watching, failing, adjusting, and returning again with bruised hands and stubborn patience.
But the island never lets a victory stay clean.
Every gain creates a new risk. Every step forward opens a new question. And behind the daily struggle, a bigger idea begins to form-quietly, dangerously-the kind of idea that could save them... or break them.
Book 5 is not the end of hunger. It is the beginning of a system.
This book is part of the Nader and Barq series, set in 1960 and driven by slow adaptation: small decisions, expensive mistakes, failed attempts, and stubborn returns to try again. The series is logically ordered, and each book opens a new survival stage with rising tension and real progress.
Books in This Series (in order):
Book 1 - Nader and Barq: Falling into the Sea
Book 2 - Nader and Barq: Shore with No Trace
Book 3 - Nader and Barq: The Island Rules
Book 4 - Nader and Barq: Hut of the Wind
Book 5 - Nader and Barq: The First Fishing
Book 6 - Nader and Barq: The Hunger Season
Book 7 - Nader and Barq: The Breaking Year
Book 8 - Nader and Barq: Building the Dream
Book 9 - Nader and Barq: The Crude Boat
Book 10 - Nader and Barq: The Last Return
