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3.77 AVERAGE
3.77 AVERAGE
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
" 'Dino-pirates!' cried a scientist, dropping his pipe in surprise. 'It's my worse nightmare!' "
You can expect many more absolutely zany moments just like this throughout this fantastic comedic mini-novel. If you enjoy irreverent humor similar to that of Monty Python or sheer sillyness you will surely enjoy this.
Note, other readers have pointed out that there are few women in this book and that women who do appear are typically killed in a grisly fashion. If that is something that causes you concern. Don't read. There is also casual animal murders in this book and some other issues.
You can expect many more absolutely zany moments just like this throughout this fantastic comedic mini-novel. If you enjoy irreverent humor similar to that of Monty Python or sheer sillyness you will surely enjoy this.
Note, other readers have pointed out that there are few women in this book and that women who do appear are typically killed in a grisly fashion. If that is something that causes you concern. Don't read. There is also casual animal murders in this book and some other issues.
Cute, very Monty Python. I kept picturing John Cleese as the Pirate Captain.
I seldom react out loud to books, even when I think something is really funny. This one had me snorting, chortling, chuckling, and (most often) interrupting what other people were doing in order to read passages aloud.
Thorough delight. 10/10 would recommend.
Thorough delight. 10/10 would recommend.
adventurous
funny
informative
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This book was exactly what I was looking for. A light hearted, ridiculously funny, shenanigan filled pirate adventure! I listened to the audio and the narrator was 10/10 !! Can’t wait to start the next one!
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Having finished watching <i>Our Flag Means Death</i>, I figured it was time to go for this slim little book promising amusingly anachronistic pirate adventures with Charles Darwin.
Unfortunately the book doesn't get much beyond amusing, and the reason why can be found in the Acknowledgements, where author Defoe names only one general book about pirates that he found helpful in the writing--and nothing about Darwin. Look, it's a funny, anachronistic book, I'm not expecting spectacular research, but I just feel like there are so many ways that pirates and Darwin and scientists in general can be funny, but Defoe kind of shrugged and gave up that comedic potential. So, while there are plenty of jokes, most of them don't actually depend on the pirates-and-scientists theme. You could swap them out for just about anything--it probably wouldn't take more than a day to revise the text--and most of the jokes would still work: cowboys and teachers, bandits and politicians, you get the idea.
So, the plot, to remind me later:
Our nameless Pirate Captain, who sports a luxurious beard, has been vacationing with his pirate crew, which includes the pirate with the scarf, the pirate with the accordion, and the first mate, the pirate who wears green. (I found this lack of names funnier than I should, given my own tendency to read books so quickly that I forget the names of characters.) They're bored, so it's time for a new Adventure. After stocking up on roasted ham, they attack the <i>Beagle</i> hoping for gold, but instead find a young Charles Darwin and Bobo, the monkey that he's trained to be a human in almost every way. As it turns out the evil Bishop of Oxford has kidnapped Darwin's brother in protest against Darwin's scientific ideas--and the Pirate Captain makes the best of a bad situation by diverting attention from the lack of gold toward the potential for more adventure.
The pirates sail to Victorian England and we're done with the ship for good, sadly. To Darwin's dismay, the pirates lack hustle, spending some time at arcades and shopping for the latest in pirate fashion instead of focusing on search-and-rescue. While disguised as scientists so that they can stay at the exclusive Royal Society Gentleman's Club, they learn that the Bishop of Oxford has been hosting a circus with a suspicious number of ladies' nights, so the Pirate Captain sends two of his crew disguised as ladies to investigate, while he goes to a pirate convention masquerading as a ham convention.
As it turns out, the Bishop is capturing ladies and turning them into soap that will keep him looking young, so our pirates find themselves in a predicament. Meanwhile, the Pirate Captain meets up with some old friends and plans what <i>OFMD</i>'s Stede Bonnet would call a f***ery: Darwin will present the amazing Bobo to the public and a sheet-draped pirate disguised as the "Holy Ghost" will interrupt the proceedings. When Bobo defeats him, the crowds will see how science triumphs and this will somehow make the Bishop confess where he's got Darwin's brother. As it turns out, the Bishop would rather chase the Pirate Captain around the Royal Society museum until Bobo steps in to save the day, the Bishop reveals his dastardly plans, and the Pirate Captain and Darwin engage in some piracy, stealing another scientist's experiment in order to save the day. Darwin's going to take toast-of-the-town Bobo on the road to earn his keep, and the pirates will go back to sea and their piratey ways.</i>
That's it. This isn't a long book, so I didn't mind reading through to the end. If you want a very light bit of fun, there's no need to worry about overcommitting to this. And if you do like it more than I did, it looks like there's a whole series you can enjoy. Sadly, it does not include the Adventure with Cowboys to which the pirates allude--I'm on a bit of a western kick right now.
Unfortunately the book doesn't get much beyond amusing, and the reason why can be found in the Acknowledgements, where author Defoe names only one general book about pirates that he found helpful in the writing--and nothing about Darwin. Look, it's a funny, anachronistic book, I'm not expecting spectacular research, but I just feel like there are so many ways that pirates and Darwin and scientists in general can be funny, but Defoe kind of shrugged and gave up that comedic potential. So, while there are plenty of jokes, most of them don't actually depend on the pirates-and-scientists theme. You could swap them out for just about anything--it probably wouldn't take more than a day to revise the text--and most of the jokes would still work: cowboys and teachers, bandits and politicians, you get the idea.
So, the plot, to remind me later:
Our nameless Pirate Captain, who sports a luxurious beard, has been vacationing with his pirate crew, which includes the pirate with the scarf, the pirate with the accordion, and the first mate, the pirate who wears green. (I found this lack of names funnier than I should, given my own tendency to read books so quickly that I forget the names of characters.) They're bored, so it's time for a new Adventure. After stocking up on roasted ham, they attack the <i>Beagle</i> hoping for gold, but instead find a young Charles Darwin and Bobo, the monkey that he's trained to be a human in almost every way. As it turns out the evil Bishop of Oxford has kidnapped Darwin's brother in protest against Darwin's scientific ideas--and the Pirate Captain makes the best of a bad situation by diverting attention from the lack of gold toward the potential for more adventure.
The pirates sail to Victorian England and we're done with the ship for good, sadly. To Darwin's dismay, the pirates lack hustle, spending some time at arcades and shopping for the latest in pirate fashion instead of focusing on search-and-rescue. While disguised as scientists so that they can stay at the exclusive Royal Society Gentleman's Club, they learn that the Bishop of Oxford has been hosting a circus with a suspicious number of ladies' nights, so the Pirate Captain sends two of his crew disguised as ladies to investigate, while he goes to a pirate convention masquerading as a ham convention.
That's it. This isn't a long book, so I didn't mind reading through to the end. If you want a very light bit of fun, there's no need to worry about overcommitting to this. And if you do like it more than I did, it looks like there's a whole series you can enjoy. Sadly, it does not include the Adventure with Cowboys to which the pirates allude--I'm on a bit of a western kick right now.
After enjoying the Adventure with Ahab, as well as the Pirates! movie, I collected a couple of Pirates! books and put them on the bedtime story shelf for Jefferson, a decision I was ultimately pretty disappointed with. Despite both this book and the movie involving The Pirates! running into Charles Darwin, that is almost entirely what they have in common And largely to the detriment of this book.
This book is decidedly not family friendly. It was rife with a casual misogyny that was both uncalled for and seemed to come out of the blue, given my previous experience with the brand. It's especially irritating as the author's entire backstory is that he started writing books to impress a woman. This one was his first book, so maybe he learned and grew and moved past it? I'm still giving the other book I bought some serious stink-eye. It's quite likely to disappear off of the bedtime story shelf before we finish the book we are currently reading.
The rare, rare case of a movie being SO MUCH BETTER. Not sure I'll give Defoe another chance.
This book is decidedly not family friendly. It was rife with a casual misogyny that was both uncalled for and seemed to come out of the blue, given my previous experience with the brand. It's especially irritating as the author's entire backstory is that he started writing books to impress a woman. This one was his first book, so maybe he learned and grew and moved past it? I'm still giving the other book I bought some serious stink-eye. It's quite likely to disappear off of the bedtime story shelf before we finish the book we are currently reading.
The rare, rare case of a movie being SO MUCH BETTER. Not sure I'll give Defoe another chance.
Light-hearted and fun read for a weekend at home sick.
Fun! This is such a fun book. It's enormously silly, which, coming from me, is a big compliment. It's not a kids' book, even though it has that sort of feel about it. I had a lot of fun reading this and I think it's one of those where people will either love it or hate it. It's wonderfully juvenile humour, but more grown-up in tone. I picked this up for fifty cents at an op shop because the title caught my eye; I read the first few pages and was laughing in the shop so I decided to take it home with me and I'm so glad I did. It's superficial fluff and complete nonsense and thoroughly silly and made me laugh a lot over the course of many weeks. I will keep an eye out for the next book.
Ah, pirate comedy. In Gideon Defoe’s novel, his pirate crew debates the best part of pirating (grog or cutlasses), delights in anachronisms like Post-It notes and dental floss, and accidentally attacks Charles Darwin’s ship, the Beagle. The Pirate Captain (yes, that’s his name) decides to spare Darwin’s life in exchange for a boat ride back to London. Darwin put the pirates up at the swank Royal Society and passes them off as scientists. Soon the pirates are the toast of the town and are up to their eye patches in schemes and plots involving the big mean Bishop of Oxford, Drawin’s kidnapped brother Erasmus, and a trained chimp named Bobo who is best known for acting the part of the perfect British gentleman. Silly, droll, Monty Python-esque, delightfully absurd and unabashedly juvenile, The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists is the most fun you’ll ever have with a pirate crew. Until, that is, you read The Pirates! In an Adventure with Ahab (2005), The Pirates! In an Adventure with Communists (2006), and The Pirates! In an Adventure with Napoleon (2009).