You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.01 AVERAGE
4.01 AVERAGE
It starts well, but then becomes a series of grocery list adventures. The love interest also starts well, but soon becomes unbearable and she is only introduced to give a fake moral dilemma to the Captain.
adventurous
medium-paced
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
So I came to this book by way of the great movie adaptation starring Errol Flynn. I didn't know it was a book first, but then I stumbled on it in a Little Free Library and here we are!
The story follows Dr. Peter Blood, who's inadvertently caught up in the aftermath of the Monmouth Rebellion in England under King James II. As punishment, he's transported to the Caribbean to serve out a 10 year sentence as a slave on a sugar plantation. He escapes through a series of wacky hijinks and becomes a fearsome pirate. He also falls in love with the plantation owner's niece.
The Pros: The book is episodic, written with a framing device that makes clear it's being written after the fact as a historical narrative. This allows us to skip between the fun adventures Blood experiences and skip over the boring parts. Blood is a trickster character, often outsmarting his foes rather than beating them with brute strength alone. He's also allowed to be a bit noble while being an outlaw, given that he was basically forced into being a pirate.
The Cons: Peter Blood doesn't change all that much - he's basically the same character at the end of the book as he is at the beginning. Still fun, though.
Also, this book was written in 1922. It refers to Black slaves with slurs and mentions sexual violence frequently (and not always committed by the "villains"). A word of caution if that's triggering for you.
Overall, this is a fun romp that follows a trickster getting one over on his adversaries time and time again, with pirates and romance included.
The story follows Dr. Peter Blood, who's inadvertently caught up in the aftermath of the Monmouth Rebellion in England under King James II. As punishment, he's transported to the Caribbean to serve out a 10 year sentence as a slave on a sugar plantation. He escapes through a series of wacky hijinks and becomes a fearsome pirate. He also falls in love with the plantation owner's niece.
The Pros: The book is episodic, written with a framing device that makes clear it's being written after the fact as a historical narrative. This allows us to skip between the fun adventures Blood experiences and skip over the boring parts. Blood is a trickster character, often outsmarting his foes rather than beating them with brute strength alone. He's also allowed to be a bit noble while being an outlaw, given that he was basically forced into being a pirate.
The Cons: Peter Blood doesn't change all that much - he's basically the same character at the end of the book as he is at the beginning. Still fun, though.
Also, this book was written in 1922. It refers to Black slaves with slurs and mentions sexual violence frequently (and not always committed by the "villains"). A word of caution if that's triggering for you.
Overall, this is a fun romp that follows a trickster getting one over on his adversaries time and time again, with pirates and romance included.
Pretty fun adventure written witty and florid old-timey prose! Buckles get swashed!
adventurous
fast-paced
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gun violence, Slavery
Minor: Racism, Rape
In this tale of swashbuckling adventure, Peter Blood goes from being a doctor to a slave to a pirate captain and beyond. It is the measuring stick against which other pirate novels are measured.
So why did I only give it a three? It's pretty slow moving. Blood doesn't become a pirate until over a third into the book. The writing style didn't exactly thrill me either. Other than that, I enjoyed it.
So why did I only give it a three? It's pretty slow moving. Blood doesn't become a pirate until over a third into the book. The writing style didn't exactly thrill me either. Other than that, I enjoyed it.
Reminds me of The Scarlet Pimpernel as far as accessibility of a classic and pure enjoyment. Great characters, great adventure story, solid writing. A great way to end my 2020 reading list.
Having only known the story from the Errol Flynn movie, I found the book to be a fantastic adventure. Yes, the movie cut some things out, and in the book, it works. Fun, rousing adventure with one of the original masters of sass.
The audio narrator does a really good job. My only complain is that sometimes the editing was jarring and very obvious.
The audio narrator does a really good job. My only complain is that sometimes the editing was jarring and very obvious.
Intermittently tedious with melodrama that I learned to skip over, it nevertheless offers plenty of action and comeuppance.
This was a sort of historical swash buckler, I suppose. Peter Blood was a physician who had spent time in France as a soldier of fortune, fighting against the Spanish. But, he's back in England being a respectable physician. There's a bit of a local insurrection against King James II of England. He doesn't take part in the insurrection per se, but he gets caught up when he goes to patch up a local worthy who had been wounded. The local authorities claimed he was giving aid and comfort to the enemy, so gathered him up with the insurrectionists. Rather than hanging them, they were sold into slavery in Barbados. They were bought by a Col. Bishop and put to work on his plantation.
Well, a Spanish fleet came into the harbor and began taking things over. The English were more interested in protecting themselves than in guarding their slaves, so Blood and his cronies escaped. Not only did they escape, they managed to take over one of the Spanish ships, a ship which was lightly guarded because much of its crew were ravaging the town in Barbados.
Thus began Blood's career as captain of a privateer, basically, he became a pirate. But he was a good pirate, sort of, he only pirated Spanish ships.
Well, lots happens, among them is that Blood finds himself rather attracted to Arabella Bishop, Col. Bishop's niece and ward. How can that work out well? Well, read the book to find out. Lots of high adventure and skulduggery. Rather a classic of the genre.
Well, a Spanish fleet came into the harbor and began taking things over. The English were more interested in protecting themselves than in guarding their slaves, so Blood and his cronies escaped. Not only did they escape, they managed to take over one of the Spanish ships, a ship which was lightly guarded because much of its crew were ravaging the town in Barbados.
Thus began Blood's career as captain of a privateer, basically, he became a pirate. But he was a good pirate, sort of, he only pirated Spanish ships.
Well, lots happens, among them is that Blood finds himself rather attracted to Arabella Bishop, Col. Bishop's niece and ward. How can that work out well? Well, read the book to find out. Lots of high adventure and skulduggery. Rather a classic of the genre.