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4.01 AVERAGE
4.01 AVERAGE
Imagine Breaking Bad but with pirates! Full of adventure and excitement this book should be more well known for those that love swashbuckling tales. This goes a little deeper than Treasure Island and gives more character detail.
An excellent read. I’ve often heard tales of swashbuckling pirate adventure but I find that in the modern day these types of stories are quite rare indeed, with pirates mot really having much modern appeal.
This novel lives up to these tales, presenting an interesting story that while hitting a lot of the expected story beats, it does so in a fascinating and interesting way that makes you unable to expect what shall happen next.
The titular character, Peter Blood is a fascinating man, showing himself not only be a wise and experienced man, but also someone with flaws that very much humanize him that very much enriches the story. The characters in this novel are very well written, from Blood’s crew, to the hateful Bishop.
I have nothing but praises, there is nothing more you could ask for an exciting swashbuckling adventure.
This novel lives up to these tales, presenting an interesting story that while hitting a lot of the expected story beats, it does so in a fascinating and interesting way that makes you unable to expect what shall happen next.
The titular character, Peter Blood is a fascinating man, showing himself not only be a wise and experienced man, but also someone with flaws that very much humanize him that very much enriches the story. The characters in this novel are very well written, from Blood’s crew, to the hateful Bishop.
I have nothing but praises, there is nothing more you could ask for an exciting swashbuckling adventure.
Rousing adventure with a delightfully humorous touch make for a highly enjoyable read.
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was a really enjoyable read once I got past some of language from a different era. Had great humor and some fun action. This was my first pirate fiction, but I can see myself hunting down the rest of the Captain Blood books when I need to return to the sea.
Every novel should be this much fun! Lovers of "The Princess Bride" (book and/or movie), here's the original Westley: fearless, steadfast, smartassed. Featuring an omniscient narrator who becomes increasingly intrusive and snide as the story progresses.
It's pleasant to discover that even as late as the 1920s someone was still writing in the age-old and time-tested romance format--an episodic narrative of adventures following a pair of star-crossed lovers--and doing it so damned well! I'm honestly startled by how well written and entertaining this romance is! It's also a bit deeper than the form usually allows, morally--more than I expected it to be anyway--not skirting around the realistic downsides of pirating and the land-grabbing and conflicts between Spanish, English, and French imperial forces fighting over the wealth of the new world in the Caribbean in the seventeenth century--not to mention the poor planters and merchants who must have often found themselves in the middle of such conflicts and facing the dire consequences of pillage and rapine when soldiers and/or pirates came to town. Also the strong anti-slavery message, the spot-on descriptions of the bullies who so often end up in power in our political and military institutions, their petty personal grievances and utter incompetence to wield power to obtain anything resembling justice, and the moral integrity of the social outcast protagonist...all fabulous! I even teared up on the penultimate page when the lovers were finally disabused of their misapprehensions of each other and came together.
I can only imagine that my own disgust with institutional violence and my love of the critical outsider who acts as our conscience regarding governmental and military abuses of power probably stems from reading swashbucklers like this when I was young and impressionable. Certainly such narratives are head and shoulders above, say, a James Bond novel or the like, which I find dramatically fun, but also must abhor because of how they flaunt their blind patriotism cum racism cum sexism with bigoted depictions of the weak, women, and people of other races, as double-dealing scoundrels always to be abused and/or merely used, but never to be trusted or considered truly human. Sabatini lets no one of the hook here. (Pirate pun intended.)
I can only imagine that my own disgust with institutional violence and my love of the critical outsider who acts as our conscience regarding governmental and military abuses of power probably stems from reading swashbucklers like this when I was young and impressionable. Certainly such narratives are head and shoulders above, say, a James Bond novel or the like, which I find dramatically fun, but also must abhor because of how they flaunt their blind patriotism cum racism cum sexism with bigoted depictions of the weak, women, and people of other races, as double-dealing scoundrels always to be abused and/or merely used, but never to be trusted or considered truly human. Sabatini lets no one of the hook here. (Pirate pun intended.)
In the end, it is 4 or 5 chapters too long, and the german version still uses racial slurs! Without these, it would be 3 and a half stars.
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes