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3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
I’ve had this book on my shelf for a while now. I really only picked it up because I watched all three Pirates of the Caribbean movies earlier this week. Interestingly, when I looked the Pirates movies up on Wikipedia, I found out that not only are they filming a fourth movie right now, but that the producers also bought the rights to this book and the fourth movie will be based in part on Tim Power’s On Stranger Tides...
Read the rest of my review at A Bookish Type.
Read the rest of my review at A Bookish Type.
A very pirate-cliche pirate story. But I suppose it's one of the few that createdthe cliche. Filled with
pirates, and ships, and vodoun, and magic spells, and historical figures of
old, this novel was certainly fun to read, albeit a bit lacking in details at times.
Still, I recommend it!
pirates, and ships, and vodoun, and magic spells, and historical figures of
old, this novel was certainly fun to read, albeit a bit lacking in details at times.
Still, I recommend it!
Great piratical adventure. Really bears only passing resemblance to the Pirates of the Caribbean movie that used the name.
This book was interesting. There was so much going on the entire time it was almost a little exhausting to read. I'm unclear about the magic aspect of the story because there was always drama and action to wade through as well. Perhaps because that is truly the life of pirates? Drama and action at all times.
I think I would have to read it again to give it a proper go-through and review.
I think I would have to read it again to give it a proper go-through and review.
I expected this to be a 5 star book for me. I love pirate books, especially when intertwined with things like voodoo and zombies, but I was not all the way into it. I suppose it was how it was written, yet there is something to be appreciated from it as well. I enjoyed the characters and how gruesome certain scenes were described. I read that this book was what inspired the video game series “Monkey Island”, and that the video game series inspired the “Pirates of the Caribbean” movies. The fourth installmant especially. However, I could only see elements of the book that inpsired the movies. I think that if this book were put into film, it would take someone like Terry Gilliam or Peter Jackson to do it. This book was an adventure unlike any other, my only complaint was the flow of the book itself. I am very glad I read it and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys reading pirate books or Indiana Jones style books. It does a great job of coupling history with fantasy. I will definitely be checking out more of Tim Powers’ books.
adventurous
dark
funny
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
Exactly the pirate book I was looking for. Tim Powers blends the fantastical with the historical in a vodun-laden, rum-and-gunpowder soaked adventure that can only be described as 'rollicking'.
If you've ever enjoyed Monkey Island or Assassin's Creed 4, then this is probably your jam.
If you've ever enjoyed Monkey Island or Assassin's Creed 4, then this is probably your jam.
adventurous
Welcome to the Golden Age of piracy, where daring devils sail the Caribbean, waging war against fat merchants, corrupt officers, and the whole strictures of European society. Where renegades like Phil Davies and Edward Teach (AKA Blackbeard) rule the waves, combining brutal combat skills with a sorcerers edge in the quest for immortality and ultimate power!
Wait, give me that last bit again? This is Tim Powers, so the world is recognizably our own, with the twist that magic works and is real. In this case, former puppeteer John Chandagnac is on his way to Haiti to reclaim a plantation from his evil uncle, when his ship is captured by pirates and he is given the choice of joining up or dying. It turns out that one of the Chandagnac's fellow passengers, Hurwood, orchestrated the whole thing in an effort to bring his wife back from the dead and put her in the body of his daughter, and he's teamed up with Blackbeard (the most powerful white sorcerer in the Caribbean) to do it.
What follows is a rousing picaresque through the Caribbean, to the Fountain of Youth and back, where Chandagnac learns how to fight and sail and sorcerer, as he defeats increasingly powerful bad guys to get the girl and save the day. It's a quick and fun light entertainment, and while I wish Beth Hurwood had a little more agency, this book is eminently enjoyable.
Wait, give me that last bit again? This is Tim Powers, so the world is recognizably our own, with the twist that magic works and is real. In this case, former puppeteer John Chandagnac is on his way to Haiti to reclaim a plantation from his evil uncle, when his ship is captured by pirates and he is given the choice of joining up or dying. It turns out that one of the Chandagnac's fellow passengers, Hurwood, orchestrated the whole thing in an effort to bring his wife back from the dead and put her in the body of his daughter, and he's teamed up with Blackbeard (the most powerful white sorcerer in the Caribbean) to do it.
What follows is a rousing picaresque through the Caribbean, to the Fountain of Youth and back, where Chandagnac learns how to fight and sail and sorcerer, as he defeats increasingly powerful bad guys to get the girl and save the day. It's a quick and fun light entertainment, and while I wish Beth Hurwood had a little more agency, this book is eminently enjoyable.