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4.01 AVERAGE
4.01 AVERAGE
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
Overall I really enjoyed it. A true swashbuckling adventure with more than a hint of romance. The big but? It’s treatment of slavery. Obviously it’s a product of its time, but I was regularly pulled out of the story by references to the black slaves (as opposed to the white slaves sold for various reasons, treason among them). I was frustrated that by men who had experienced slavery themselves and knew the horrors of it, Blood himself and his friends didn’t seem to extend any sympathy or kindness to the black slaves. This is especially frustrating since time and again Blood is lauded for his mercy and fair dealings. But that doesn’t seem to extend to black slaves. A product of its time, but I’m still holding it to some standards.
Audiobook version narrated by Robert Whitfield is very well recorded. I love the character of Captain Peter Blood. His Irish wit is humorous and he is a very likable character. This book is very reminiscent of Alexander Dumas' books.
It's hard not to love a book about a man whose original title was Dr. Blood.
Okay, so I realised that the book I borrowed from Libby is the completed works of Sabatini's "Captain Blood"; so I will be reviewing part 1, or in this case, Book 1.
Captain Blood is a trilogy that covers the swashbuckling adventures of the titled hero, Peter Blood. Blood is the son of an Irish physician in Seventeenth C. England, so naturally he took up his father's occupation. Due to a series of extremely unfortunate events, Blood turns to piracy. And this book essentially sets up this narrative to later unfold in what would later be his two forthcoming books.
What this book gets right that many other historical fictions fail at is creating believable characters from this time period, not just places and peoples who act like they are from this time period, or any for that matter. What I am trying to say is that many contemporary or even classic works of Historical Fiction use history as a backdrop to push a modern story not people pushing history. In other words, many authors fall into the pitfall of anachronism by using modern logics and beliefs to create their characters.
This is the opposite. Blood feels like a character ripped right from Alexandre Exquemelin's 17th century sourcebook on piracy, De Americaensche Zee-Roovers. At moments I have to tell myself that this is indeed a work of fiction, which is what all historical fiction books should strive for.
Lastly, a note on the prose. Holy cow! Sabatini put so much attention into the accuracy of speech and diction that it genuinely feels like conversations and thoughts amongst 17th century people. This will be a barrier for most readers, as it lacks any contemporary semblance to modern day spelling and grammar. Archaic words are used, that for someone who has studied 17th century piracy and privateering, which makes me question if I ever studied the stuff to begin with. Easily 5 stars
Captain Blood is a trilogy that covers the swashbuckling adventures of the titled hero, Peter Blood. Blood is the son of an Irish physician in Seventeenth C. England, so naturally he took up his father's occupation. Due to a series of extremely unfortunate events, Blood turns to piracy. And this book essentially sets up this narrative to later unfold in what would later be his two forthcoming books.
What this book gets right that many other historical fictions fail at is creating believable characters from this time period, not just places and peoples who act like they are from this time period, or any for that matter. What I am trying to say is that many contemporary or even classic works of Historical Fiction use history as a backdrop to push a modern story not people pushing history. In other words, many authors fall into the pitfall of anachronism by using modern logics and beliefs to create their characters.
This is the opposite. Blood feels like a character ripped right from Alexandre Exquemelin's 17th century sourcebook on piracy, De Americaensche Zee-Roovers. At moments I have to tell myself that this is indeed a work of fiction, which is what all historical fiction books should strive for.
Lastly, a note on the prose. Holy cow! Sabatini put so much attention into the accuracy of speech and diction that it genuinely feels like conversations and thoughts amongst 17th century people. This will be a barrier for most readers, as it lacks any contemporary semblance to modern day spelling and grammar. Archaic words are used, that for someone who has studied 17th century piracy and privateering, which makes me question if I ever studied the stuff to begin with. Easily 5 stars