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4.01 AVERAGE
4.01 AVERAGE
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
5 stars for the story.
I love the Errol Flynn movie based on this book so it’s a no brainer that I loved the story when I got to hear more of it. This is a classic adventure story of the kind that gave birth to the pirate mythos.
Captain Blood is a strong and principled man that continually finds himself placed on the defensive and unwilling to be a victim of circumstance. I loved seeing how he stepped up every time a new challenge was presented. Most of the other characters are also well-rounded and fun to follow, but the heroine, Arabella, seemed too much of the ingénue to be believable. I couldn’t see how she could be such a strong-willed woman in one moment only to appear totally ignorant the next. It might be the 100+ years since it was written coloring my perspective, but I couldn’t see how Blood could possibly fall for her.
The story is full of action and twists and turns that surprised me; it moves at an excellent pace and offers a very good ending for every character. Excellent story.
Just 3.5 stars for the radio show audio book.
I get how a radio show is different from a recorded reading, but I found it a tad annoying that every time there was some action all I’d get to hear was the sound effects. Those scenes all went something like: “we’re fighting the Spanish ship, splash, splash, clack, ahh, crack, clink, that was a hard battle we won.” It’s good for using your imagination but I would have preferred to hear how Sabatini envisioned the battles in the Caribbean.
The acting was a bit overdone at times; the narrator does such a strong “deep-voiced, serious Englishman telling you serious news” that it made me laugh every time he came on. Captain Blood’s voice actor, on the other hand, does a brilliant job of bringing him to live and expressing how he’s changed by the things that happen to him.
I still greatly recommend experiencing this classic, but I might suggest getting the book itself or a straight-up reading audio book.
I love the Errol Flynn movie based on this book so it’s a no brainer that I loved the story when I got to hear more of it. This is a classic adventure story of the kind that gave birth to the pirate mythos.
Captain Blood is a strong and principled man that continually finds himself placed on the defensive and unwilling to be a victim of circumstance. I loved seeing how he stepped up every time a new challenge was presented. Most of the other characters are also well-rounded and fun to follow, but the heroine, Arabella, seemed too much of the ingénue to be believable. I couldn’t see how she could be such a strong-willed woman in one moment only to appear totally ignorant the next. It might be the 100+ years since it was written coloring my perspective, but I couldn’t see how Blood could possibly fall for her.
The story is full of action and twists and turns that surprised me; it moves at an excellent pace and offers a very good ending for every character. Excellent story.
Just 3.5 stars for the radio show audio book.
I get how a radio show is different from a recorded reading, but I found it a tad annoying that every time there was some action all I’d get to hear was the sound effects. Those scenes all went something like: “we’re fighting the Spanish ship, splash, splash, clack, ahh, crack, clink, that was a hard battle we won.” It’s good for using your imagination but I would have preferred to hear how Sabatini envisioned the battles in the Caribbean.
The acting was a bit overdone at times; the narrator does such a strong “deep-voiced, serious Englishman telling you serious news” that it made me laugh every time he came on. Captain Blood’s voice actor, on the other hand, does a brilliant job of bringing him to live and expressing how he’s changed by the things that happen to him.
I still greatly recommend experiencing this classic, but I might suggest getting the book itself or a straight-up reading audio book.
Love love love this book. What a ride. What grand adventure.
Only issue is that there is 2 spots where the books kinda grids to a halt where the "parts" reach their resolution. So rolling from one part to the next when that section's denouement is complete I found myself stuck for a moment as if I was starting a new story again and then once more.
But whatever, this was so fun. Captain Blood is such a fun, smart and interesting character that I don't care; I smiled the whole time. You will have just as much of a grand time as the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie.
Good times
Only issue is that there is 2 spots where the books kinda grids to a halt where the "parts" reach their resolution. So rolling from one part to the next when that section's denouement is complete I found myself stuck for a moment as if I was starting a new story again and then once more.
But whatever, this was so fun. Captain Blood is such a fun, smart and interesting character that I don't care; I smiled the whole time. You will have just as much of a grand time as the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie.
Good times
adventurous
medium-paced
Entertaining swashbuckling adventure. Archetypical good-man-forced-to-piracy story. Good for reading while sitting six feet from the Caribbean.
The audiobook narration by Michael Maloney is fantastic - very dramatic, and Peter Blood's Irish accent carries a great deal of wry humor and charm.
CW: Some outdated language relating to sex and race, as one often encounters in books of this era.
CW: Some outdated language relating to sex and race, as one often encounters in books of this era.
You know when you find the perfect book? It’s like a perfectly ripe nectarine on a hot summer day. Everything fits together. A perfectly ripe nectarine wouldn’t happen in winter, and even then, if you got a good nectarine in winter, it wouldn’t taste or smell like winter should. The point I’m trying to make is that Captain Blood was the perfect book, for this moment. I craved adventure, I craved vengeance, swashbuckling, I wanted a book that made me “Whoop!” with victory, scream with despair, and take me on an emotional roller coaster.
And that’s what I got.
Like I said. Perfect.
I really cannot explain how much I loved every word I read. I was sneaking around my own house reading this book. Captain Blood is the *consummate* pirate, foppish, romantic, beautiful, and completely violent. He was the Malcolm Reynolds of the seas. Oh how I adored it!
And that’s what I got.
Like I said. Perfect.
I really cannot explain how much I loved every word I read. I was sneaking around my own house reading this book. Captain Blood is the *consummate* pirate, foppish, romantic, beautiful, and completely violent. He was the Malcolm Reynolds of the seas. Oh how I adored it!
Fun book, though I did find myself struggling to get through it. Not sure why, maybe it was just my mood, because I LOVE pirates. Entertaining, swashbuckling, easy to read, nice details about ships and sea battles without being ponderous or obscure.