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3.49 AVERAGE
3.49 AVERAGE
A good story, well told.
Does seem to be a bit of a rut, structurally speaking, for Wolfe, but it's a pleasant rut. Surprisingly straightforward for him, but refreshingly so.
Does seem to be a bit of a rut, structurally speaking, for Wolfe, but it's a pleasant rut. Surprisingly straightforward for him, but refreshingly so.
Pirate Freedom is a story about Father Christopher, a Catholic priest, who has heard many confessions from his parishioners. However, he decides to reveal his past as a pirate and how his own confession made him become a man of the cloth.
His adventures as a pirate made this novel akin to Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson or the Aubrey-Maturin books by Patrick O’Brian than a traditional science fiction novel or the science fantasies that Wolfe is known for.
Moreover, Wolfe is known for having unreliable narrators as his protagonists and making his readers work in his novels. Pirate Freedom bucks that tendency and read pretty straightforward and I felt the main character was a reliable narrator.
I believe that Pirate Freedom will disappoint Wolfe readers and fans because he decided to take a left turn from his standard themes in his other novels. Literary fiction readers would find this novel engaging and readable (like I did) but unless you’re a fan of sea adventure stories, it will leave you wanting more like eating an appetizer at your favorite restaurant.
However, Pirate Freedom is a good introduction into this celebrated author’s oeuvre and has made me want to read his well-known Sun Saga series (The Book of the New Sun, The Book of the Long Sun, & The Book of the Short Sun) to get a better representation of how great a writer Wolfe really is.
His adventures as a pirate made this novel akin to Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson or the Aubrey-Maturin books by Patrick O’Brian than a traditional science fiction novel or the science fantasies that Wolfe is known for.
Moreover, Wolfe is known for having unreliable narrators as his protagonists and making his readers work in his novels. Pirate Freedom bucks that tendency and read pretty straightforward and I felt the main character was a reliable narrator.
I believe that Pirate Freedom will disappoint Wolfe readers and fans because he decided to take a left turn from his standard themes in his other novels. Literary fiction readers would find this novel engaging and readable (like I did) but unless you’re a fan of sea adventure stories, it will leave you wanting more like eating an appetizer at your favorite restaurant.
However, Pirate Freedom is a good introduction into this celebrated author’s oeuvre and has made me want to read his well-known Sun Saga series (The Book of the New Sun, The Book of the Long Sun, & The Book of the Short Sun) to get a better representation of how great a writer Wolfe really is.
You know that Wolfe is going to deliver fine prose and solid characterization so the question always becomes: how is the plot? The answer: pretty good, but it didn't blow me away. It was both way too straightforward (in the straightforward pirate parts) and rather confusing (the frame story* as well as the initial Novia/Estrallita storyline). Also: if you aren't thrilled with how he writes female characters, this isn't going to change your mind about Wolfe at all. In fact, I found it quite annoying. But it still gets three stars because there are certain passages/parts that I really enjoyed.
*I know that it's intentional, but even if he could have given us 5% more to work with when it comes to the frame story, that would have helped. As best I can tell (and this really isn't a spoiler -- it's even mentioned in the cover copy), sometime in the near future a young man named Chris hits the Bermuda Triangle (although this isn't spelled out) and gets sent back in time to the pirate-era Caribbean and then after many adventures, travels back in time to the same near future he left.
*I know that it's intentional, but even if he could have given us 5% more to work with when it comes to the frame story, that would have helped. As best I can tell (and this really isn't a spoiler -- it's even mentioned in the cover copy), sometime in the near future a young man named Chris hits the Bermuda Triangle (although this isn't spelled out) and gets sent back in time to the pirate-era Caribbean and then after many adventures, travels back in time to the same near future he left.
Easily Gene Wolfe's most accessible novel, and while that does not necessarily make this the best of his works it certainly does suggest that it's a fantastic read.
I have, quite honestly, read better-written works in a high school writing club. I'd never heard of Gene Wolfe before, so it was quite a surprise to learn he was an accomplished, prolific author. The writing style read like a first draft. Mundane things were given detailed, repetitive descriptions, but important events were explained by saying, "you know what happened next." I actually. Don't know what happens next. That's why I'm reading the novel. I actually had to read the wiki to confirm somethings because the details were so sparce.
Perhaps this is my own biases, but I felt like it would have been a stronger story without the time travel. The main character didn't even notice he was time-traveling ANYWAY, so it would've made more sense if he'd started as a priest already in the Golden Age of Piracy and was coerced into joining a pirate ship.
The thing that turned me from bewildered to straight angry was the deal with the slave-ship. Yes, I thought Chris did a good job thinking through how actually screwed the slaves were in this situation. But? Then he just accepted there was nothing he could do? It just felt extremely uncomfortable to me, especially since he never touched on the horror a person with modern-day morals would feel when coming across a slave ship. It was a wasted opportunity to explore the time-traveler's dilemma, or even to show Chris grappling with his conscience beyond a a paragraph or two.
All-around disappointing - the ship details was the only thing bringing me through the chapters.
Perhaps this is my own biases, but I felt like it would have been a stronger story without the time travel. The main character didn't even notice he was time-traveling ANYWAY, so it would've made more sense if he'd started as a priest already in the Golden Age of Piracy and was coerced into joining a pirate ship.
The thing that turned me from bewildered to straight angry was the deal with the slave-ship. Yes, I thought Chris did a good job thinking through how actually screwed the slaves were in this situation. But? Then he just accepted there was nothing he could do? It just felt extremely uncomfortable to me, especially since he never touched on the horror a person with modern-day morals would feel when coming across a slave ship. It was a wasted opportunity to explore the time-traveler's dilemma, or even to show Chris grappling with his conscience beyond a a paragraph or two.
All-around disappointing - the ship details was the only thing bringing me through the chapters.
I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/11123655
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/11123655
I think I'd rate this a four if it wasn't Gene Wolfe. It's not his best book . However Wolfe's middle of the road effort is better than most authors' best work. Here we have the expected Urth style anti hero enmeshed in a rather unique situation. However the characterizations and plot twists are more flat and predictable than in his other works.
The Knight/Wizard books were too ambitious and failed to deliver on their early promise. Here we have the opposite problem. The book is not ambitious enough. It reads too much like a formula novel with moral lectures thrown in from time to time.
Wolfe, please write another exquisite Lantro book. Soldier of Sidon was a triumph.
The Knight/Wizard books were too ambitious and failed to deliver on their early promise. Here we have the opposite problem. The book is not ambitious enough. It reads too much like a formula novel with moral lectures thrown in from time to time.
Wolfe, please write another exquisite Lantro book. Soldier of Sidon was a triumph.
Pirate Freedom was interesting! A lot of fun Wolfe-isms (unreliable subtly-morally-questionable narrator, subtle SF elements, riddles and puzzles). The setting is very novel for me, as I've never read Robinson Crusoe or the like, but it was very well-executed. Interesting thoughts on the nature of freedom (shocker) and morality.