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emcfeely 's review for:
On Stranger Tides
by Tim Powers
This book is...flawed. I haven't read any other Tim Powers books, so maybe this was just a fluke, but what a miserable lack of female characters. The romantic lead is practically comatose for the majority of her time on the page, and, but for one brief moment at the end, literally just gets pushed around. And what a waste of Ann Bonny - I know she's just a background character, but really? The woman who would become the most famous female pirate in history is reduced to this? Bother. And the plot is a little too episodic for something that's clearly supposed to be more cohesive, and a brief foray into another character's POV is unnecessary.
And yet. Pirates! They're still appealing! All the adventure and honor among thieves and vast quantities of rum. There's something inherently loveable about these guys, which is insane, considering the fact that they are murderers, robbers, and drunkards - and probably smell really vile. There's a scene where a Navy ensign meets Jack Shandy in New Providence, and even that nerd is fawning all over him for his (highly illegal, anti-Navy) piratical exploits. That guy gets it.
And maybe he can't write women, but damn if he's not good at male friendships - I have all manner of feelings about Jack Shandy and Phil Davies, and I won't go into them because I would just devolve into a mess of flailing and gibberish. Just know that they exist.
And yet. Pirates! They're still appealing! All the adventure and honor among thieves and vast quantities of rum. There's something inherently loveable about these guys, which is insane, considering the fact that they are murderers, robbers, and drunkards - and probably smell really vile. There's a scene where a Navy ensign meets Jack Shandy in New Providence, and even that nerd is fawning all over him for his (highly illegal, anti-Navy) piratical exploits. That guy gets it.
And maybe he can't write women, but damn if he's not good at male friendships - I have all manner of feelings about Jack Shandy and Phil Davies, and I won't go into them because I would just devolve into a mess of flailing and gibberish. Just know that they exist.