Cindy Vallar's Blog, page 30

Review of The Golden Age of Piracy edited by David Head

The Golden Age of Piracy: The Rise, Fall, and Enduring Popularity of Pirates by David Head

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


The scholarly essays in this collection examine both historical pirates and those in popular culture. Although the focus is on piracy in the Caribbean, the time perspective is broader, extending from the seventeenth to the nineteenth centuries. Some analyze how what we have learned from the past can be applied to the present to suppress these marauders today. Others demonstrate how society has viewed pirates at different times and on different levels. Together the essays show how we’ve expanded our understanding of pirates and piracy, as well as future avenues of study to continue the learning process.

This volume is comprised of four sections. It opens with “Pirates and Empire,” which investigates the growth of piracy during the 1500s and 1600s when European nations vied for control of the Caribbean. The second section, “Suppression of Pirates,” discusses piracy’s decline in the region. “Modeling Piracy” pertains to lessons learned and the application of those lessons today. The final section, “Images of Pirates in Their Own Time and Beyond,” scrutinizes how those ashore viewed pirates.

Three essays comprise Section I: Pirates and Empire. In “Why Atlantic Piracy” Carla Gardina Pestana looks at the geographical, economic, and political influences that resulted in the spread of piracy from Europe to the New World. She discusses the importance of understanding what piracy was and was not, and then applying that knowledge to archival records when analyzing accusations against pirates. She also stresses that the inherent violence accompanying piracy ebbed and flowed rather than remaining a constant.

John A. Coakley uses the term private seafarer, instead of privateer or pirate, to discuss the men who played key roles in both the politics of and marauding raids from Jamaica between 1655 and 1692 in “Jamaica’s Private Seafarers: Politics and Violence in a Seventeenth-Century English Colony.” He also examines how these relationships changed over time and the attempts to regulate these expeditions.

Many histories mention pirates and their connections to logwood, but in “‘Sailors from the Woods’: Logwood Cutting and the Spectrum of Piracy” Kevin P. McDonald offers readers a different perspective. Rather than being pirates who harvested the wood that provided much-desired dyes in Europe, they were seamen who sometimes strayed into smuggling or ventured into the more serious crime of piracy.

Section 2: Suppression of Pirates also contains three essays. Douglas R. Burgess leads off with “Trial and Error: Piracy Trials in England and Its Colonies, 1696-1723.” He discusses the evolution of England’s definition of piracy, as well as how American colonists viewed pirates. Initially, these did not coincide, but as time passed piracy changed and so did the latter’s thinking. He shows this by looking at pirate trials over time until the prosecution and punishment of pirates occurred on both sides of the Atlantic.

David Wilson analyzes the effectiveness of this suppression in “Protecting Trade by Suppressing Pirates: British Colonial and Metropolitan Responses to Atlantic Piracy, 1716-1726.” Rather than being a united and coordinated endeavor, he demonstrates that the effectiveness of such efforts was influenced by merchants, agents of colonial governments, and captains in the Royal Navy.

Guy Chet, on the other hand, contradicts the common belief that British efforts to suppress piracy were successful in “The Persistence of Piracy in the British Atlantic.” He provides evidence to show that sea marauding remained a threat long past the end of the “golden age” into the mid nineteenth century.

In the third section of this collection, Modeling Piracy, Virginia W. Lunsford and Peter T. Leeson scrutinize human and piratical behavior of the past in hopes that these lessons can be applied to the problem today. Lunsford’s “A Model of Piracy: The Buccaneers of the Seventeenth-Century Caribbean” presents a case study that identifies six significant characteristics of piracy that resulted in the dissolution of the buccaneers. Leeson presents a new rationale for looking at pirates in “The Economic Way of Thinking about Pirates.” By examining these rogues through the eyes of an economist, he provides fresh insight into why pirates governed themselves as they did, why they used the black flag, and why they tortured their victims.

Images of Pirates in Their Own Time and Beyond, the final section of this book, looks at pirates through the eyes of those ashore who heard and read of their tales. Margarette Lincoln leads off with “Henry Every and the Creation of the Pirate Myth in Early Modern Britain.” Every’s piratical deeds in the 1690s provided much fodder for literary pens, which allowed audiences of all classes with opportunities to digest issues relevant to them and gave rise to the pirate as a popular hero. By examining these publications, Lincoln shows what they tell us about those who lived when these pirates roamed. She also demonstrates how portrayals of Every changed over time.

In “‘Blood and Lust’: Masculinity and Sexuality in Illustrated Print Portrayals of Early Pirates of the Caribbean,” Carolyn Eastman examines what the descriptions and illustrations in Alexandre Exquemelin’s Bucaniers of America (1678) and Captain Charles Johnson’s A General History of the Pyrates (1724) showed about the pirates and male readers themselves. (This essay also includes several illustrations from these publications.)

“A Woman Is to Blame: Gender and the Literature of Antebellum Pirate Confessions” is Matthew Taylor Raffety’s contribution. Those caught and punished often cited a woman in their past as the real culprit for their downfall. This female failed to provide the moral fabric necessary to keep the pirates from straying from the straight and narrow. Through an exploration of these confessions, printed in publications prior to the American Civil War, Raffety demonstrates how such portrayals mirrored contemporary morality and the difference between the female and male domains of the middle class during the nineteenth century.

The final essay is Adam Fortner’s “Pirate Ghosts and Buried Treasure: Hunting for Gold in the New American Republic.” He explores how pirates came to be entangled in folklore and what such tales truly tried to teach readers.

David Head, the editor, makes several key points about this collection in his concluding remarks. The contributors have taken sources long available to historians and examine them in new ways. Learning what pirates of yore can tell us is an ongoing process. These scholarly essays add to the existing body of published research to provide “the latest word, not the last word.” (240) Equally important to the factual study of pirates is that context matters and that much can be learned from exploring the cultural history.

The Golden Age of Piracy includes an index, and notes appear at the end of each essay. These provide tidbits about or clarification of statements made, as well as source material where readers can further explore covered topics.

The broader time frame explored in this book is important because there is far more to piracy in the Caribbean than just the early seventeenth century. It’s a common misconception among lay readers that pirates ceased to prey after 1730, yet the opposite is true as some of these scholars ably point out. Although these are scholarly articles, they are written in ways that appeal to all readers. They make us rethink what we think we know about pirates and the world in which they live. The Golden Age of Piracy is an invaluable and insightful addition to any library because it examines pirates through the world in which they lived, rather than through modern-day lenses. In doing so, the scholars skillfully provide important ways in which officials today can address this continuing problem.




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Review of Michael Aye's Peregrine

Peregrine by Michael Aye

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


The arrival of the French fleet off Sandy Hook, New York in 1778 becomes a waiting game as the British face their new enemy across a sand bar during the American Revolution. When conditions finally permit the French to advance, however, they opt not to engage in a battle of broadsides and sail away. No one knows why, but their absence allows Lieutenant George “Jep” Jepson to head south for Barbados to deliver his passenger, Sir Victor MacNeil, who works for the Foreign Office.

Sir Victor needs the assistance of Vice Admiral Lord Gilbert Anthony and his squadron. They are to collect colonial prisoners of war from St. Augustine, Florida and deliver them to Norfolk, Virginia for a prisoner exchange. The mission has added importance for Sir Victor, for among those to be reclaimed are British spies and should their true identities be discovered, they will face dire consequences. Gil’s presence is needed because of his acquaintanceship with the rebels’ representative, whom he met earlier in St. Augustine.

No matter how much planning takes place, something always goes awry. Something is amiss with Bart, Gil’s coxswain and longtime friend, and when the truth is uncovered, his life is in grave jeopardy. Aside from keeping a wary eye out for French privateers, distant gunfire alerts men aboard Captain Gabriel Anthony’s Peregrine of danger. When he sends a boat to discover what the fog conceals, they discover a dead body minus its uniform. Later, they come upon an American brigantine that has taken a British frigate. When Gabe and his men draw close, one of the captured seamen is tossed over the side before the brigantine sails away. The rescued victim delivers a chilling message that resurrects haunting images from the past for Gabe, his uncle Dagan, and Lieutenant Davy.

This book is the fifth entry in The Fighting Anthonys series. It opens with a list of characters in the series and ends with a glossary. Poems by the author introduce each section of the story, which is divided into three parts. One caveat regarding the character list is that it doesn’t include all of them. This volume introduces Sir Victor’s servant, but his name is not mentioned in his first scene. When he reappears, it’s disconcerting for readers to meet him by name and not immediately know who he is.

The unfolding of this adventure is uneven in the telling. Readers expecting Gil and Gabe to take center stage, as has been the case in previous volumes, will find that this title is more a tale about men who serve with them, such as Bart, Jep, and Dagan. Gabe doesn’t become a truly integral character until late in the story. There are also occasions where misspellings and poor wording interfere with the flow of sentences.

On the other hand, Aye’s medical background and naval experience provide tense scenes, sometimes with unexpected twists. This is especially true in those involving Bart’s operation and Dagan’s handling of their new nemesis who has ties to the past. Fans of the series will enjoy Peregrine, but readers new to the series will probably prefer starting with earlier titles to get a better feel for the characters and their adventures.




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Review of Michael Aye's Seahorse

SeaHorse by Michael Aye

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


An alert seaman hears the sound of gunfire. Out of the dense fog blanketing Carlisle Bay a fireship emerges. Those aboard HMS Prudent must deal with this threat before they can assist the anchored convoy. Only later is it revealed just how successful the ruse worked. It is but the latest of the daring raids by enemy privateers on British shipping in 1777.

Admiral Lord Gilbert Anthony savors his time ashore in England, getting to know his new daughter, Macayla, and renewing his acquaintance with his wife, Lady Deborah. While they enjoy their rare moments alone, his half brother Gabriel savors his recent promotion to Captain and eagerly awaits his upcoming nuptials with Faith Montique, whom he rescued from her nefarious uncle’s evil doings in South Carolina.

Such idyllic leisure ends much sooner than expected when both men receive new orders. Given a new flagship, Gil is to take up command of the Windward Islands and transport Lord Ragland to his new post as governor of Barbados. Gabe also receives a new, but unhappy, ship. Half of HMS Peregrine’s crew have deserted and the other half requested transfers. Refusing to be left ashore once again, both their wives declare that they will accompany their husbands on this voyage and then take up residence at Lady Deborah’s home on Antigua.

But before they depart, thugs posing as highwaymen attempt to assassinate Gil. A letter from Gabe’s uncle, Dagan, who stayed behind in the Colonies to visit with family and his new lady love, warns of approaching ill winds and that he will rendezvous with them in the Caribbean. Soon after the squadron departs Plymouth, escorting a convoy of merchant ships, the brothers discover just how cocky and daring the rebel privateers are after strange sails are sighted, vanish, and then launch a surprise attack. On their arrival in the West Indies, the news worsens as the war progresses. General Burgoyne surrenders, the British are preparing to evacuate Philadelphia, and the evidence confirms that soon after the New Year the French will join the Americans, which means the Spanish will as well.

The saga of The Fighting Anthonys continues in this fourth book in the series. As always, readers are treated to original poetry (such as “The Forgotten Salt”) from the author. These serve to introduce each of the three parts that make up the story. Unlike previous installments, this one is less even in the telling. What happens after the white flag is hoisted in chapter 15 is never clearly stated. Aside from Gabe’s first boarding of Peregrine, readers never see how he turns an unhappy ship into a happy one. While the scene depicting a lightning strike is astonishing, it lacks sufficient tension and Gil’s recovery is too quickly dispensed with. The ball scene flits from one character to another and Lord Ragland’s comment about not knowing what comes over a minor character’s behavior is one the reader will readily understand. There is no hint of this trait prior to its occurrence; nor does it surface anywhere else in the story. Some readers may also find the occasional interruptions in dialogue and narrative to explain nautical words – such as “sweeps (long oars)” – annoying. The book includes a glossary, where some of these words, but not others, are defined.

On the other hand, Seahorse is fraught with danger both on land and at sea. The assassination attempt on Gil is but the first “ill wind” they encounter; an enemy from the past carries out a vendetta against the brothers and anyone they love is fair game. Then there’s a perilous duel and a suspenseful sea battle. Not to mention a brief cameo by Captain Horatio Nelson. Fans of this series should enjoy this addition to The Fighting Anthonys.




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Review of MaryLu Tyndall's The Liberty Bride

The Liberty Bride by MaryLu Tyndall

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Mixed emotions assault Emeline Barratt as her father’s merchant brig nears Baltimore, Maryland in August 1814. She’s been in England for two years, sent there after her father tired of her passion to paint and refusal to find a prospective husband. He thought her great aunt would teach her to be a proper lady willing to settle down; if only she could, then perhaps God would cease punishing her for her rebellious ways. But that desire is not to be. She still has her dreams. Perhaps that is why the Royal Navy blockading the Chesapeake Bay intervenes. Instead of setting foot on the docks at home, Emeline steps aboard a navy frigate as a prisoner of war. Only her medicinal knowledge prevents her from being locked away in the brig with her father’s privateers.

First Lieutenant Owen Masters curses the day Emeline and the Americans are captured. For eight years he has successfully navigated dangerous waters as a spy aboard Royal Navy ships, seeking information to aid America’s fight for continued freedom. With an invasion imminent that knowledge is within his grasp, but the presence of the prisoners, especially Emeline, endangers his mission and his life. Already Lieutenant Dinsmore watches his every move. The marine officer’s attraction to Emeline seems a good way to thwart his nemesis until Emeline declares that her loyalties lie with them rather than the country of her birth.

Only after the burning of Washington are both Owen and Emeline given the opportunity they each desire. Her supposed loyalty to England makes her an ideal candidate to glean much-needed information for an assault on Baltimore, but in reality she can escape the clutches of the English, warn authorities, and hopefully cease to anger God. He can finally return home and turn in a traitor. But Dinsmore is determined to prove that Owen is a spy and save Emeline for himself.

The Liberty Bride is the sixth book in the Daughters of the Mayflower series and is set during the final stages of the War of 1812. This fast-paced inspirational romance vividly portrays the many perils both Emeline and Owen face at sea and on land. Dinsmore is the epitome of a villain readers truly dislike, in spite of his good looks and charm. From the depths of despair to the joys of true love and finding God, this is grand adventure spiced with pinches of humor, sorrow, and intrigue.




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Review of William Westbrook's The Black Ring

The Black Ring: The Nicholas Fallon Sea Novels, #2 by William Westbrook

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Keeping accounts and working in the office are not Nicholas Fallon’s cup of tea and after weeks of such busy work, he’s more than ready to return to the sea. His partner, Ezra Somers, founded the Somers Salt Company of Bermuda; his daughter, Elinore, is the love of Nicholas’s life. When a message requests Nicholas’s presence on Antigua, both are wise enough to know that the sea is as vital to him as blood. With his schooner refitted, he collects his crew, including his childhood friend, Beauty, and his coxswain, Aja. Beauty lost her leg in an accident many years ago, but she is the bravest person Nicholas knows and a superb second in command. Aja has grown from the scared, mute boy left to die on a sinking slave ship, to a vital member of the crew with hopes of one day captaining his own vessel.

Upon their arrival at English Harbor in Antigua, Nicholas joins Rear Admiral Harry Davies aboard his flagship. Although Nicholas is not part of the Royal Navy, he has, in the past, assisted them and the two men are good friends. This time Davies asks Nicholas to ferry a senior intelligence agent to Cuba, where the man can quietly slip ashore to discover whether there is sufficient dissatisfaction with Spain to warrant British help in undermining Spanish control of the island. As a privateer, Nicholas can go where the Royal Navy cannot. On a more personal note, Davies requests that Nicholas seek out a woman whom Davies cares for in Matanzas.

Always on the lookout for opportunities to take advantage of his letter of marque, Nicholas’s curiosity is aroused when they sight strange sails. The ship far surpasses his schooner in armament and men, but she runs up both a Spanish flag and a white one before asking Nicholas to come aboard. Since England and Spain are at war, it could be a trap, yet he accepts the offer. He doesn’t buy the captain’s story, and his doubt is confirmed when a passenger slips him a note saying they are actually prisoners. Still, there is more to the situation than the Spanish captain admits, which triggers one of Nicholas’s out-of-the-box ideas that results in the capture of the enemy vessel.

Nicholas and his crew also cross paths with pirates led by a ruthless defrocked priest known as the “Holy One.” They intercept secret communications between France and Spain that necessitate a visit to Haiti to warn Touissant Louverture. Then there are the captured runaway slaves and Davies’ friend at Matanzas who ae in need of rescuing before they face a firing squad. Beauty sustains a wound from which she may not recover, and news of her condition results in a deadly encounter with the Holy One for Ezra and Elinore.

Interspersed throughout the book are italicized chapters that recount the tale of a captured African warrior who is sold into slavery. These tell the story of Young David, who eventually crosses paths with Nicholas and Aja. All are vividly drawn, such as the portrayal of the slaver’s battle with pirates that unfolds from David’s perspective while he and the other slaves are chained belowdecks. Several are gut-wrenching depictions of the Middle Passage and life as a slave on Cuba. Yet entwined within them is an everlasting hope to reclaim his freedom, no matter the cost.

The myriad subplots are intriguing and expertly intertwined with the main part of the story. From first page to last, Westbrook snares the reader and doesn’t let go in this enthralling second Nicholas Fallon novel that surpasses the first. Spiced with gifted ingenuity and daring escapades, this nautical adventure is not to be missed.




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A Fierce Wind by Regan Walker

A Fierce Wind by Regan Walker

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


The passing of a new constitution in 1790 marks a milestone for France – the end of the monarchy – but the fierce wind that sweeps through the country afterwards gives rise to Robespierre and the bloody Reign of Terror. Four years later, Zoé Donet and her uncle risk their lives to rescue émigrés forced to flee their homeland or face Madame Guillotine. As they hurry through shadowy streets with their charges, they encounter a pair of soldiers, one of whom escapes to raise the alarm.

A growing sense of foreboding compels Frederick West to disembark from la Reine Noire, his brother-in-law’s ship, to find Zoé. She may think him only a friend, but in the years since they first met, he has come to love her although he has yet to confess his true feelings for her. Shots from shore heighten his apprehension, but she is safe. He, however, suffers a grievous wound. In the days that follow Zoé nurses him back to health on Guernsey and slowly comes to see him in a new light.

The continuing slaughter of innocent men, women, and children in France and a possible invasion threat necessitate an urgent need for vital information. If London is to aid the Vendéens and Chouans – royalists fighting against the revolutionaries – someone must infiltrate Brittany and Maine to find out what assistance is needed. The problem is that these counterrevolutionaries have little reason to trust such overtures. One person who might help gain their confidence is Zoé, who was a friend of their revered general whom the republicans assassinated. Although reluctant to carry out his spymaster’s orders, Frederick understands the futility of forbidding Zoé to remain where she will be safe. The best he can do is to make her promise to obey his orders no matter what. As they trek through northwestern France a series of escalating adventures unfold until enemy patrols intersect the woods where they shelter. Realizing his only option to protect Zoé is to sacrifice himself, Frederick reveals his true feelings for Zoé and then walks away into the midst of the enemy soldiers.

A Fierce Wind offers a unique look into a lesser-known aspect of the French Revolution. While the majority takes place on land, there are a few sea battle scenes, including the Glorious First of June. More than once the promise of high tension never quite hits the mark for such a perilous period, and the emotional connection between characters and readers is weak. The threat of invasion is not really developed, and the sea fight on 1 June 1794 seems more an afterthought. Yet there are some truly memorable scenes, one being Frederick’s final parting from Zoé in France. Others take place in La Conciergerie in Paris, which provide horrific glimpses of life under arrest during the Reign of Terror. An added bonus to this third book in the Donet trilogy is the author’s note, which not only explains the history behind the fiction, but also shows how characters are interconnected and in what book titles their stories can be found.




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Demon Pirate -- Third title in Bilge Rat, Pirate Adventurer series

Demon Pirate by Kevin Charles Smith

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


With Captain Adams in the hands of the Black Tarantula, William Echo Eden sets aside his plans to rescue a kidnapped French woman to save his friend. To venture into the deadly lair of this merciless pirate requires an unorthodox plan. A plague offers the perfect cover story – even if it springs from Echo’s cunning imagination – and he and four of his men venture into the pirate’s lair perched high on a bluff overlooking a cove on Tortuga. Unfortunately, his arch nemesis is off seeking Echo’s girlfriend, Rue, but his second-in-command is no less vicious. With consummate acting skills and the perfect cure – Devil’s Trumpet – Echo and his “medical team” incapacitate the pirates long enough to rescue Adams and abscond with two chests.

Echo shares the one treasure filled with gems with his men; the other he keeps for himself. The counterfeit coins within may be of use in retrieving the kidnapped French woman from Captain LeMerde. Upon Echo’s return to Jamaica, circumstances permit him to implement his plan using his newfound “wealth” and Aimee Turbout shows unexpected gratefulness for being rescued. The captured LeMerde stands trial and is sentenced to hang, but escapes and, after meting out his twisted sense of justice on Echo’s friend Powder Monkey, flees the island with the Aimee.

His search for Aimee Turbout leads Echo first to Saint Domingue, where he is arrested and thrown in jail. After extracting himself from the trumped up charges, he sails to Grand Cayman, where he discovers the islanders are in league with LeMerde and his pirates. Once again, Echo employs inventive strategies to find Aimee and dispense with his enemies, but during his absence from Jamaica, dear friends are murdered most hideously and he’s arrested by the new governor upon his return. He also learns that the Black Tarantula has finally captured Rue.

Demon Pirate is the third book in the Bilge Rat, Pirate Adventurer series. Smith weaves a riveting tale spiced with betrayal, vengeance, a femme fatale in the guise of a fortuneteller, and a mock pirate trial (a favorite entertainment of real sea marauders). Although the Black Tarantula’s true identity isn’t surprising, there are plenty of other unexpected twists to beguile readers. Previous titles have begun and ended with Echo awaiting his own demise – a writer’s device dispensed with here – yet Smith ably resolves all other subplots that began in earlier volumes. He entices readers with a promise of future installments detailing Echo’s adventures, but he also raises the brutality bar to extremes in Demon Pirate, which I found troubling given that this series is written for teenagers, as well as adults. Some readers, myself included, may decide that three books about Echo and his mates (as unique and intriguing as they are) are as far as they wish to venture into this series.




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Black Tarantula -- Second title in the Bilge Rat, Pirate Adventurer series

Black Tarantula by Kevin Charles Smith

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


William Echo Eden continues his tale in this second title in the Bilge Rat, Pirate Adventurer series. In need of a new First Mate, the Amafata’s captain offers that position to Echo. He graciously accepts, but must first testify at the trial of his predecessor, Mr. Bass. Sentenced to hang, Bass escapes before the deed is done. Echo hopes that he has seen the last of yet another enemy in his short life and prepares the ship for the next stop in their travels, Barbados. Before they set sail, news of the Black Tarantula’s latest plundering and destruction reach the island and Captain Adams, the nephew of the three witches who befriended Echo in the previous book, mounts an expedition to end the vicious pirate’s murderous rampage. Echo longs to accompany Adams, but his duties to Amafata prevent him from joining.

On the way to Barbados an outbreak of typhus forces them to put in at an uninhabited island to replenish their water supply. When the captain and shore party fail to return, Echo discovers that the island isn’t as deserted as they thought and his mates are slowly being slaughtered as sacrificial lambs. Relying on inventiveness and knowledge, he soon extricates some captives, but shortly after they are back aboard their ship, they encounter an even deadlier foe – pirates!

After the captain is fatally wounded, Echo must take command and deems it prudent to surrender. Neither he nor his mates wish to be pirates, but Captain Rambling Dirk Shivvers makes it clear that those he selects to replace his dead men have no choice. Echo and the others acquiesce, although they agree o just play pirate until they can escape the clutches of this band of misfits and miscreants. To this end, Echo finds ways to outsmart those pirates who would do him harm while ingratiating himself with Shivvers, who is stealing from his own crew. Echo tucks this fact away until a time when it will prove beneficial, but as the days pass, Shivvers becomes increasingly jealous of Echo. To protect himself and his mates, Echo resurrects the ghost of the Black Monk and uses some of his herbal medicines to concoct a special brew that eventually results in him being elected captain of the pirates.

As Echo ponders whether to accept this “honor,” news of the Black Tarantula’s depredations reaches him. The latest attack destroys Saint Domingue and his girlfriend, who evades the pirates, becomes the object of the evil pirate’s obsession. To thwart this nemesis and safe his love, Echo and his pirates must become masters at deception, battle, and many other tactics if they hope to survive a confrontation with the most fiendish pirate in the Caribbean.

Early in this tale Echo mentions that he’s still haunted by the loss of his younger brother, but there is little of evidence to show this or the effect it has on him. As in the previous title, Remarkable Rascal, his enemies come in all shapes and sizes and they provide ample adventures for him to pursue, including kidnapping, torture, and madmen. Descriptive and unique characters once again populate The Black Tarantula: Powder Monkey, Long Tall Willie, Creeping Jeremy, Charlie Crowfeet, Muttering Moses Hart, Fighting John English, Sharkface Topper, and Tiger Eyes. Smith is equally adept at demonstrating how Echo likes to think outside the box, such as his use of Angry George’s hobby to acquire needed information. The depth and breadth of Smith’s research is also evident, and he has a storyteller’s giftedness to deftly weave pirate lore and history into a believable and compelling tale. But Black Tarantula is not for the faint of heart. It is entertaining, but also violent and gruesome. By story’s end, fans will look forward to the next book in the saga, Demon Pirate.




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Remarkable Rascal -- first title in the Bilge Rat, Pirate Adventurer series

Remarkable Rascal by Kevin Charles Smith

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Clinging to the top of a ship’s mast with sharks circling below doesn’t bode well for William “Echo” Eden. Faced with such grim prospects for his future, he opts to examine choices made and the consequences that ensued. His journey into the past begins with his first memory, the death of his parents in 1695, which left him and his younger brother totally unprepared for the cruel world that lay beyond their door. Taken in by their great uncle, a retired deacon who works at a basilica, they do the majority of the cleaning, which includes ridding the basilica of its detested rat infestation, because of their uncle’s failing eyesight. They also have to answer a daily riddle – their uncle’s way of educating them. Echo excels in acquiring knowledge and a host of skills, but one particular talent is an innate ability to mimic voices and sounds. Toby, however, fails to master anything, which makes him the perfect target of a bully named Scarf Rockingham.

At night, the brothers frequently venture into the streets where Echo acquires additional knowledge that later serves him in good stead. His inventiveness eventually leads the brothers to become so adept as ratters that they gain employment at Slugger O’Toole’s Sport Emporium. Their search for rats for the fights there eventually takes them farther and farther afield until they find themselves at London’s docks where the ships at anchor provide an ample supply of contestants. They also meet a disabled ship’s cook who enthralls them with tales of his younger days at sea.

One night, Toby disappears, their uncle is killed, and Echo must flee England aboard the Amafata, where his only friend is the ship’s cook. As they sail to the Caribbean, Echo’s encounters bring him face-to-face with the reality of sea life, the brutality of punishment, spinning yarns, ghosts, sea hazards, ingenious games, Voudou, pirates, slavery, superstitions and witches, first love, and duels. His many talents and knowledge elicit the friendship of some and the enmity of others.

Remarkable Rascal, the first entry in the Bilge Rat, Pirate Adventurer series, is a rollicking tale of adventure, romance, and life in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries for a lad in his teens. Although cited as a book for young adults, the violence and gruesomeness make me question whether all readers of this age group are mature enough to handle some of the covered topics. Throughout the narrative some words are italicized, although the purpose for being so is never given. Some can be found in the glossary, others cannot.

Well-researched, this novel deftly captures the essence of this period. The author, a gifted storyteller, uses a first-person perspective to suck readers deeper and deeper into a whirlpool that, at times, is as violent as a maelstrom or as serene as a halcyon day. Rather than recount every detail of Echo’s young life, he weaves together a series of vignettes that introduce the main character and provide the framework that allows Echo to accomplish all that transpires both in London and the Caribbean. Along the way readers meet a host of unique and memorable characters – some scary, others who bring smiles, all easy to picture.




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Barracuda

Barracuda by Michael Aye

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


A mail packet pounded to bits, a flagship sunk, and a devastating attack on a 64-gun ship send Admiral Lord Gilbert Anthony and his squadron to Saint Augustine, Florida. His mission is twofold: protect the British port and its merchant shipping, and stop American privateers’ raids in 1776. Gil and his men enjoy the warmer climate after a stint in the North Atlantic during winter, but these waters are prime hunting grounds that also provide excellent hiding places for the rebels and their allies.

After delivering dispatches on their way to Florida, Lieutenant Gabriel Anthony, captain of HMS SeaWolf, and his longtime friend, Lieutenant Francis Markham of HMS Swan, investigate distant gunfire. What they witness are two ships attacking a brig. The red and yellow sails identify one of the attackers as a Spanish frigate; instead of allowing the prey to surrender, the Spaniard pounds the brig into oblivion. Only twenty-seven men survive.

Nor is this the Royal Navy’s only encounter with the Spanish “ghost ship,” as she becomes known because the frigate always seems to vanish afterward. Although the reason for such viciousness and the identity of her master are unknown, the Anthony brothers realize that they must stop this Spaniard and his vendetta against the British. When patrols prove fruitless, Gil alters his strategy. They will seek out as much intelligence as possible before launching any attacks. Information provides clues that lead them to the Keys, but it will take skill and cunning, as well as luck, to bring the enemy to heel.

This third installment in this nautical series weaves together high action with numerous subplots providing vivid glimpses into rivalries, long absences from family, life at sea and in port, love between enemies, and a court martial involving ear biting. There are some minor irks – a wounded character who miraculously heals, incorrect words (i.e., “to” for too, “partial” for “parcel”), and a climactic battle that ends too quickly – but the humor, longing, and adventures overcome these. Fans will enjoy this fast-paced and satisfying episode in the saga of the Fighting Anthonys.




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