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Valkyrie #3
Look Sharpe!: A Caribbean Pirate Adventure
Henry Sharpe is a recently bereaved and bankrupt English earl who travels to the Caribbean to help his uncle run his sugar plantation. When he arrives, he finds his uncle has given up on that idea to lead a more exciting life as a privateer.
With no money and no prospects, Sharpe has little choice but to join him, although he is uncomfortable with the life he is living, especially when he meets the indomitable and infamous Henry Morgan and is forced to sail under his orders.
He is more likely to rescue the doomed souls he meets than terrorise them, which leads to repeated conflict with his fellow privateers, especially when he takes the kidnapped Magdalena under his protection.
Battling ships and the Spanish fortifications protecting Porto Belo, Sharpe finds his deadliest feuds are those aboard his own ship. Trapped in the middle of the rivalry between his uncle, Captain Richard Tarr, and Captain Edward Hornigold, Sharpe makes more enemies on deck, in particular the formidable yet sly Cheval.
He is pushed to his limits as he fights for his own survival and that of the woman he loves, knowing the odds are stacked high against him.
Look Sharpe! is the third book in the Valkyrie Series, which is character based rather than chronological and so can be read and enjoyed in any order.
With no money and no prospects, Sharpe has little choice but to join him, although he is uncomfortable with the life he is living, especially when he meets the indomitable and infamous Henry Morgan and is forced to sail under his orders.
He is more likely to rescue the doomed souls he meets than terrorise them, which leads to repeated conflict with his fellow privateers, especially when he takes the kidnapped Magdalena under his protection.
Battling ships and the Spanish fortifications protecting Porto Belo, Sharpe finds his deadliest feuds are those aboard his own ship. Trapped in the middle of the rivalry between his uncle, Captain Richard Tarr, and Captain Edward Hornigold, Sharpe makes more enemies on deck, in particular the formidable yet sly Cheval.
He is pushed to his limits as he fights for his own survival and that of the woman he loves, knowing the odds are stacked high against him.
Look Sharpe! is the third book in the Valkyrie Series, which is character based rather than chronological and so can be read and enjoyed in any order.
220 pages, Paperback
First published June 2, 2014
10 people are currently reading
153 people want to read
About the author
Karen Perkins
36 books244 followersKaren Perkins is the author of the Yorkshire Ghost Stories, the Pendle Witch Short Stories and the Valkyrie Series of historical nautical fiction. All of her fiction has appeared at the top of bestseller lists on both sides of the Atlantic, including the top 21 in the UK Kindle Store in 2018.
Her first Yorkshire Ghost Story – THE HAUNTING OF THORES-CROSS – won the Silver Medal for European Fiction in the prestigious 2015 Independent Publisher Book Awards in New York, whilst her Valkyrie novel, DEAD RECKONING, was long-listed in the 2011 MSLEXIA novel competition.
Originally a financial advisor, a sailing injury left Karen with a chronic pain condition which she has been battling for over twenty five years (although she did take the European ladies title despite the injury!). Writing has given her a new lease of – and purpose to – life, and she is currently working on A Question of Witchcraft – a sequel to Parliament of Rooks: Haunting Brontë Country.
To find out more about current writing projects as well as special offers and competitions, you are very welcome to join Karen in the her Facebook group. This is an exclusive group where you can get the news first, as well as have access to early previews and chances to get your hands on new books before anyone else. Find us on Facebook at:
www.facebook.com/groups/karenperkinsb...
Her first Yorkshire Ghost Story – THE HAUNTING OF THORES-CROSS – won the Silver Medal for European Fiction in the prestigious 2015 Independent Publisher Book Awards in New York, whilst her Valkyrie novel, DEAD RECKONING, was long-listed in the 2011 MSLEXIA novel competition.
Originally a financial advisor, a sailing injury left Karen with a chronic pain condition which she has been battling for over twenty five years (although she did take the European ladies title despite the injury!). Writing has given her a new lease of – and purpose to – life, and she is currently working on A Question of Witchcraft – a sequel to Parliament of Rooks: Haunting Brontë Country.
To find out more about current writing projects as well as special offers and competitions, you are very welcome to join Karen in the her Facebook group. This is an exclusive group where you can get the news first, as well as have access to early previews and chances to get your hands on new books before anyone else. Find us on Facebook at:
www.facebook.com/groups/karenperkinsb...
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
June 11, 2014
Karen Perkins does it again!
This is the first book in the Valkerie series I’ve read, and right from the beginning I was drawn into the world of English aristocract turned privateer, Henry Shape. The descriptive detail in the writing had me feeling as if I were standing right along side Henry as he made his way in his new life as a privateer after the death of his father and failing family finances. It had me anxious to continue the voyage and read more from this excellent writer. A must read for anyone who loves stories of high adventure, privateers, and romance on the open seas!
This is the first book in the Valkerie series I’ve read, and right from the beginning I was drawn into the world of English aristocract turned privateer, Henry Shape. The descriptive detail in the writing had me feeling as if I were standing right along side Henry as he made his way in his new life as a privateer after the death of his father and failing family finances. It had me anxious to continue the voyage and read more from this excellent writer. A must read for anyone who loves stories of high adventure, privateers, and romance on the open seas!
July 29, 2014
Note: Review is for the entire Valkyrie Series
Well written historical fiction should cause the reader to wonder what really happened - to ask what in the story is fact and what is not. If the story is well executed it should be told without anachronism or other annoying flaws, accurately depicting the period in question. Ultimately it should be the kind of story that leaves the reader thinking that if things didn't happen exactly this way, perhaps they should have. Karen Perkins has delivered such an achievement.
The Valkyrie Series is a pirate tale with a love story or two thrown in to the mix. In the background it also points out some of the more glaring social issues of the period such as colonial exploitation, slavery and greed along with the institutionalized oppression of women and man's inhumanity as contrasted to the desire for freedom of choice.
Karen Perkins begins her tale with Ill Wind, a novella length story that introduces us to 14-year-old Gabriella Berryngton. Set in the late 17th Century we are transported back to a time with very different rules. Although her story begins in colonial Massachusetts Bay her father arranges for her marriage of convenience to Erik the son of a wealthy Dutch businessman named Jan van Ecken. Against her will she is taken aboard a ship to the Caribbean island of Sayba. On the way she learns that van Ecken's business associations are at least questionable and, as the story progresses, she learns that she is aboard a pirate ship. Her adventure as well as a great deal of suffering at the hand of overbearing and oppressive men is just beginning.
Gabriella begins as an innocent girl but rapidly becomes experienced in the darker aspects of the real world into which her father is forced her, a dangerous existence defined by wealth, slavery and nefarious dealings with some unsavory characters.
The second book of the series, Dead Reckoning is a true novel in length and in structure. It is told from the perspective of two character, Leo Santiago who we met briefly in Ill Wind and Gabriella van Ecken. The former is bent on revenge against the pirates that tortured and raped his mother before killing her and the latter seeks escape and freedom from her imprisonment as the nominal wife of Erik.
Dead Reckoning has the feel of a epic journey into the world of privateers marauding the Caribbean. Again the attention to detail in the descriptions of the ships and the character’s clothing is second to none. The level of accuracy makes it easy to lose oneself in the adventure, getting so involved in the story that you continue to think about the characters and wonder at the outcome of their stories long after you set the books aside. Karen Perkins is herself an accomplished competition sailor, so it comes as little surprise that the nautical terms and descriptions of the ships, their rigging and the basics of how to sail such marvels of construction is meticulously factual, leaving the reader feeling as if he or she has learned something and might even be able to survive aboard such ships.
The third installment of the Valkyre series is Look Sharpe! Having read the books in the numerical order as perhaps intended is not necessary, though. Since Karen Perkins structured the story from the perspectives of its several main characters the reader might actually start by reading Look Sharpe! and gain a different perspective on the characters and their stories. Though I found Dead Reckoning to be the most complete novel in a traditional sense, each of the three installments has its strengths as a story.
The risk of telling a story from multiple perspectives is that the story gets lost in all the background details and the reader gets bored with hearing the same bits told over and over, albeit from differing perspectives. But here Perkins takes care to avoid redundancies. Although there is some overlap in the details, having each character's unique point of view is actually enlightening. The way Perkins presents the material is effective instead of distracting. However, there is a huge problem in structuring a story as multiple character profiles and the Valkyrie Series story arc suffers in the process.
There is a different way of presenting the story using a mixture of character point of view and chronological order. In order to create the story in such a manner the entire story must be drafted first then arranged into a logical flow. The difficulty in this method is that it is time consuming and requires an author to extend work on an epic scale to span years instead of the usual few months it takes to draft a novel.
My problem with giving any of the books in this series a complete endorsement is that two of the books feel incomplete as novels and the one that merit the title, Dead Reckoning, leaves many questions unanswered. Look Sharpe! answers the questions of who is Henry Sharpe and why does he act as he does in assisting the events in Dead Reckoning. I can assume that the soon to be released Ready About and the short story Where Away also serve to fill in backstory's details. As I am a fan of the series, I will read both as soon as they are made available.
Structural problems aside, the Valkyrie Series has a lot to offer for those who love historical pieces about pirates and high seas adventures. The character-based story telling delivered in first person lends intimacy in the connection between the reader and the characters making for a enjoyable experience. Had the story arc of the entire series been used as an overall structure for telling the series from the perspectives of Gabriella, Leo and Sharpe (and perhaps Magdalena) I believe the books could have made a stronger impact as works of epic adventure literature. Perhaps, once the story is completely told, the author might reorganize the various parts and tell the story chronologically through each character’s perspectives. As it is, once the reader has consumed the tales from the differing points of view the whole of the story feels finished.
The quality of writing is first rate with only a few minor editing errors. Some of the spellings are peculiar to the period and the fact that the author is British. Single quotes are used in dialogue, which is not a big deal to American readers who have read some British authors in the past. Because of the manner of telling through the eyes of multiple characters there are jumps in time and a few instances of overlapping events seen from different points of view but as kt is presented it is not confusing.
Regardless of the structural shortcomings I highly recommend these books. Perkins is a gifted writer. Her characters live and breathe for the reader.
Well written historical fiction should cause the reader to wonder what really happened - to ask what in the story is fact and what is not. If the story is well executed it should be told without anachronism or other annoying flaws, accurately depicting the period in question. Ultimately it should be the kind of story that leaves the reader thinking that if things didn't happen exactly this way, perhaps they should have. Karen Perkins has delivered such an achievement.
The Valkyrie Series is a pirate tale with a love story or two thrown in to the mix. In the background it also points out some of the more glaring social issues of the period such as colonial exploitation, slavery and greed along with the institutionalized oppression of women and man's inhumanity as contrasted to the desire for freedom of choice.
Karen Perkins begins her tale with Ill Wind, a novella length story that introduces us to 14-year-old Gabriella Berryngton. Set in the late 17th Century we are transported back to a time with very different rules. Although her story begins in colonial Massachusetts Bay her father arranges for her marriage of convenience to Erik the son of a wealthy Dutch businessman named Jan van Ecken. Against her will she is taken aboard a ship to the Caribbean island of Sayba. On the way she learns that van Ecken's business associations are at least questionable and, as the story progresses, she learns that she is aboard a pirate ship. Her adventure as well as a great deal of suffering at the hand of overbearing and oppressive men is just beginning.
Gabriella begins as an innocent girl but rapidly becomes experienced in the darker aspects of the real world into which her father is forced her, a dangerous existence defined by wealth, slavery and nefarious dealings with some unsavory characters.
The second book of the series, Dead Reckoning is a true novel in length and in structure. It is told from the perspective of two character, Leo Santiago who we met briefly in Ill Wind and Gabriella van Ecken. The former is bent on revenge against the pirates that tortured and raped his mother before killing her and the latter seeks escape and freedom from her imprisonment as the nominal wife of Erik.
Dead Reckoning has the feel of a epic journey into the world of privateers marauding the Caribbean. Again the attention to detail in the descriptions of the ships and the character’s clothing is second to none. The level of accuracy makes it easy to lose oneself in the adventure, getting so involved in the story that you continue to think about the characters and wonder at the outcome of their stories long after you set the books aside. Karen Perkins is herself an accomplished competition sailor, so it comes as little surprise that the nautical terms and descriptions of the ships, their rigging and the basics of how to sail such marvels of construction is meticulously factual, leaving the reader feeling as if he or she has learned something and might even be able to survive aboard such ships.
The third installment of the Valkyre series is Look Sharpe! Having read the books in the numerical order as perhaps intended is not necessary, though. Since Karen Perkins structured the story from the perspectives of its several main characters the reader might actually start by reading Look Sharpe! and gain a different perspective on the characters and their stories. Though I found Dead Reckoning to be the most complete novel in a traditional sense, each of the three installments has its strengths as a story.
The risk of telling a story from multiple perspectives is that the story gets lost in all the background details and the reader gets bored with hearing the same bits told over and over, albeit from differing perspectives. But here Perkins takes care to avoid redundancies. Although there is some overlap in the details, having each character's unique point of view is actually enlightening. The way Perkins presents the material is effective instead of distracting. However, there is a huge problem in structuring a story as multiple character profiles and the Valkyrie Series story arc suffers in the process.
There is a different way of presenting the story using a mixture of character point of view and chronological order. In order to create the story in such a manner the entire story must be drafted first then arranged into a logical flow. The difficulty in this method is that it is time consuming and requires an author to extend work on an epic scale to span years instead of the usual few months it takes to draft a novel.
My problem with giving any of the books in this series a complete endorsement is that two of the books feel incomplete as novels and the one that merit the title, Dead Reckoning, leaves many questions unanswered. Look Sharpe! answers the questions of who is Henry Sharpe and why does he act as he does in assisting the events in Dead Reckoning. I can assume that the soon to be released Ready About and the short story Where Away also serve to fill in backstory's details. As I am a fan of the series, I will read both as soon as they are made available.
Structural problems aside, the Valkyrie Series has a lot to offer for those who love historical pieces about pirates and high seas adventures. The character-based story telling delivered in first person lends intimacy in the connection between the reader and the characters making for a enjoyable experience. Had the story arc of the entire series been used as an overall structure for telling the series from the perspectives of Gabriella, Leo and Sharpe (and perhaps Magdalena) I believe the books could have made a stronger impact as works of epic adventure literature. Perhaps, once the story is completely told, the author might reorganize the various parts and tell the story chronologically through each character’s perspectives. As it is, once the reader has consumed the tales from the differing points of view the whole of the story feels finished.
The quality of writing is first rate with only a few minor editing errors. Some of the spellings are peculiar to the period and the fact that the author is British. Single quotes are used in dialogue, which is not a big deal to American readers who have read some British authors in the past. Because of the manner of telling through the eyes of multiple characters there are jumps in time and a few instances of overlapping events seen from different points of view but as kt is presented it is not confusing.
Regardless of the structural shortcomings I highly recommend these books. Perkins is a gifted writer. Her characters live and breathe for the reader.
September 2, 2016
I defy you not to enjoy this splendid book. There are plenty of laugh-out-loud moments as Sharpe struggles to learn how to survive on board a pirate ship. Add to that a tender love story and some exciting sea battles and you have all the ingredients for a good read. The action is fast-paced, there are plenty of interesting characters and you will be drawn into this fascinating world. Help yourself to a large, steaming bowl of turtle stew and get stuck in!
September 17, 2014
When I read book 1 of Karen Perkins' Valkyrie series, An Ill Wind, I cringed. The terror and darkness involved in that novella was so intense, I couldn't help but wish for brighter days for Gabriella and pray that the end of that book would lead her there.
As I read book 2, Dead Reckoning, I couldn't help but become completely entranced by the amount of detail Perkins places within her world, making the entire pirating (or privateering, depending on who you talk to) art become completely alive. No stone was left unturned, if you didn't come out of that story understanding what it meant (at least more than going in), then you weren't reading the same book I read.
But when it comes to book three, that's when the world really starts to come to life. Acting as something of a prequel, although also a side-quel (in that it occurs over the course of time of the first two books), Look Sharpe! gives us further background on the character of Henry Sharpe, an integral piece of the Valkyrie story whom, until now, has always seems somewhat mysterious.
However, it's not just the character detail that makes this story interesting. In a series that has been equal parts romance and pirates, we finally get the male's version of the story. Sure, they are women involved, but they are a small piece of the puzzle, even the ones that serve as romantic entanglements. This take is about Sharpe and how he rose to become a pirate from being Lord Rowleston (or whatever his name was before). This is about pirates and action, and shooting, and fun, and drinking, and poop decks, and treasure.
This is about pirates.
If you want a great introduction to a wild world of sea-based action, this is the book to start with. If you find, as I'm sure you will, this one to be worthwhile, then you'll definitely be ready for book 2.
As I read book 2, Dead Reckoning, I couldn't help but become completely entranced by the amount of detail Perkins places within her world, making the entire pirating (or privateering, depending on who you talk to) art become completely alive. No stone was left unturned, if you didn't come out of that story understanding what it meant (at least more than going in), then you weren't reading the same book I read.
But when it comes to book three, that's when the world really starts to come to life. Acting as something of a prequel, although also a side-quel (in that it occurs over the course of time of the first two books), Look Sharpe! gives us further background on the character of Henry Sharpe, an integral piece of the Valkyrie story whom, until now, has always seems somewhat mysterious.
However, it's not just the character detail that makes this story interesting. In a series that has been equal parts romance and pirates, we finally get the male's version of the story. Sure, they are women involved, but they are a small piece of the puzzle, even the ones that serve as romantic entanglements. This take is about Sharpe and how he rose to become a pirate from being Lord Rowleston (or whatever his name was before). This is about pirates and action, and shooting, and fun, and drinking, and poop decks, and treasure.
This is about pirates.
If you want a great introduction to a wild world of sea-based action, this is the book to start with. If you find, as I'm sure you will, this one to be worthwhile, then you'll definitely be ready for book 2.
August 28, 2014
The Valkyrie Series comes highly recommended for those who enjoy historical reading. It is a romance but not erotica. I would rate this series as 5 star.
I really enjoyed these stories. One big plus was the period dialogue. The language used is one you can imagine pirates of olden days in the Caribbean might have used. From start to finish, these are stories the reader will find difficult to put down as the story telling is fast paced and leaves the reader wondering what happens next. The love story between Gabriella and Leo is slow to begin with but is as it should be. After all, we all know that mad, passionate love is something that takes time to build. They are a typical couple with all the ups and downs that come with a relationship.
They are very well written with no grammar or spelling issues. An excellent series!
I really enjoyed these stories. One big plus was the period dialogue. The language used is one you can imagine pirates of olden days in the Caribbean might have used. From start to finish, these are stories the reader will find difficult to put down as the story telling is fast paced and leaves the reader wondering what happens next. The love story between Gabriella and Leo is slow to begin with but is as it should be. After all, we all know that mad, passionate love is something that takes time to build. They are a typical couple with all the ups and downs that come with a relationship.
They are very well written with no grammar or spelling issues. An excellent series!
August 12, 2014
The pirate with the heart of gold.
This third book in the Valkyrie series is told through the perspective of Henry Sharpe, the mysterious one-eyed pirate who has secretly helped Gabriella and other women escape the abusive attentions of his bosses Van Ecken and Hornigold. Finally we learn the truth of Sharpe’s painful past and what roads led such a man to become a pirate. There is also a great plot twist that I will not give away. I have thoroughly enjoyed reading the first three Valkyrie books and would highly recommend them!
This third book in the Valkyrie series is told through the perspective of Henry Sharpe, the mysterious one-eyed pirate who has secretly helped Gabriella and other women escape the abusive attentions of his bosses Van Ecken and Hornigold. Finally we learn the truth of Sharpe’s painful past and what roads led such a man to become a pirate. There is also a great plot twist that I will not give away. I have thoroughly enjoyed reading the first three Valkyrie books and would highly recommend them!
July 5, 2016
Best of the series
This is the backstory if Sharpe in the Valkerie series, and probably the best yet. It explains the rather complicated man who is a secondary character in the first two books. I understand his motivations much better now. I find I like him as much as Leo, and am looking forward to the next book in the series. I would recommend the series as written thus far. There is a lot if action and some very complicated situations. This is definitely a "pirate" series, which I love this genre! Thumbs up!
This is the backstory if Sharpe in the Valkerie series, and probably the best yet. It explains the rather complicated man who is a secondary character in the first two books. I understand his motivations much better now. I find I like him as much as Leo, and am looking forward to the next book in the series. I would recommend the series as written thus far. There is a lot if action and some very complicated situations. This is definitely a "pirate" series, which I love this genre! Thumbs up!
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews