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Blue Sail
In the crystal waters of the Caribbean seas, a predator stalks unwary merchant ships. The notorious pirate Piter Vierling freely plunders these and other vessels. Possessed of the ability to hide in plain sight, Vierling and his crew are challenged on the open sea. In Port Royal, Jamaica, a British captain is entreated to stop him. Armed with a new type of warship, Captain Iago Haken undertakes to stop Vierling once and for all. Royal engineer Gwendolyn Sweet, designer of Haken's wondrous new vessel, is overseeing the maiden voyage of her creation. As the confrontation draws closer, each of them will be changed in ways they could never suspect. And so will their world. The Golden Age of Piracy is over. The Iron Age of Piracy has only just begun.
441 pages, Paperback
Published February 27, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
March 20, 2020
One of this author's most prominent talents is the development of his characters. They are fully formed people in every aspect and that is reflected his books. This time he outdid himself. The main character, Piter has a many faceted personality and his second, Gwendolyn – well, let's just say I know who she is thanks to the way she was written. This is an adventure story but it is also the story of two people finding their true selves.
Once again I was taken away by this author. I was riding right along with that motley crew. I smelled the smoke from the canons, felt the waves of the ocean and the pain experienced by the characters.
Once again I was taken away by this author. I was riding right along with that motley crew. I smelled the smoke from the canons, felt the waves of the ocean and the pain experienced by the characters.
October 4, 2023
Pirates. Who doesn’t love pirates? Somehow we have managed to convert a bunch of bloodthirsty looters into heroes, but, hey, it was long ago and far away so, let’s pour some romance all over these guys and root for ‘em. Especially when they are more rapscallion than rapists, like Captain Piter Vierling and the crew of Der Tiegal merrily coasting the Spanish Main relieving merchants of their life earnings, their daughters, and sometimes their lives. But they’re nice about it.
I must mention that the author, Aaron Gallagher, and I belong to the same publishing house, so take any of my comments with the appropriate grains of salt.
Der Tiegal, which means The Cauldron in Dutch or German (not sure which language is intended here because of some things you find out later. Indeed, it gets renamed “The Cauldron” in English because of the things you will find out) has this very neat trick allowing it to sneak up on its unsuspecting victims. It involves the Blue Sail of the title and, given the Caribbean and its sky and sea colors, you can get an inkling of how this works. Personally, I would like to have heard more about this technique because I suspect some keen-eyed mariner would have figured it out after two or three uses, so how does it keep being effective?
But it is, so effective a frustrated governor of Jamaica practically shanghais Captain Haken of The Mirage to deviate from his Admiralty orders to the Far East and assist in the capture and/or destruction of Der Tiegal. Haken doesn’t need much persuading; he assists most enthusiastically in this abrogation of orders because he can’t wait to try out his brand new and aptly named ship against a real enemy such as Vierling. See, The Mirage is not what it seems.
And this is where things get weird.
Because this is NOT a pirate story; it’s a steampunk story set in the 18th Century which seems a bit outside the genre’s usual period. It’s the first novel of the Iron Age of Piracy series, which title should have been a clue but I didn't really know it was steampunk until I reached the rather jarring revelation of what The Mirage is actually a mirage of. Silly me. Then I hit a few more anachronisms, such as Royal Engineer Gwendolyn Sweet assigned to Haken’s crew … uh, what? In 18th Century England? Bit unusual, as is her area of expertise and her ability to maintain an astonishing level of secrecy while developing an even more astonishing technology well out of time for the period.
Turns out this is a pirate story for the modern audience, not an old fogey like me.
Okay, fine, can live with it, although I am no fan of steampunk but it’s pirates, so let’s go. And oh boy, there’s classic pirating right off the bat, including an egregious massacre brought on by Captain Vierling’s very troubled past, and the book has one of the best ship-to-ship combats of the Age of Sail that I have read since Forester. But just one. One. In fact, when weighed against all the activity, there’s quite the dearth of actual pirating. Instead, there’s loads and loads of conversation, with characters analyzing each other’s words for any kind of subtle or intended/unintended insult or violation of place and social position, which then results in many angry words and threats delivered back and forth. Man. Who knew pirates were this loquacious? It would have made Talk Like a Pirate Week somewhat tedious.
And there is a lot of tedium in this, from the never-ending conversations to far more information about the outfitting of a damaged ship than most people outside of a marina need to know. But I stayed with it because, after that first extraordinary sea battle, then the much-anticipated final battle between Haken and Vierling was going to be epic.
Well, no.
It turns into something completely different, with one of the most improbable endings of a pirate saga I could have ever imagined. I will not say what it is because that ending is worth your time. Trust me.
Even if steampunk pirates aren’t your thing.
I must mention that the author, Aaron Gallagher, and I belong to the same publishing house, so take any of my comments with the appropriate grains of salt.
Der Tiegal, which means The Cauldron in Dutch or German (not sure which language is intended here because of some things you find out later. Indeed, it gets renamed “The Cauldron” in English because of the things you will find out) has this very neat trick allowing it to sneak up on its unsuspecting victims. It involves the Blue Sail of the title and, given the Caribbean and its sky and sea colors, you can get an inkling of how this works. Personally, I would like to have heard more about this technique because I suspect some keen-eyed mariner would have figured it out after two or three uses, so how does it keep being effective?
But it is, so effective a frustrated governor of Jamaica practically shanghais Captain Haken of The Mirage to deviate from his Admiralty orders to the Far East and assist in the capture and/or destruction of Der Tiegal. Haken doesn’t need much persuading; he assists most enthusiastically in this abrogation of orders because he can’t wait to try out his brand new and aptly named ship against a real enemy such as Vierling. See, The Mirage is not what it seems.
And this is where things get weird.
Because this is NOT a pirate story; it’s a steampunk story set in the 18th Century which seems a bit outside the genre’s usual period. It’s the first novel of the Iron Age of Piracy series, which title should have been a clue but I didn't really know it was steampunk until I reached the rather jarring revelation of what The Mirage is actually a mirage of. Silly me. Then I hit a few more anachronisms, such as Royal Engineer Gwendolyn Sweet assigned to Haken’s crew … uh, what? In 18th Century England? Bit unusual, as is her area of expertise and her ability to maintain an astonishing level of secrecy while developing an even more astonishing technology well out of time for the period.
Turns out this is a pirate story for the modern audience, not an old fogey like me.
Okay, fine, can live with it, although I am no fan of steampunk but it’s pirates, so let’s go. And oh boy, there’s classic pirating right off the bat, including an egregious massacre brought on by Captain Vierling’s very troubled past, and the book has one of the best ship-to-ship combats of the Age of Sail that I have read since Forester. But just one. One. In fact, when weighed against all the activity, there’s quite the dearth of actual pirating. Instead, there’s loads and loads of conversation, with characters analyzing each other’s words for any kind of subtle or intended/unintended insult or violation of place and social position, which then results in many angry words and threats delivered back and forth. Man. Who knew pirates were this loquacious? It would have made Talk Like a Pirate Week somewhat tedious.
And there is a lot of tedium in this, from the never-ending conversations to far more information about the outfitting of a damaged ship than most people outside of a marina need to know. But I stayed with it because, after that first extraordinary sea battle, then the much-anticipated final battle between Haken and Vierling was going to be epic.
Well, no.
It turns into something completely different, with one of the most improbable endings of a pirate saga I could have ever imagined. I will not say what it is because that ending is worth your time. Trust me.
Even if steampunk pirates aren’t your thing.
April 7, 2020
I am a huge fan of Pirates. Years ago when I saw the movie Cutthroat Island, I just knew that I had been a pirate in another life! I love this author and could not wait to read Blue Sail when I heard it was being released. The great news is that the book is flat out amazing. I found myself riding the seas with wind in my hair, shouting around me, ropes swinging and water splashing, the sounds of splintering wood as cannonballs hit the side of other ships and swords swishing through the air - ah, what a glorious day!
Okay, back to dry ground...As always, Gallagher has created characters that you become friends with. Piter is the captain of the pirate ship and a truly fascinating character -- one I shall not forget. Gwendolyn, the first female to study engineering in Great Britain and the creator of fine machines, is a match for any pirate in terms of wit and grit. And then the British Navy Captain Haken, who will stop at nothing to end piracy on the British seas.
Adventure on the high seas has never been so fun, so daring or so risky. Climb aboard, set your sails and fly through the water at speeds you never thought possible, after all, what do you have to lose?
Okay, back to dry ground...As always, Gallagher has created characters that you become friends with. Piter is the captain of the pirate ship and a truly fascinating character -- one I shall not forget. Gwendolyn, the first female to study engineering in Great Britain and the creator of fine machines, is a match for any pirate in terms of wit and grit. And then the British Navy Captain Haken, who will stop at nothing to end piracy on the British seas.
Adventure on the high seas has never been so fun, so daring or so risky. Climb aboard, set your sails and fly through the water at speeds you never thought possible, after all, what do you have to lose?
April 15, 2020
Aron Gallagher's writing has a way of putting you right on the deck of a pirate ship! This is a rich, detailed, well written good-old-fashioned pirate story. The intriguing part comes in with the setting of the beginning of the iron age and a couple interesting plot twists. A swashbuckling tale that keeps the pages turning with great dialogue and action. Love the sword play and battle scenes very realistic! Puts me in mind of Pirates of the Caribbean!
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews