Action/Adventure Aficionados discussion
Group Reads Archive
>
August 2015 Pirates Group Read Nominations
date
newest »
newest »
On Stranger Tides by Tim PowersAboard the Vociferous Carmichael puppeteer John Chandagnac is sailing toward Jamaica to claim his stolen birthright from an unscrupulous uncle when the vessel is captured… by pirates! Offered a choice by Captain Phil Davies to join their seafaring band or die, Chandagnac assumes the name John Shandy and a new life as a brigand. But more than swashbuckling sea battles and fabulous plunder await the novice buccaneer on the roiling Caribbean waters—for treachery and powerful vodun sorcery are coins of the realm in this dark new world. And for the love of beautiful, magically imperiled Beth Hurwood, Shandy will set sail on even stranger tides, following the savage, ghost-infested pirate king Blackbeard and a motley crew of the living and the dead to the cursed nightmare banks of the fabled Fountain of Youth.
The novel that inspired the motion picture Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.
I'll nominate Earthblood by Keith Laumer. If you check the Amazon link, it says the book is only available used in paper or hardback, but it is available as an ebook through Baen Books.http://www.baenebooks.com/p-669-earth...
It's a fun galactic adventure with a good hero, even if he is a carnie turned pirate.
Mod
Mod
An injured French officer struggles along a desolate stretch of West African coastline, desperate to hold on to his secret. Alas for him, his tale is soon ended, and violently, but a young pirate recruit, Patrick Devlin, who happens to speak fluent French, comes away from their encounter with a new pair of boots and a treasure map. From there the adventures of the pirate Devlin, his shipmates, and those who wish them dead move forward without restraint, through broadside barrages and subterfuge and brutal encounters on land and at sea, where nothing is as it appears to be at first glance. In these pages readers will meet Blackbeard and his cohorts, Portuguese colonial governors and French commandants, officials of the East India Company and Royal Naval officers, fresh-faced midshipmen and gnarly, scarred, and drunken pirate crewmen. But none of these is as impressive and memorable as the former servant and newly minted pirate captain Patrick Devlin, unless it's the man he once served on board a British man-of-war, a man now sworn to kill him!
message 6:
by
Danielle The Book Huntress , Literary Adrenaline Junkie
(last edited Jul 15, 2015 11:19AM)
(new)
Mod
Blair Maynard, a divorced journalist in New York City, decides to write a story about the unexplained disappearance of yacht..."
The Island is not in print, so it's not eligible for nominations. You're free to make another nomination that is eligible (available to buy new or as an ebook).
Mod
I don't know very many pirate novels or even very many pirate movies, for that matter. I never--even for a moment--bought into the 'Pirates of the Caribbean' franchise. Never appealed to me at all. And I'm not much a fan of Robert Louis Stevenson. Sooo...Hmmm...thinking. Tough to come up with one containing man-to-man action, too...
Rats! I see that Captain Blood has already been done here.
My favorite pirate movie is by Cecil B. DeMille, (1938's 'The Buccaneer') but the screenplay was derived from the corny Lyle Saxon biography, so this does not suit.
Hmmm...what else..
Oh! How about: Richard Hughes' A High Wind in Jamaica? Not sure how much action we'll get out of it but Hughes is a fine prose writer..
Or maybe --wait, a few of Alistair MaClean's novels have pirates--stand by...(update: yes!)
Two of MacLean's titles are based around piracy: 'When Eight Bells Toll' and 'The Golden Rendezvous'.
I've read both and like both, can vouch for both, but the slight edge goes to The Golden Rendezvous . So that's my pick! It's a humdinger! Not a lengthy read either; and mostly free of MacLean's later bad writing habits
p.s. Here's a quote I (manually) added to Goodreads myself for 'When 8 Bells' because its one of the best opening paragraphs to any action novel ever!https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/...
You weren't alone. My first suggestion was 'The Island' as well. I had to edit and re-edit my post once I saw your conversation with the Book Huntress.I like Benchley a lot.
p.s. 'Golden Rendezvous' has a film version starring Richard Harris but it just didn't work out all that well. He looked too old for the part.
Mod
https://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/1...
another tight contest!all the entries look good..
I think it worked out well. Any Alistair MacLean novel can always be revisited at a later date, re-nominated for another month. But for 'pirate' theme, that's pretty infrequent-- so, best to go for the most piratey-book possible!
If anybody likes audiobooks, the audio version of On Stranger Tides is narrated by Bronson Pinchot and he does an awesome job with it.
Action/Adventure Aficionados
Books mentioned in this topic
On Stranger Tides (other topics)On Stranger Tides (other topics)
The Golden Rendezvous (other topics)
A High Wind in Jamaica (other topics)
Captain Blood (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Bronson Pinchot (other topics)Keith Laumer (other topics)
Tim Powers (other topics)
Considerations:
1. One nomination per group member. The books must be nominated with a Goodreads link by clicking on 'add book/author'. If a book does not have a Goodreads link, it will not be added to the poll.
2. Books need to be readily available, ie, in print (able to buy new or in ebook format).
3. Books should have some degree of action/adventure content.
4. Past group reads are not eligible to be nominated again. The past group discussions remain open for members to comment. You may see the list of past reads here:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
5. Books must be either standalone or first in a series (or they may be later in a series if constructed to be read as a standalone).
The poll will go up on July 16th.