Recently I have been in the mood to experience pirate narratives. Since I am a fan of having background music or noise while I work and/or study, I ended up watching the Pirates of the Caribbean films while I did my stuff. Then it dawned on me that I haven’t read many piratey books in my life. I’ve read a little bit of high fantasy that had swashbuckling antics, but nothing that was similar to the realm of the films that I had been marathoning. It made me curious about literary narratives that also had boozy adventuring pirates. I did some research and managed to concoct a list of titles that I would love to dive into one of these days, hopefully sooner rather than later!
5. Unhooked by Lisa Maxwell
Unhooked is a young adult fantasy novel that I was intrigued by due to its neat cover. After reading the premise, I found myself really wanting to experience the characters’ adventures! So, on the list it went. It revolves around a girl named Gwendolyn Allister who has never had a true home of her own. Terrified of being hunted by monsters, her mother has had them running. London becomes their next home and Gwendolyn was lucky enough to bring her best friend, Lisa, along for the summer. Then suddenly one evening, both girls are kidnapped and whisked away to the world of deadly shadow creatures; a world called Neverland and it’s nothing like the sweet, happy fairy tales.
4. Pirate Latitudes by Michael Crichton
Pirate Latitudes is a historical fiction adventure novel that was recommended to me by my cousin, who has fabulous reading taste. After he told me a brief bit about it, I knew that it warranted reading. It takes place in 1665 in a rough outpost of the English Crown that is a minor colony holding out against the supremacy of the Spanish Empire. Port Royal—a cut-throat town of taverns, grog shops, and bawdy houses—is utterly devoid of London’s wondrous luxuries, but for Captain Charles Hunter it is a life that can also lead to vast riches… so long as he abides by the island’s code. When he learns of a stranded ship, a Spanish treasure galleon, him and his crew decide to hi-jack it. Shortly afterwards, the blood-spiller, Cazalla—King Philip IV’s favourite commander—gets word of the theft and reeks carnage in pursuit of the vessel and Captain Hunter.
3. Birds of Prey by Wilbur Smith
Wilbur Smith is a British-South African author who has written amazing novels about Ancient Egypt. Naturally, when I found he had written a novel about pirates, I absolutely had to have it on my list. Birds of Prey takes place in the year 1667 and follows Sir Francis Courtney and his son, Hal. They are patrolling the coast of Agulhas Cape off Southern Africa, lying in wait for a treasure-laden galleon from the Dutch East India Company, when an unexpected quest takes them on a thrilling adventure. Their journey takes them from Good Hope to the Great Horn of Ethiopia, far to the North.
2. The Guns of Ivrea by Clifford Beal
Oh… this book. I started reading it once but became horribly distracted with other life things going on at the time (this was about two or three years ago), and never got back around to it. I vaguely remember having a good time with it, and I’m curious to see where it will go, especially since there are sequels for it! The Guns of Ivrea is a high fantasy novel that follows a former thief-turned-monk who discovers a terrible secret beneath a great temple; a pirate princeling who’s a mercenary to the king and a captain to the largest fleet in Valdur; and a grey-skinned daughter of the merfolk’s chieftain who’s obsessed with humans. All of their fates intertwine as they journey across land via the free cities that are ripe with political intrigue, religious fervour, and ancient hatreds—creating a whirlwind of brewing war.
1. On Stranger Tides by Tim Powers
Of course, this has everything to do with the Pirates film, which wasn’t great. I had no idea the film was inspired by this novel! When I learned that, it became a no brainer to put the book on my list. On Stranger Tides is a high fantasy, horror novel that is about puppeteer John Chandagnac who is sailing towards Jamaica to reclaim his stolen birth-right from his slimy uncle. Unfortunately for him, his vessel ends up being taken by pirates. When given an ultimatum to join the vicious crew or die, John accepts the offer to join. But out on the feisty waters of the Caribbean, the novice buccaneer comes across dark sorcery that features a ghost-infested pirate crew headed by a ghost king called Blackbeard.
These all sound amazing! I’d want to read The Guns of Ivrea. I love books that take place on the sea, it doesn’t necessarily have to be pirates. I’d recommend reading Our Bloody Pearly by D.N. Bryn which is amazing! It’s about a siren who had been captured & chained by vicious pirate who’s made a device to cancel out siren’s songs. It’s one of my favourite books and it has great rep too! You have to check it out!
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That sounds like something I would absolutely love! Thank you, adding it my Library wish list. 😀
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My favorite pirate story is “A High Wind in Jamaica”. A great novel and an outstanding movie with James Coburn and Anthony Quinn.
Didn’t they do an anime version of Treasure Island?
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This list looks great! I have one more suggestion that’s a bit unconventional, if you get the time to read it. We Are Pirates by Daniel Handler (AKA Lemony Snicket) is a modern-day realistic deconstruction of the pirate genre. It’s got all the gloom and grime of Lemony Snicket, but taken up a notch for an adult audience. It was my beach read last summer and I loved it!!
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Ooh, I’ll have to look it up. 😀 Thank you for sharing it; don’t think I’ve heard of it.
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I’ve heard of On Stranger Tides before, can’t remember where, but it’s def going on my Goodreads TBR now.
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Awesome! 😀
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I had no idea that the Pirates 4 film was inspired by a novel. Learn something new every day!
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Neither did I until I looked up books! I loved Blackbeard’s character (fricking love Ian McShane) in the film, so naturally the book had to be my number one, haha.
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Har har me harties…(uhm sorry got a bit carried away there😅😂😂). I really like the pirate genre too ( highly recommend the Black Sails tv series: it’s awesome), but surprisingly I haven’t read many novels in this genre either. Definitely some cool looking titles in this post 😊😊
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I saw the first season of Black Sails, and enjoyed it. I really need to finish watching the rest of the current seasons. XD
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Yeah…it only gets better. The first season was okay, but the second season is where things really kick into high gear. I hope you will enjoy it 😊😊
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Oh, awesome. 😀
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