Pirate Latitudes: A Novel
by Michael Crichton
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Book Summary Information
Author: Michael CrichtonEdition: Roughcut
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2009-11-24
ISBN: 0061929379
Number of pages: 320
Publisher: Harper
Product features:
- First Edition Hardcover Fiction
Book Reviews of Pirate Latitudes: A Novel
Book Review: Pirate Yawn
Summary: 2 Stars
Michael Crichton's Pirate Latitudes starts out well enough, introducing us, as it does, to the English colony of Port Royal, Jamaica, to our story's main-characters, and also to the times in which our adventure takes place, the mid-17th-century, when Spain was still the most-powerful force in the New World, and the English, the French, and the Dutch, each with the glint of her gold reflected in their eyes, were scratching at Spain for a foothold in the Americas. However, after this interesting and comparatively well-written introduction...well, from here forward the tale seems unfinished, more of a first or second draft, at best; and at times it even gets a bit ridiculous.
Obviously incomplete is the account of the English Captain Charles Hunter's attack on the enemy's island fortress of Matanceros, where a Spanish galleon heavily-laden with riches awaits an escort for its triumphant voyage homeward to Spain. Matanceros is purported to be unassailable, protected by hundreds of Spanish soldiers under the command of the ruthless Cazalla, but the fortress is conquered almost immediately, with little trouble. Nothing much in the way of real excitement occurs, and what does occur happens fast, too fast, as if the author meant to return and flesh-out the characters, their actions, and the pace. As another example, we also get hints at a romance or two to be had for our hero, Captain Hunter; but apart from a stolen kiss here and a quick shag there, nothing much develops in the way of a substantive love-interest, either. There's little witty repartee, no foreplay, and not one bit of tender afterglow. In other words, there's no chemistry, not even the bare ingredients. Finally, check out the book's ending, which somehow involves our intrepid Captain Hunter, a traitorous crew member, a saucy English tart, a crossbow, and sharks, but is as improbable as it proves underwhelming.
Polar-opposite to the author's bland, merely sketched moments, the rest of our story's action often picks-up but unbelievably so, as when Captain Hunter and his crew battle, in turn after outrageous turn, a powerful hurricane, cannibalistic Carib Indians, and the legendary "Kraken" (Giant Squid). Forget the Kraken, which is simply ridiculous, but the parts about the hurricane and the indians would likely ring truer if this book were truly finished.
No doubt Michael Crichton adored a good swashbuckler and was writing this book in homage to the likes of Rafael Sabatini, Robert Louis Stevenson, and Daniel Defoe, each of whom penned truly great pirate yarns, in Captain Blood, Treasure Island, and Captain Singleton, respectively; but I think it safe to say that Pirate Latitudes is not, as reported, "a completed manuscript." Though I would cherish the chance to re-read this novel after the author fleshed-out the action and the characters, and finished, really finished with it, I can only hope that Crichton would have revised the story in some ways, as well; particularly by altogether ridding Captain Hunter and his crew from the threat of that silly Kraken.
Enjoying, as I continue to do, the swashbucklers of Alexandre Dumas, the aforementioned Rafael Sabatini, Robert Louis Stevenson, and Daniel Defoe, and also today's Arturo Perez-Reverte, I truly wanted to love, or even just plain like, Pirate Latitudes; but alas, mateys, no can do. For instead of a good pirate yarn, what we've gotten out of Michael Crichton's posthumously and obviously unfinished effort is more of a pirate yawn. Still, I suggest, dear reader, that there is a glimmer of hope ashine upon the waters of your teary eyes! Turn your spyglass, then, if you will, towards the film industry, for signs of a director like Steven Spielberg signing-up and coming aboard to finish for us the dearly-departed author's novel. The good news is that a movie version of Pirate Latitudes will be made more complete, in some way, at least, and maybe even more exciting; but I'm afraid the bad news is that the silly Kraken will probably remain.
Pirate tales I can highly recommend:
Rafael Sabatini: Captain Blood; and also, The Sea-Hawk
Robert Louis Stevenson: Treasure Island
Daniel Defoe: Captain Singleton (Oxford World's Classics); and also, A General History of the Pyrates
The following recommendations are not pirate tales, per se, but they are fantastic swashbucklers!
Alexandre Dumas: The Three Musketeers (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition); and also, The Count of Monte Cristo (Penguin Classics)
Arturo Perez-Reverte: The King's Gold; and also, The Cavalier in the Yellow Doublet, which are but the latest books in the excellent Captain Alatriste series.
Rafael Sabatini: Scaramouche: a romance of the French revolution,
Summary of Pirate Latitudes: A Novel
Jamaica in 1665 is a rough outpost of the English crown, a minor colony holding out against the vast supremacy of the Spanish empire. Port Royal, Jamaica?s capital, a cut-throat town of taverns, grog shops, and bawdy houses, is devoid of London?s luxuries; life here can end swiftly with dysentery or a dagger in your back. But for Captain Edward Hunter it is a life that can also lead to riches, if he abides by the island?s code. In the name of His Majesty King Charles II of England, gold in Spanish hands is gold for the taking. And law in the New World is made by those who take it into their hands.
Word in port is that the Spanish treasure galleon El Trinidad, fresh from New Spain, is stalled in nearby Matanceros harbor awaiting repairs. Heavily fortified, the impregnable Spanish outpost is guarded by the blood-swiller Cazalla, a favorite commander of King Philip IV himself. With the governor?s backing, Hunter assembles a roughneck crew to infiltrate the enemy island and commandeer the galleon, along with its fortune in Spanish gold. The raid is as perilous as the bloody legends of Matanceros suggest, and Hunter will lose more than one man before he finds himself on the island?s shores, where dense jungle and the firepower of Spanish infantry are all that stand between him and the treasure.
With the help of his cunning crew, Hunter hijacks El Trinidad and escapes the deadly clutches of Cazalla, leaving plenty of carnage in his wake. But his troubles have just begun. . . .
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