9 replies to this topic

[deuce]

I reread Sabatini's The Sea-Hawk last week (one of REH's faves). Today, I noticed that there is NO thread regarding such works as Captain Blood or Treasure Island,

This thread is for straight-up "pirates". That means sea-farers who are outside of the law, even in their homeland. So, that excludes Vikings (who have their own thread anyway) but includes the Cilician pirates that captured Caesar all the way up to pirates of the 20th century. If somebody wrote a story about "pirates" as the protagonists, lets hear about it.

Of course, pirate yarns in the horror, fantasy, ancient astronaut , etc... sub-categories are more than welcome. They just have to be set sometime between the rise of the Sons of Aryas and the death of FDR. No pastiches about the Barachan Isles.


I read Gene Wolfe's Pirate Freedom a few months back and enjoyed it.

Just to get the ball rollin', I'll say that I've reread Stevenson's Kidnapped, Burroughs' Pirate Blood and Powers' On Stranger Tides (much better than the movie) in the last two years. Some "Wild Bill Clanton", too.

[thedarkman]

Check out Birds of Prey, by Wilbur Smith. A rip snorting adventure on the high seas off the coast of Southern Africa around 1667. English privateers vs the Dutch East India Company; very violent, exciting and just plain fun. Highly reccomended.

[Fierro]

Check out Birds of Prey, by Wilbur Smith. A rip snorting adventure on the high seas off the coast of Southern Africa around 1667. English privateers vs the Dutch East India Company; very violent, exciting and just plain fun. Highly reccomended.

I second the motion — also Monsoon and Blue Horizon in the same set of "Courtney" novels.

The Sea Hawk remains my favorite Sabatini tale.

For excellent and highly readable non-fiction, check out Benerson Little. Former Navy SEAL, fencer and expert on piracy. His books The Sea-Rovers Practice and The Buccaneers' Realm are great reading. Everything from tactics to firearms (the buccaneers' main arm was the musket) to economics and sex. What else you need.

And also check out the paintings of Don Maitz.

[MoeTheBarman]

Try Tim Severin's 'Hector Lynch' trilogy, Buccaneer, Sea Robber and Corsair, three excellent works of historical fiction.

[deuce]

Try Tim Severin's 'Hector Lynch' trilogy, Buccaneer, Sea Robber and Corsair, three excellent works of historical fiction.

Cool! Interesting how Severin started out with his "Brendan Voyage" and now he just writes about Vikings and pirates. Too bad he can't whip up some "Cormac Mac Art"-style stuff.

[deuce]

Check out Birds of Prey, by Wilbur Smith. A rip snorting adventure on the high seas off the coast of Southern Africa around 1667. English privateers vs the Dutch East India Company; very violent, exciting and just plain fun. Highly reccomended.

I've heard nothing but good about Smith from you n' others. I need to check 'im out.

BTW, that time period would put it around the time of Terence Vulmea.

Speaking of Vulmea, here's the "REH Pirate Fiction" thread: http://www.conan.com...=3644&hl=pirate

[deuce]

Of course, there are the "Tros of Samothrace" novels. Tros bitch-slaps Julius Caesar and the entire Roman Empire. Sailing where he wills and plundering as he sees fit.

REH was a big Mundy fan.

[docpod]

There was a lot of pirate fiction in the pulps during the 30s. Hugo Gernsback who founded AMAZING STORIES and later WONDER STORIES published a pulp called PIRATE STORIES. It didn't last long, maybe eight issues. ARGOSY had stories by H. Bedford-Jones and F. V. W. Mason. Mason later became F. van Wyck Mason in book form. He wrote many sailing ship novels including CUTLASS EMPIRE, THE GOLDEN ADMIRAL, and MANILA GALLEON.

Morgan

[Hawkbrother]

Treasure Island was one of the books I most loved as a boy. And recently watched the 1934 movie Wallace Beery and Jackie Cooper.

[MoeTheBarman]

Too bad he can't whip up some "Cormac Mac Art"-style stuff.

Yeah, he's an excellent writer, I reckon he would do a grand job of that.