Pirates and Privateers

To complicate matters, Commodore Vernon of the Royal Navy arrives with news that England and Spain are at war and he will do whatever it takes to safeguard Britain’s interests in the Caribbean. His admiration for Jesamiah’s ship instigates several actions that force Acorne and his pardoned comrades to once again go on the account. Against their better judgment, the pirates agree to their captain’s hair-brained scheme that takes them to Hispañola, where they offer their services to the Spanish. While the Sea Witch sets out to prove the pirates mean what they say, Jesamiah finds himself under house arrest under the watchful eyes of the governor’s mistress. With her apparent help Jesamiah attempts to track down the one thing that will free Tiola from van Overstratten’s grasp, while ferreting out the English spy and helping the rebels to overthrow the governor. He must accomplish all this while trying to elude the governor’s efforts to kill him, determine which rebel has betrayed his cohorts, and avoid the hangman’s noose that Commodore Vernon intends for him.

Interwoven through these adventures are two tales of three women: Tiola, Rain, and Tethys. The last wants Jesamiah for herself, but can only accomplish this with the help of her daughter, Rain, who may want to keep him. She and her mother are spirits of the Otherworld, and only Tiola can protect Jesamiah, but she’s in a drug-induced sleep aboard her husband’s vessel.

I approached this book with wariness, for I’m not a fan of historical fantasy. Yet early on I found myself engrossed in this action-packed tale that is steeped in history and complicated by unexpected twists and turns that kept me guessing. Although the frequent changes in characters’ points of view were a bit disconcerting, this gripping account of Jesamiah Acorne’s second voyage combines gritty realism with a touch of the fey.

Bring It Close
By Helen Hollick
SilverWood Books, 2009, ISBN 978-1-906236-625, US $18.50 / £10.99
(Also available as a Kindle e-book)

The third adventure in the Jesamiah Acorne series opens in Nassau in 1718. The former pirate captain has received a royal pardon and plans to wed Tiola, but her skill as a midwife and healer keep her busy and the two lovers rarely see each other. When four men accost him in an alley, Jesamiah ends up in the arms of his former sister-in-law, Alicia, and before long the two spend the night together. Tiola decides to distance herself from Jesamiah and sails to Bath Town, North Carolina to assist a lady in what proves to be a difficult birth.

Angry at himself for betraying Tiola, Jesamiah sets off after her with the crew of the Sea Witch, even though he knows it means he will cross paths with Blackbeard, who bears a grudge against Jesamiah. That ill will only deepens when Jesamiah interferes in Blackbeard’s attempt to capture the ship carrying Tiola. If watching out for Blackbeard to get even isn’t enough of a worry, Jesamiah discovers he didn’t leave Nassau alone. Alicia comes, too, for she’s intent on securing her future. She wants her dead husband’s plantation and Jesamiah can give it to her. But he refuses this request, for after all, the plantation never really belonged to his half-brother, Alicia’s husband, who turned out to not really be his sibling at all. Alicia, however, intends on getting her way, which lands Jesamiah in a Virginia jail on charges of piracy.

Intertwined within these stories is another, that of Jesamiah’s father. Caught in the world between the dead and the living, he wants to make things right. Tiola helps him cross over to mend the hurt he caused Jesamiah as a child, but Charles’s intent is far different from what Tiola expects. Coupled with the hangman’s noose awaiting Jesamiah and Blackbeard’s pledge to make him pay, Jesamiah figures his chances of survival are thin.

Similar to an undulating Chinese dragon, Bring It Close is a serpentine tale with twists and turns that never let the reader alight from the ride until the last page is turned. Hollick deftly weaves magic with history to create a spellbinding account of Blackbeard’s last days, leaving the reader filled with awe, remorse, wonder, and horror. Historical personages such as Blackbeard, Alexander Spotswood, Governor Eden, and Robert Maynard are seamlessly threaded into a story populated with fictional characters that bring the eighteenth century to life. Bring It Close is one pirate adventure you won’t forget.

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