Pirates and Privateers
The History of Maritime Piracy

Cindy Vallar, Editor & Reviewer
P.O. Box 425, Keller, TX  76244-0425

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The planters of Tidewater Virginia worry about the shrinking market for the tobacco that brings them wealth. They must ship the crop to England in a convoy because pirates prey upon their ships. If the vessels arrive in London, the planters receive less money for their tobacco because more of it is available on the market at one time. The financial toll on Thomas and Elizabeth Marlowe has brought them to the brink of ruin. Elizabeth devises a plan that might save them, as well as some of the neighboring plantations, but it requires Thomas to sail to London. Surely no one there will recognize him! For if someone does, Thomas will face the hangman's noose because he was once a pirate.

Thus begins the third installment of James L. Nelson's The Brethren of the Coast. Although Marlowe understands the risks involved with his wife's daring venture, he never expects to meet his arch nemesis, a man Marlowe thought had died long ago. Each time he thinks he's bested Roger Press, the man has the nasty habit of returning from the dead and this time he possesses a royal commission to hunt his own brethren, the pirates.

From Virginia to London to the pirate utopia of Madagascar, The Pirate Round prods the reader to turn the pages of this maritime adventure that brings to life all the horrors and pleasures associated with piracy. The story unfolds in 1706, a time between the Age of the Buccaneers and the rise of the Golden Age of Piracy. Unlike many writers who incorporate pirates into their stories, Nelson vividly portrays his pirates with refreshing realism and brutal honesty. His knowledge of sailing aboard wooden ships transports the reader back to the days of those vessels. The reader swelters under the heat of a tropical sun or prays for wind to end the boredom of being becalmed. The reader urges Marlowe on as he dares to rescue stranded seamen aboard a foundering ship during a fierce storm at sea. The reader craves the vast riches that draw honest seamen to the Indian Ocean to pillage the treasure-laden ships of the moguls.

Nelson is a gifted seanchaidh, a master storyteller who weaves a captivating story through his magical use of words. The Pirate Round will inspire and haunt the reader long after he or she turns the last page, for dreams do come true, but sometimes at great cost. This book is a must read for anyone interested in the real pirates of yore.

Read an Excerpt
Learn more about the series The Brethren of the Coast
Visit James L. Nelson's web site

                                       Book Review Copyright ©2003 Cindy Vallar
 
 

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