Robert Southworth Reviews: The Pirate Captain by Kerry Lynne

Please see details of giveaway at the bottom of the page! The draw will be held 

on Tuesday the 25th August 2015

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The Pirate Captain set in the mid 18th century when pirates and their exploits sent shivers down the back of many a Governor. Blackbeard, Kidd, and Morgan earned their blood soaked place in history, and inspired many a historical novelist to put pen to paper. The rebellious spirit shown by these men and women stood the test of time as books gave way to other media, generations have whooped with joy as Fairbanks, and Flynn swung between sail and rigging. So it is easy to see why an audience would crave further stories, the challenge to the author is however, to bring something new to the reader. The blurb sets the scene,

  During the year of our lord 1753, I was sailing the West Indies, minding the oars in me own boat, pursuing me sole purpose in life: to disrupt the unholy alliance of two corrupt men, to destroy their lives as they destroyed mine. I mistakenly kidnap Catherine Mackenzie—wrong person, easy mistake, you understand—and me life went arsey-turvey. Having lost hearth and heart to the Jacobite War, and wanted for war crimes, Cate has the grit and savvy to have survived years destitute and alone in the cesspool known as London. When arrest seems imminent, Cate, through whose eyes this story is told, buys passage on the first ship away. Now, Cate desires but one thing: a place to belong.

  The novel centres on two main characters, Captain Nathaniel Blackthorne, the skilled and feared pirate Captain of the Sarah Morgan plying his trade in the Caribbean Seas, and Cate, a woman more than able to match his guile and grit.  I could not help wonder whether the author took her inspiration for Cate’s character from a female pirate such as, Anne Bonny, because they share an inner strength enabling them to survive in a traditionally male, and an extremely violent environment. It is the interaction between these two characters, which holds the reader’s attention for much of the novel.  Although the first meeting is a case of mistaken identity, and hardly filled with unbridled passion.

“What do you plan to do with me?” she ventured to ask again, a bit more steadily this time. In lieu of her own plan, knowing this might help.
He closed one eye as he strolled around her, shrewdly evaluating her as one would when purchasing a horse. “Scrawny and a bit old aside, a thing such as you could bring a good price at several markets."

  The novel could so easily have fallen into the mills and boon trap. However, it rides the swell of the Caribbean Seas into a far more interesting tale. The characters throughout are generally well developed with a lot of time obviously spent on getting the two main protagonists just about perfect. Life aboard the ship is described wonderfully, often from the viewpoint of Cate, which adds a new dimension to the book. Action scenes are delivered with skill and realism. I reviewed the digital copy of over 600 pages, and so I imagine that the physical copy would be of a substantial size, and offer the reader many hours enjoyment.

  To Summarise, the writing is not too technical as to blind the audience with nautical terms. The type of language used makes for an interesting debate. The initial few pages are, for want of a better phrase,‘pirate lingo’, and to some readers this could prove a distraction. However, as the book goes on it softens and I believe the book benefits from that change. The Pirate Captain is an interesting read, which blends a number of genres together. There is enough within its covers to keep Adventure, Romance and Historical enthusiasts more than happy.

The author Kerry Lynne is kindly offering two ebooks to giveaway. All you have to do is leave a comment here on the blog or on our Facebook Page

About the Author

Kerry Lynne was a history major in college and went into teaching for a few years. Then she wound up in the decorative painting world, where she traveled, taught and published for some 30 years. And then her hand wouldn't work. So she went back to what she knew: writing, history and sailing. Lynne's fictional writing achievements include The Pirate Captain: Chronicles of a Legend (Nor Silver) 2014 Next Generation Indie Book Finalist Award for Historical Fiction (first novel) and a short story publication in LocoThology #3-The Price of Victory (deleted scene from The Pirate Captain, Nor Silver). In 2014 the second book in The Pirate Captain series "Nor Gold" has been released continuing the legend of Captain Blackthorne.
You can find out more about Kerry Lynne on her
Website
by copies of Kerry Lynne's books on
Amazon.UK
Amazon.com

Robert Southworth is an author of his Spartacus novels. This is the second novel that Robert has reviewed for us and is now a valued member of The Review readers team. Robert can be found on 

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The Magic of Robert Louis Stevenson

When asked what my favourite book is these days I would have to confess that I don't actually have any single book which I would claim as the holder of that title. There are simply far too many books which I love to pick any single book out and set it above all others.

I could however list authors whose books never fail to enthral and entertain. Among them, and in no particular order, would be Terry Pratchett and his Discworld novels, Ian Rankin and the Rebus tales, and yes I was heavily influenced to set in my books in Edinburgh through him although 250 years earlier than Inspector Rebus, Lyndsey Davis and her wonderful Roman mysteries with Marcus Didius Falco, Irvine Welsh, Wilbur Smith whether it is his historical fiction or the 'modern' tales set in more recent times, Michael Crichton, Nigel Tranter and many, many others.

Now if I was to add the independent authors who I have discovered over the last few years since allowing myself to explore the hidden gems allowed by KDP/Amazon the list grows at an alarming rate. A very brief list of new authors that I particularly enjoy would include names such as Trish Marie Dawson, KS Haigwood, Kevin Hammond, Shiralyn J Lee, Bon Rose, Lucinda Brant, and the wonderfully talented authors who contribute to this blog. These are only a few which I would recommend but there are dozens more out there to be discovered and loved.

Right! So much for these days. What about when I was younger?

This is a much easier question to answer as one author stands out head and shoulders above all others for me when I was a child. Robert Louis Stevenson. The son of a family better known for its lighthouse designs than literature, he was born in Edinburgh in 1850 and died tragically young at the age of only 44 on the Samoan island of Upolu. While his family built beacons to guide the sailor safely home RLS wrote books which still serve as beacons guiding the reader to fantastic adventures.

I was given a hardback copy of Treasure Island when I was eight years old and despite the plain red faux leather cover it appealed to me straight away. Illustrated with several colour plates depicting pirates and old sailing ships I wanted to dive straight in. And that is exactly what I did. Every book deserves a great opening line and Treasure Island has one of the very best ever set down -

Squire Trelawney, Dr. Livesey, and the rest of these gentlemen 

having asked me to write down the whole particulars about Treasure Island, 

from the beginning to the end, keeping nothing back but the bearings of the island, 

and that only because there is still treasure not yet lifted, 

I take up my pen in the year of grace 17__ and go back to the time when 

my father kept the Admiral Benbow Inn and the 

brown old seaman with the sabre cut first took up his lodging under our roof.

Instantly you are placed there in the tavern with the mysterious scarred sailor and wonder what the story can possibly be about this island and its unknown treasure. Treasure Island is one of those books which all writers of historical fiction aspire to match. Its cast of characters have entered the popular imagination and there can be few people who can't instantly picture the figure of Long John Silver in their own mind whenever they hear his name. The book has been adapted for the big screen an incredible number of times from Robert Newton's masterful portrayal of Silver right through to the Muppets adventures on the island and even on spaceships in the depths of space. This is in no small measure due to sheer number of stand-out scenes which fill the book from cover to cover.

Yes, if you had asked me at the age of ten what was the best book ever written I would have replied Treasure Island without even pausing for thought...but then I discovered Kidnapped!

Suddenly the tales of English country gentlemen and dastardly pirates in the Caribbean paled in comparison with a full blooded adventure set right here in my own country, Scotland! For probably the first time I was reading about places I knew and had visited personally in something other than a history text book at school. Edinburgh Castle, South Queensferry, Hawes Inn, Culross, Rannoch Moor! These were all places I had visited but suddenly I was looking at them in a wholly new light. No longer were they simply beautiful places to visit for a day trip in a car but they lived and breathed on the page before my eyes.

The adventures of David Balfour after his betrayal by the villainous Ebenezer Balfour of Shaws soared before my ardent eyes with the grace and power of a Scottish eagle over the high mountains of the Highlands. The heroic, if flawed, Alan Breck Stewart and his mentions of the murderous battle of Culloden only drew me further in and suddenly I began to view Scottish history not as something dry and dull which my teacher droned at us in class but as something vital, something alive and which burned with passion and real flesh and blood. Stevenson was one of the authors who creates a spectacle so vividly with his words that you can feel yourself shivering on the cold shores of an island off the west coast of Scotland or breathing the peat smoke of the fire in Cluny's Cage and then hiding below a gorse bush on the wilderness of Rannoch Moor while a party of English Dragoons scour the landscape for you.

Other than the scenes set in the majestic Scottish Highlands the scenes which had the greatest appeal for me were those set in Edinburgh. Auld Reekie is a city which lives in my heart and that draws me back to her embrace time after time. Some may see her as a being like a woman with an elderly face that relies on the days of her youth to attract admirers but all those who have experienced the pleasure of her company and come to know her can see that beneath the facade she is still beautiful, still young and vibrant, with a lust for life and a passion for all that life has to offer. To walk the streets of Edinburgh is to walk in the footsteps of history. From Robert the Bruce to Mary, Queen of Scots, to Bonnie Prince Charlie, to Walter Scott and Stevenson himself, you will see the sights and breath the same air as they did. From the tourist hotspots on the Royal Mile to the hidden gems in quiet backstreets there is so much she offers to both the local and visitor alike. That is why I love her and place her above all others.

So there you have it. My contribution to what our inspirations and favourite books are. If you have read either or both of these books I am sure you will have enjoyed them every bit as much as I have repeatedly and if you haven't, then I would urge you to do so at the earliest opportunity!

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Stuart Laing is the author of The Robert Young of Newbiggin Mysteries.

 His blog can be followed at 

stuartslaing.wordpress.com