Type of bind: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 823.92
EAN num: 9780375423215
ISBN number: 0375423214
Label: Pantheon
Manufacturer: Pantheon
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 144
Printing Date: October 19, 2004
Publishing house: Pantheon
Release Date: October 19, 2004
Sale Popularity Level: 493097
Studio: Pantheon
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Editor's Notes and Comments:
Product Description:
Not since Moby-Dick...No, not since Treasure Island...Actually, not since Jonah and the Whale has there been a sea saga to rival The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists, featuring the greatest sea-faring hero of all time, the immortal Pirate Captain, who, although he lives for months at a time at sea, somehow manages to keep his beard silky and in good condition.
Worried that his pirates are growing bored with a life of winking at pretty native ladies and trying to stick enough jellyfish together to make a bouncy castle, the Pirate Captain decides it's high time to spearhead an adventure.
While searching for some major pirate booty, he mistakenly attacks the young Charles Darwin's Beagle and then leads his ragtag crew from the exotic Galapagos Islands to the fog-filled streets of Victorian London. There they encounter grisly murder, vanishing ladies, radioactive elephants, and the Holy Ghost himself. And that's not even the half of it.
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Rated by buyers 
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You just have to love a novel that has "piratical" in it, twice no less, right on the back cover!
The specs: it's a hardcover, but dinky. 4 ¾" wide by 6 ¾" high by ¾" thick, and that's with the dust jacket on, mind you. All of 135 pages, and that includes the comprehension exercise and six--count `em, six--words to know. An adult reader can breeze through this outstanding little novel in an hour or less, depending only on additional time spent on vicarious daydreams of ham feasts, grog and pirating (pirate-ing?).
There's the front cover endorsement from Eric Idle. That's some serious comedic horsepower weighing in there, telling you that this is the epitome of humorous pirate fiction. And right he is. Also, this blurb tells you by implication that this won't be Dave Barry humor, or P. J. O'Rourke humor. Rather, it's going to be dry, wacky, unpredictable and necessarily illogical humour (spelling intentional), of the British sort.
Synopsis: It's 1830-something and a bored, moderately intellected yet thoroughly swashbuckling pirate captain motivates his crew into adventure, and they end up capturing Darwin and a highly educated simian aboard the Beagle, going to London to rescue a relative, and having a just ever so swell adventure involving a circus of freaks, a tunnel, an evil bishop, an airship and Big Ben. Hams, cutlasses, grog, a seaside arcade, a pirate convention, the Elephant Man and a few attractive ladies play outstanding supporting roles.
If you're an adult reader, you will get many of the more esoteric aspects of this book's comedy, such as the anecdotal/informative footnotes, one of which describes Darwin's time aboard the Beagle as "...one continual puke." There are some very funny references to office politics, some stealthily concealed sex jokes, and at least one pun about a shredded simian so cunning in its setup and delivery that I moaned aloud when struck with it.
If you're a kid reading this--and I heartily recommend it for the 10 and older crowd--this is a fun and wacky story about some pirates who get in a humorous and unpredictable adventure. The beauty is that you don't necessarily have to know who Darwin is, the particulars of mid-19th century seafaring or the basics of 1800s London infrastructure to follow and enjoy the story. While a few deserving rogues are run through with a cutlass--and they deserve it, one way or another--there is no gore, no blood, no details of the act, very much like a beloved cartoon. Also, there's no sex, no foul language, not unless you're going to get upset with such rampant vulgarity as "scalawag" or "lubber."
There are some very nicely done drawings inside the front and back covers. The front one nicely depicts Ireland as "The Falklands" while placing the Galapagos Islands somewhere in the vicinity of Portugal. Sure, laugh now, but the narrative serves to back up this bold assertion. The back drawing has got a neato London map, with a circus of freaks inset ("see an out of control teen"), the pirate captain sliding down a dinosaur skeleton, airship exploits and depicting the location of "sooty orphans" and what London fog looks like.
Bottom line: The story at its core is predictable, almost stock, but the characters in it and what they do along the way and parallel to that narrative arc is what makes this book great. Whether it's their wacky antics or the frequent and very funny editorial injections from author Defoe, this is a simple, easy-reading, fun diversion for adults and mature kids alike.
Rated by buyers 
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Belay your search for a salty tale and batten on to this slender tome! Creationists may want to avoid this book, as Charles Darwin is a central character. The Pirate Captain takes his descriptively named crew on a rousing adventure around the world and back to London, employing clever disguises and foiling the dastardly plans of the Bishop along the way. Black Bellamy confounds the Pirate Captain yet again, but as usual the dashing Pirate Captain has the word. Written in the best homage to Gilbert & Sullivan's "The Pirates of Penzance", this series continues to delight and titillate the salty senses of the sea-faring soul. Practice reading in an authentic pirate voice, and have some cured ham handy for snacking.
Rated by buyers -
The Pirates! are hilarious in there unexpected adventures! I can't wait for the subsequent one!
Rated by buyers -
If you love Monty Python - you'll love the Pirates! series. Get ready to howl with laughter - you won't be disappointed (Though, if this is your first, I'd start with An Adventure with Ahab - still - you'll be entertained either way)
Rated by buyers -
This is one of the few books that I finished really fast. It may be because it is a relatively short novel, but it is also because it is never boring and reading it doesn't require much thinking... not because it doesn't make any sense but because it is very simple (no metaphors) and quite literal (but not shallow), and also the text itself is just purely entertaining. One thing I felt as I was reading was that it made me really hungry for an actual escapade!
Of course, I have other good reasons for liking The Pirates! this much. Not only is it very funny, it is also intellectual. The author provides information on things that readers would probably be interested in, mostly day-to-day life activities, like why our fingers wrinkle every time we stay in the bath too long. I actually found it really clever of him to do that. The characters of this book have some personality that would make you like them a lot, especially the Pirate Captain. I also like his favorite comrade, the pirate with a scarf. It was also enjoyable to have Charles Darwin, Robert Fitzroy, and the Bishop of Oxford as characters, because in this novel the author made it possible to see them in another light; the not so serious kind of light... and it was really entertaining because in textbooks all there is to them are their importance to science and religion. This work of fiction would enable readers to see that maybe after all, these great people did have a comedic side.
And of course, it was always easy to picture the scenarios playing in your head. Along with it, you'll smile and laugh for sure!
I would have to praise the author, Mr. Defoe for having a really imaginative mind. I'm sure that if Charles Darwin and Robert Fitzroy were alive now, they would have been the ones to cast themselves as characters in this story before they're even asked! If you're looking for books to read during your free time or vacant time, The Pirates! will fill that idle time of yours and turn it into a funny adventure!
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