I was very, very disappointed in Pirate Latitutdes.
I'm relatively certain it was still in the first or possibly second draft. Threads are set up that never go anywhere, and characters are introduced who seem to be important but aren't.
The whole thing just reads unfinished and flat.
After reading Pirate Latitudes, I wanted to wash the taste out of my mouth, so I finally broke down and ordered Flint and Silver off of Amazon. (By John Drake).
Treasure Island is a particular favorite of mine - I make it a point to reread it every year.
I've read just about every prequel and sequel to Treasure Island written...(with the exception of Porto Bello Good, which I've yet to get to).
I held off on picking up Flint and Silver for a year or so...every review that I'd read mentioned that it was a very adult novel (for both violence and adult themes), and I wasn't confident that it would mesh with the original novel.
After Pirate Latitudes, I knew I needed something better...so I ordered it.
I never should have waited.
For the first time, I feel that a worthy addition to Treasure Island has been written. I've enjoyed most of the other prequels and sequels, and filed them away as "alternate universe" stories, but never really part of the official canon.
Flint and Silver *feels* like Robert Louis Stevenson to me, even if the novel is MUCH more adult than Treasure Island was.
Some adaptations or additions try so hard to imitate the characters, that it's obvious that they're aping. The words coming out of Long Johns mouth in this novel FEEL like Long John.
(It also has the benefit of being the first in a trilogy of prequels!)
Even so, I've been reading this novel slowly...I want to savor every page.
So...sorry for the threadjack...but for those looking for additional GOOD pirate literature, you can't go wrong with either On Stranger Tides or Flint and Silver. If it were me, I'd leave Pirate Latitudes on the shelf.
Lorn
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