By the time this post appears on the blog I will have read this book about a month and a half ago while I was on a vacation in the Caribbean. Consequently, surrounded by an environment Crichton’s characters inhabit, the ride was an adventuresome delight.

In the year 1665, Captain Charles Hunter is in Port Royal, Jamaica. He’s a privateer and he’s just come across news of a treasure galleon at anchor in a Spanish controlled island. He throws together a ragtag crew for the Cassandra and heads to sea for a heist.

There are chases, betrayals, duels, beautiful women, and exotic sun-and-rum-drenched locations. It’s a romp, and just delightful, and quick read.

Published posthumously when it was discovered on his computer’s hard drive, this one is just fun. Crichton keeps the story rollicking along as Hunter careens from one fun little pirate trope to another. Crichton’s punchy, engaging delivery style creates sunny images and grounds his story in historical accuracy.

Honestly, I tore through this one so easily. It’s just so much fun. I sat in the pool, thumbing page after page as Hunter progressed on his journey. Is he an accomplished privateer (we don’t call them pirates) or is he just really lucky?

Seductions, full sails, escapes, dastardly villains, oh and a sea monster! Crichton ensures everything you would want from a pirate story is there. And it begs to be a big-screen adaptation. Spielberg obviously agreed as he snapped up the rights, but perhaps the super-saturation of the market with Pirates of the Caribbean films has put a pause in that.

Still I have hopes of seeing Hunter and his adventures on the big-screen. It’s violent, bloody, and is very much not a Disney story. And I would love to see it on the screen, because it looked fantastic in my mind’s eye.

So if you’re going on vacation to the beach sometime soon, and are looking for something light and fun, this is definitely the one to take along.

Crichton has always told wonderful tales, usually blending science with adventure. There’s a little less science this time around, and more buckling of the swash, but this one is Crichton through and through.

Sure I jumped along his timeline to read this one, but it just seemed to be the perfect beach read. It also reawakened my love for his storytelling, so I may need to jump back onto the Crichton bandwagon and continue exploring all of his works.

But for escapist fare in the summer sun, you can’t do much better than this romp. Check it out.