The Pyrates
Book Title:The PyratesAuthor:George MacDonald FraserISBN:978 -0-7627-7431-9Category:FictionFormat:PaperbackSummary:If you can imagine the Marx Brothers or Monty Python meets Pirates of the Caribbean then this is the book for you. Fraser is also the author of the Flashman series of novels and they seem a bit tame by comparison. I can honestly say I did not get through a single chapter without laughing out loud at least once. The book is literate silliness with a vengeance -- a swash buckling yarn of seventeenth century derring-do that sometimes derring-doesn't. Great duels, daring rescues, damsels in distress (and some pretty tough damsels that help themselves), fabulous treasures, and general historic mayhem ensues from the Indian Ocean to the New World. The book is filled with self-aware writing and the author breaks the fourth wall with impunity. But as with the Flashman novels, there is an accurate historic undertone to it all. Fraser lays blame for his fixation with the topic to youthful exposure to Rafael Sabatini, Errol Flynn, Basil Rathbone, and the music of Eric Korngold. As with Fraser's Flashman novels, one must occasionally look askance from humor that is not always politically correct in this day and age. If you do not have too delicate sensibilities, this novel is enormously enjoyable and just plain fun.
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