Rating: 
Summary: I was about 10 years old when I first read this book.
Review: I resisted at first, because the title was hokey. I was hooked halfway down the first page. Sabatini has a way of taking a time of wind-powered ships, black powder cannons, iron cutlasses, antique political causes, and beautiful, somewhat flowery speech patterns, and making them exciting, and fast, and immediate. You can stop on every page and the words will paint pictures in your mind. I was thrilled to find this book available again, and in hardcover. My 1940 edition is getting pretty fragile. But that edition has something this new one doesn't. Across the bottom of the cover it says "Complete and Unabridged". And the new one isn't. I found the first act of vandalism on page 6.
Rating: 
Summary: some nice action, some nice wit
Review: Loses points for racism, sexism, mushy romance, the irritating ultra-coolness of hero, and the cartoonish angry bluster of the bad guys. For entertainment, it beats TV, though.
Rating:
Summary: Entertainment on Every Page
Review: Rafael Sabatini struggled for years as a writer before striking it big with his fabulous historical fiction stories. His breakthrough, according to the elaborate introduction written by Gary Hoppenstand, came with "Scaramouche: A Romance of the French Revolution" in 1921. Immediately following this novel was "Captain Blood: An Odyssey." These two books alone sealed Sabatini's success with an audience hungry for adventure tales. Hoppenstand argues that Sabatini's fictional endeavors fed an increasing appetite amongst low level industrial workers for stories that placed the little guy against the vested interests (in this case, a wronged man turns pirate and fights back against upper class nobles and landowners), but the story works just as well as an adventure story. Penguin Classics has graciously reprinted "Captain Blood" for the modern reader, and deserves a hearty round of applause for bringing this great yarn to our attention.The only thing Irishman Peter Blood wants is to be left alone. A trained physician living in Bridgewater, England in the 17th century, Blood spends his days healing the sick, smoking his pipe, and reminiscing about his ten-year stint as an adventurer throughout Europe. When the Duke of Monmouth organizes a rebellion against the tyranny of James Stuart, the King of England, Blood refuses to have anything to do with it despite suffering the abuse of those locals who wholeheartedly support the campaign. Blood's undoing comes when he assists an injured rebel after the royal army crushes the upstarts. Blood sees no contradiction in offering aid to an injured man, but the English soldiers who arrest him insist he is a traitor to the Stuart monarchy. They charge Blood for his "crimes" and sentence him to death by hanging. After commuting the sentence to ten years of slavery on the island of Barbados, the English transport Blood and a few rebels into the hands of the treacherous Colonel Bishop, a sugar plantation owner and a ruthless thug who sees nothing wrong with using stocks, whips, and other threatening devices to control his slaves. The story rapidly takes off from this point, as Blood escapes and embarks on a career as a pirate. He raids Spanish treasure ships in the Caribbean while pining for Bishop's pretty niece Arabella. Sabatini introduces us to a whole host of despicable characters, from Spanish Admiral Don Esteban, a French pirate named Lavasseur, and a French general named Rivarol who all present a threat to Peter at one time or another. Blood dupes them all through a series of adventures on sea and land. Through it all this Irish pirate never loses sight of his goals: to clear his name and return to England, and to woo Arabella Bishop. The most notable aspect of this novel is the writing style employed by Sabatini. This guy really knows how to tell a tale, and his language is rich, ornate, and deeply descriptive. His technique seems more 19th century than early 20th. The texture of Sabatini's language adds considerably to the story without becoming too overweening. In a time when language became more functional and therefore less complex, Sabatini strove for authenticity by using older words and lengthier terminology. It works, and it works well in a chronicle about 17th century pirates by making the reader feel as though this story really is from another time. Sabatini also wrote historical biographies about the Spanish Inquisition and Cesare Borgia, which give Sabatini the knowledge to place Blood in the proper historical context. The year 1688 makes an appearance towards the end of the story, and if you know anything about what happened in England at that time you can probably figure out what implications it had for Peter Blood. In short, this blending of the real and the imaginary continually shapes the events in the novel, thus making the story more realistic. The references to real life people also give the book a halo of respectability. A few improbabilities mar the otherwise pristine veneer of "Captain Blood." There are certain battles that take place on the high seas that would make it impossible for Blood to accomplish the sort of things he pulls off. The total evilness of the pirate captain's foes presents a few problems as well. The Spanish Admiral Don Esteban, for example, assumes a Captain Ahab like attitude towards Blood after the pirate repeatedly defies the Spanish fleet. It seems unlikely that Esteban would resort to blatant piracy himself to seek personal revenge against one criminal. Despite these few small problems, the story's great style, engaging adventures, and historical accuracy builds a yarn both fascinating and entertaining. I was about half way through the book before I realized that this is my first pirate adventure novel. What a way to start! I enjoyed it thoroughly on a purely entertainment level, and after reading one book by Rafael Sabatini I would definitely read another. "Captain Blood" is a great way to pass a few hours and undeniably beats spending a like amount of time watching mindless sitcoms on television.
Rating:
Summary: Ought to be required reading in high school
Review: Saw the movie, loved the movie; read the book, loved it just as much! This was as just as much fun to read as THE SCARLET PIMPERNEL. Lots of action and moments fraught with danger. The great part about the book is that it lets you in on all the parts you don't see in the movie: how Blood became the scourge of the Caribbean, the inner mental workings of Peter and Arabella, etc. And, oh how I wish they would have brought out in the movie that his ship was named "Arabella" (so romantic!). A must have for recreational reading... and re-reading... and RE-reading!
Rating:
Summary: Ought to be required reading in high school
Review: Saw the movie, loved the movie; read the book, loved it just as much! This was as just as much fun to read as THE SCARLET PIMPERNEL. Lots of action and moments fraught with danger. The great part about the book is that it lets you in on all the parts you don't see in the movie: how Blood became the scourge of the Caribbean, the inner mental workings of Peter and Arabella, etc. And, oh how I wish they would have brought out in the movie that his ship was named "Arabella" (so romantic!). A must have for recreational reading... and re-reading... and RE-reading!
Rating:
Summary: Chivalry to the point of idiocy
Review: That what the Lord said of Captain Blood. Another thing I dont understand, is that he like kept saving people over and over again, and they just came back trying to kill him again and again. Peter Blood certainly was no chess player.
Cause in chess, its fool me once, shame on me. How did people ever fall in love in those Pre-Victorian days?
Rather unromantic, I think. They were wusses. If you love a
woman just tell her! Dont be a wuss about it! Its not that hard, to say, and actually quite pleasant :) Peter was never "forced to become a pirate".
He could have gone to any other place in the world, and practiced there.
Rating:
Summary: Chivalry to the point of idiocy
Review: That what the Lord said of Captain Blood. Another thing I dont understand, is that he like kept saving people over and over again, and they just came back trying to kill him again and again. Peter Blood certainly was no chess player.
Cause in chess, its fool me once, shame on me. How did people ever fall in love in those Pre-Victorian days?
Rather unromantic, I think. They were wusses. If you love a
woman just tell her! Dont be a wuss about it! Its not that hard, to say, and actually quite pleasant :) Peter was never "forced to become a pirate".
He could have gone to any other place in the world, and practiced there.
Rating:
Summary: IT IS MORE THAN THE BEST!!!
Review: The beautiful Arabella with her gorgeous white sails cruising the Carribean in search of the evil and betraying Spanish... It's a masterpiece, and though this is a used-up word, believe it! You fall in love with her captain,Peter Blood, a bold and sarcastic irishman who was once a doctor, but whom the unfairness and some other reasons forced to capture a ship and set himself free from slavery, a ship, which he named after the beatiful Arabella, niece of his former master. Arabella, who also loves him...
Rating:
Summary: Much nastier than the movie
Review: The movie version of this is a classic, but the book has much more to it. It's clever, nastier and more complicated than the movie, and ultimately more interesting. In short, it is the most entertaining adventure story I have ever read. Whether you've seen the movie or not, read this book.
Rating:
Summary: WICKED, CLEVER, FUNNY, ROMANTIC, EXCITING, HIGH SEAS...
Review: This book deserves nothing less than five stars. It was simply a masterpiece and a thrilling novel. Excitement at every chapter, intrigue, wonderment, adventure, so so very well written and the character development was exceptional. I loved it and wish I'd read it sooner.
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