<< 1 >>
Rating: 
Summary: One Dynomite Read - ... Buccaneering Doesn't Get Any Better
Review: I'm surprised the ... community has let this book go out of print and isn't clammoring for more books from M. S. Hunter.The Buccaneer is a well researched novel. Hunter gives immaculate historical detail of the sanctioning of privateers during the colonization of the Americas in the late 1600's and their evolvement to buccaneers and pirates. This is not some stale story, but swashbuckling adventure at its best. The tale is narrated by 'Tommy the Cutlass' a youth begging escape from his father's tavern in the Carribean to adventure, fame, and fortune on the high seas. Aboard the 'Red Witch' as a crewman, he and his crewmates are dedicated to harassing the enemies of England, and relieving said enemies (whether ship or land colony) of as many valuables as they can. Tommy rises from shipmate to captain, finding love along the way in the form of an Ashanti warrior. Little known of the privateers and buccaneers of the latter 17th century is that many were fugitive runaways and escaped slaves who capitalized their freedom on the high seas. Hunter weaves this fact into his nonstop tales of adventure, incorporating them equally into the lust and love that many buccaneers developed for each other, there being few women among the colonies, and fewer still on the isolated high seas. Some may find offense at Hunter's use of racial slurs, but they are in context with the times and held to a minimum. Even his lead character and narrator 'Tommy the Cutlass' finds distaste for them. Hunter weaves a fascinating but thoroughly credible tale of adventure, interracial love, and at times descriptive ribald lust between Tommy and his Black lover, Ashanti prince Ozei Oyoko, (Ozzie the Spear), and does it beautifully within the context of the era. Irritating are the interruptions Hunter imposes on his readers to inform, clarify, and educate, but educate, they do. I found myself searching for tickets to St. Vitus (San Vito), so real does he create the place, and enticing does it become. For those interested in books about buccaneers or the caribbean, this book is excellent. For those interested in ... fiction, dynomite ... adventure, and interracial love stories, it's a must have.
Rating: 
Summary: A fascinating tale of gay buccaneers
Review: It's too bad this book is out of print. The stories and lives of Caribbean privateers (careful, don't call 'em pirates) revealed in this book are indeed intriguing. Some of M.S. Hunter's fabrications such as the existence of an Italian island in the Caribbean are a bit baffling, yet his rendering of a fairly utopian interracial (albeit a bit misogynist) buccanneering society is captivating. Though, granted, I picked this book up because of my interest in gay fiction, the book would be of interest to a general open-minded readership. The book's erotic passages are thankfully short enough not to interfere with the story which is far more interesting. Because of this novel, I am much more interested in reading other literature concerning the adventures of buccaneers.
Rating:
Summary: A fascinating tale of gay buccaneers
Review: It's too bad this book is out of print. The stories and lives of Caribbean privateers (careful, don't call 'em pirates) revealed in this book are indeed intriguing. Some of M.S. Hunter's fabrications such as the existence of an Italian island in the Caribbean are a bit baffling, yet his rendering of a fairly utopian interracial (albeit a bit misogynist) buccanneering society is captivating. Though, granted, I picked this book up because of my interest in gay fiction, the book would be of interest to a general open-minded readership. The book's erotic passages are thankfully short enough not to interfere with the story which is far more interesting. Because of this novel, I am much more interested in reading other literature concerning the adventures of buccaneers.
<< 1 >>
| 
