The Pirate Round : Book Three of the Brethren of the Coast (Brethren of the Coast (Paperback))

Rating:
Summary: The Pirate Round
Review: Although this book contains some of the good qualities of earlier Nelson books (yes, ships do collide, several times), I found it a little disappointing.

Marlowe, short of cash, tries to take a shipload of tobacco to London ahead of the convoy. This backfires when an old enemy from his pirate days recognizes him. Fleeing to Madagascar, Marlowe goes back on the account, but becomes embroiled in the politics of the island.

I wish that there had been more description of the setting in this book. Madagascar, a fascinating environment full of many unique species, comes across as generic "jungle". There's not a single lemur to be seen.

I also felt that some plot elements never were worked out. Marlowe, in an exciting scene, rescues some stranded sailors. But these men play no unique part in the action afterward. Likewise, Honeyman, who keeps verging on antagonism but then proving himself loyal, would seem to have more interesting possibilities -- we never learn what motivates him.

The end, a kill-'em-all battle scene, works very well. Overall, I wonder if the author's heart wasn't quite in this story; it just doesn't have the structural strength and attention to detail I've seen from Nelson in the past. However, I'd still say it's worth reading.

Rating:
Summary: The Progressive Pirate
Review: Aye, it's 1706 don't ye know, and the ex-pirate Thomas Marlowe decides to settle down, with the beautiful Elizabeth, on a tobacco plantation in olde Virginny. And the first thing he does is what the first thing any bloody desperado would do: he frees his slaves. Aye, a real fair and honest man is he, our Thomas Marlowe. No slavery for him, don't ye know; that's despicable!

But the pirate lust roils in his veins so he schemes to get back on a ship and sets sail for olde England, in order to sell a load of tobaccy and make himself wealthy. He mans his ship with an equal portion of his ex-slaves and a crew of salty old sea-dogs he finds at the wharf. Naturally, they get along just fine, don't ye know, white and black, illiterate and ignorant, African and European, barely a problem between the two a'tall.

And he brings his wife along, the lovely, blonde Elizabeth, with barely a thought to the fact that she will be months at sea, in closed quarters, with a crew of armed and ignorant men, one or two who might, don't you know, get the idea of giving her husband the old heave-ho so that they can, perhaps, enjoy her in such a way that pirates have been known to enjoy females over the centuries. But no, this never happens you see, because they've apparently taken on the characteristics of their smart and sensitive captain.

So, grrr, he's cheated out of his rightful tobacco revenue and decides to go to Madagascar to become a pirate again--without telling his wife--who gets mad at him and stamps her pretty little foot and refuses to bunk with him, until he finally gets angry and takes his fists and--no, no, not that a'tall. Instead he proves his manliness to her yet again in a manly, humanitarian seaman type way, and she meekly crawls into his hammock one salty eve to forgive him and tender to him her female ministrations.

The ship he captains has no guns, not one little four-pounder, so his clever plan is to go to the famous pirate lair at St. Mary's in Madagascar to buy some. These pirates are heavily armed and have cannons pointing at every spot in the harbor, but aye, he sails in and announces that he wishes to buy sixteen cannons from them and that he can pay for them in gold. They, in turn, in true pirate fashion, sell them to him. No, they don't murder him and enslave his crew and burn his ship and steal his money and rape his wife--and he never considers that they will--instead they sell him the cannons he wants. Just like you'd expect of a bunch of deadly old salty sea-curs.

But he's armed now, and dangerous, and he goes to the Red Sea to try to capture a fabulously wealthy Indian merchantman, loaded with gold and ivory and diamonds and silver and silk and paintings and computer equipment, and what do ye know matey, finds one in a couple of days or so--the Red Sea is just crawling with them--and takes it! Aye, but it ain't that easy, because there is another pirate--a BAD pirate--who cheats him and steals the load and takes his ship and imprisons him and ties his loyal, plucky, beautiful wife spread-eagled to a bed at the pirate lair while he goes to another room to rub his hands together gleefully. Aye, aye, aye, what will happen? Will our courageous hero save her in time? Will he get his ship and treasure back? Will he bawl for a full two months all the way home because his best friend was killed?

Take a wild stab in the dark, matey.

Rating:
Summary: The Progressive Pirate
Review: Aye, it's 1706 don't ye know, and the ex-pirate Thomas Marlowe decides to settle down, with the beautiful Elizabeth, on a tobacco plantation in olde Virginny. And the first thing he does is what the first thing any bloody desperado would do: he frees his slaves. Aye, a real fair and honest man is he, our Thomas Marlowe. No slavery for him, don't ye know; that's despicable!

But the pirate lust roils in his veins so he schemes to get back on a ship and sets sail for olde England, in order to sell a load of tobaccy and make himself wealthy. He mans his ship with an equal portion of his ex-slaves and a crew of salty old sea-dogs he finds at the wharf. Naturally, they get along just fine, don't ye know, white and black, illiterate and ignorant, African and European, barely a problem between the two a'tall.

And he brings his wife along, the lovely, blonde Elizabeth, with barely a thought to the fact that she will be months at sea, in closed quarters, with a crew of armed and ignorant men, one or two who might, don't you know, get the idea of giving her husband the old heave-ho so that they can, perhaps, enjoy her in such a way that pirates have been known to enjoy females over the centuries. But no, this never happens you see, because they've apparently taken on the characteristics of their smart and sensitive captain.

So, grrr, he's cheated out of his rightful tobacco revenue and decides to go to Madagascar to become a pirate again--without telling his wife--who gets mad at him and stamps her pretty little foot and refuses to bunk with him, until he finally gets angry and takes his fists and--no, no, not that a'tall. Instead he proves his manliness to her yet again in a manly, humanitarian seaman type way, and she meekly crawls into his hammock one salty eve to forgive him and tender to him her female ministrations.

The ship he captains has no guns, not one little four-pounder, so his clever plan is to go to the famous pirate lair at St. Mary's in Madagascar to buy some. These pirates are heavily armed and have cannons pointing at every spot in the harbor, but aye, he sails in and announces that he wishes to buy sixteen cannons from them and that he can pay for them in gold. They, in turn, in true pirate fashion, sell them to him. No, they don't murder him and enslave his crew and burn his ship and steal his money and rape his wife--and he never considers that they will--instead they sell him the cannons he wants. Just like you'd expect of a bunch of deadly old salty sea-curs.

But he's armed now, and dangerous, and he goes to the Red Sea to try to capture a fabulously wealthy Indian merchantman, loaded with gold and ivory and diamonds and silver and silk and paintings and computer equipment, and what do ye know matey, finds one in a couple of days or so--the Red Sea is just crawling with them--and takes it! Aye, but it ain't that easy, because there is another pirate--a BAD pirate--who cheats him and steals the load and takes his ship and imprisons him and ties his loyal, plucky, beautiful wife spread-eagled to a bed at the pirate lair while he goes to another room to rub his hands together gleefully. Aye, aye, aye, what will happen? Will our courageous hero save her in time? Will he get his ship and treasure back? Will he bawl for a full two months all the way home because his best friend was killed?

Take a wild stab in the dark, matey.

Rating:
Summary: Best of a Great Series!
Review: I have read all of the Brethren of the Coast books (and most of Nelson's Biddlecomb books) and enjoyed then all a great deal, but this one is the best so far. Nelson is terrific at creating dangerous madmen, and the characters in Pirate Round are beleivable and terrifying. This is real edge of the seat writing, with the usual atention to historical detail and the kind of sea writing that can onlycome from a former blue water sailor. A great book, you will love it!

Rating:
Summary: Good swashbuckling adventure
Review: This book concludes the author's trilogy about his pirate or as he puts it his Brethren of the Coast series. It is a good sea adventure story. This was a good time for the author to end, or at least it seems he is ending, the adventures of Thomas Marlow the protagonist in this series of books. Unlike fictional sea adventure heroes Hornblower and Bolitho whose series of books were continued on the basis of their promotions in the ranks of British officers to face new challenges, Marlow the former pirate had no such future. His story was due to end soon.
This book has Marlow, facing a bad market for tobacco from his plantation taking a chance to make some money for himself and his neighbors with a cargo of tobacco to beat other shipments to England. But he loses that cargo because of an old pirate enemy and decides to try his luck as a privateer in the Indian ocean preying on richly laden cargo ships. Again his bad luck holds when he runs into another one of his old pirate enemies who rules an island in that area. And the book concludes with a fight to the finish between Marlow and his two enemies. It is a close thing for Marlow and he loses his trusted friend and advisor in the battle. But Marlow and his wife survive and now is a good time for the author to allow them to live every happily after.
I now look forward to a new sea going adventurer by the author in a new series.

Rating:
Summary: Good swashbuckling adventure
Review: This book concludes the author's trilogy about his pirate or as he puts it his Brethren of the Coast series. It is a good sea adventure story. This was a good time for the author to end, or at least it seems he is ending, the adventures of Thomas Marlow the protagonist in this series of books. Unlike fictional sea adventure heroes Hornblower and Bolitho whose series of books were continued on the basis of their promotions in the ranks of British officers to face new challenges, Marlow the former pirate had no such future. His story was due to end soon.
This book has Marlow, facing a bad market for tobacco from his plantation taking a chance to make some money for himself and his neighbors with a cargo of tobacco to beat other shipments to England. But he loses that cargo because of an old pirate enemy and decides to try his luck as a privateer in the Indian ocean preying on richly laden cargo ships. Again his bad luck holds when he runs into another one of his old pirate enemies who rules an island in that area. And the book concludes with a fight to the finish between Marlow and his two enemies. It is a close thing for Marlow and he loses his trusted friend and advisor in the battle. But Marlow and his wife survive and now is a good time for the author to allow them to live every happily after.
I now look forward to a new sea going adventurer by the author in a new series.

Rating:
Summary: The Best Was Saved for Last!!!
Review: We have now advanced to 1706 in the final book of the trilogy, Bretheren of the Coast involving Thomas Marlowe. Marlowe having left his former life as a pirate, changed his name and found respectability as a tobacco plantation owner is about to be visited by his past again. War in Europe has made shipping tobacco there far less profitable than in the past and due to piracy the tobacco owners liked to send their crops in one large convoy which resulted in a glut on the market when it landed and
raised havoc with their profits. It is Elizabeth who comes up with the idea of refitting their former private man-of war and shipping their tobacco ahead of the convoy, thereby fetching a fair price to and helping them avoid financil ruin. Marlowe, who has been too long without having a quarterdeck under his feet, jumps at the idea and also has another thought in the back of his mind, as he is aware of the stories coming back across the water of new opportunities for those who are willing to sail to the Indian Ocean to prey upon the treasure ships of the great Mogul of India.

Once again, Marlowe's past returns to haunt him when they get their crop to England and Marlowe is required to come ashore in London to sign for the crops of neighbors which he had carried and is confronted by Roger Press, a former pirate whom Marlowe had thought was dead. Marlowe had marooned him and left him to die in the Caribeean several years before. Press has been hired by the East India Company, been given a man-of-war and a Queen's Commission to hunt pirates and stop the plundering of the company's shipping. Upon discovering Marlowe, Press attempts to abduct him and plans to kill him. Marlowe escapes with his ship and his life, but without funds from the cargo of tobacco they cannot return home and a decision is arrived at to head for the Indian Ocean and the riches that can be found there in the "sweet life."

From that point on the story gets into the life of The Pirate Round in full measure. The intrigues, villians, battles and the like keep building to an epic finish and from it all, Thomas Marlowe finds an answer to one of life's questions that we all can learn from.

James Nelson has told a wonderful, entertaining and often bittersweet tale of the times and life among The Bretheren of the Coast, and this last book is the best of the three.