Rating: 
Summary: A wonderful read, a great story told by a great storyteller.
Review: You've seen them countless times before, the dashing heros and evil villains in those classic pirate movies. But you've never seen them as they are in George MacDonald Fraser's labor of love, The Pyrates. Fraser, author of the Flashman books of historical fiction, wrote The Pyrates as his personal tribute to the many pleasurable hours he spent with Daniel Defoe and Robert Louis Stevenson, Basil Rathbone and Errol Flynn. Giving a nod to both Hollywood and history, Fraser has crafted a wickedly funny version of the English navy's run-in with the Coast Brethren. With tongue firmly in cheek, Fraser launches his Hero, Captain Ben Avery, on a mission that quickly goes astray. Forced to team up with the Anti-hero, Colonel Thomas Blood (British Army, cashiered), Ben must recover rare jewels o' price, rescue the Heroine, Lady Vanity, from the fell clutches o' evil pyrates, and rid the Spanish Main o' every tarry-handed mother's son in the Brotherhood. For spice, Fraser throws in a fascinating array of knaves, kings, despots, wayward admirals, Lost Indian Tribes, kidnapped damsels, thieves, sultry piratical temptresses, and shifty pawnbrokers. The Pyrates is a splendid read, a great story told by a great storyteller, and I'm past due for a new copy. But this book also shows Fraser's immense skill as a writer. He breathes life into every character, no matter how minor the role, and he writes with a precision and economy that leaves me amazed. So clap yer deadlights on The Pyrates, wi' a wannion, and blame y'rself if you leave emptyhanded, for this be a right fine read, by the Powers, devil a doubt, or scupper me wi' a marlinspike...else.
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