The Pyrates by George MacDonald Fraser

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Take some (approximately) real characters, fling a wild sequence of adventures at them (though hardly less plausible than reality) and season with a blizzard of anachronisms. Here we have a classic formula for GMF's comic historical novels, exemplified in the 'Flashman' series. I'm not sure it works quite as well here because Flashman, the cartoon villain, was glued onto the backdrop of real events while here we have real characters (suitably exaggerated) stuffed into a fictional scenario. Nonetheless it's an entertaining and occasionally hilarious read, with a dig in the ribs at every 'serious' pirate novel and screenplay.



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