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Born of Tyranny #1
Port of Errors
Set in the late seventeenth century Eastern Atlantic, this epic adventure of brotherly love and betrayal shadows two orphans, Davy and Joseph, who come to bond tighter than blood. But they are soon ripped apart by a tragic event that will set into motion the birth of tyrannous revenge on behalf of their loss and place them each on a daring journey to find one another. Following many eventful years, the pirate Black-Hearted, along with Scurvy Shaw and Isabel, will find a mortal enemy in Daniel Stirvin, a captain in the Queen’s Royal Navy. Black-Hearted and Captain Stirvin must face a traitorous tangle of lies and deceit trailing back to an unexpected past, unraveling an even deeper conspiracy of vengeance that will haunt them to the bitter end. Unable to abandon their cause or their men, Black-Hearted and Captain Stirvin will be forced to fight unwillingly to the death.
- GenresHistorical Fiction
249 pages, Paperback
First published April 21, 2011
215 people want to read
About the author
Steve V. Cypert
4 books73 followersSteve is the second child of seven born in Los Angeles, California to a wonderful mother and father. Born into the LDS faith, Steve served a 2 year full-time LDS mission at the age of nineteen in the northern half of Ohio.
At twenty-four he moved from his parents’ home in Los Angeles to Salt Lake City, Utah to try out life on his own. 2 decades later he still lives in Utah, where he found and married his beautiful wife, Katie.
Today they live in South Jordan, Utah with their bald little 6 month old son, Ozzie and their very hairy son, Duke - a three year old Shih Tzu (see Steve’s blog for a photo).
Before fining his [mostly] sweet wife, Steve graduated from LDS Business College in 2000. He then moved on to the University of Utah where he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Mass Communications three years later.
For as long as he can remember, Steve has loved to come up with creative and far-fetched stories. Sometime in the early 2000's, he decided to put one of his story ideas on paper. He wrote a poem titled "Pirate and Captain". The poem was an adventurous tale. He then decided to write the story as a novel. He wrote "Port of Errors" in just three months. However, it took him nine years to research, edit and put the missing pieces together. Port of Errors will eventually be a trilogy under the name "Born of Tyranny”.
Steve will always love the stereotypical, romanticized version of piracy. But he has more cooking in that oven. Steve has now written a second novel, the first in a series of 4. But this one is a YA paranormal fantasy - out in 2012. The title, at first, was "The Son of Nicholas Namely". But Steve soon changed the name to "Scapemaker", which will be the name of the series. As of January 2013, the second book has a completed, detailed outline and he will begin writing it shortly.
Steve loved photography and is very good at it. He shot weddings for a while, but mainly loves wildlife and landscape. He also loves volleyball and hiking. He has a mountain bike, but never rides it. He loves to write. And finally, he is a sad self-indulgent, fanatic, addict, junkie, freak, and lover - of movies!
(Steve also wrote a children's book called "Biggle and Bee" while waiting for the completion of the first Scapemaker edit.)
At twenty-four he moved from his parents’ home in Los Angeles to Salt Lake City, Utah to try out life on his own. 2 decades later he still lives in Utah, where he found and married his beautiful wife, Katie.
Today they live in South Jordan, Utah with their bald little 6 month old son, Ozzie and their very hairy son, Duke - a three year old Shih Tzu (see Steve’s blog for a photo).
Before fining his [mostly] sweet wife, Steve graduated from LDS Business College in 2000. He then moved on to the University of Utah where he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Mass Communications three years later.
For as long as he can remember, Steve has loved to come up with creative and far-fetched stories. Sometime in the early 2000's, he decided to put one of his story ideas on paper. He wrote a poem titled "Pirate and Captain". The poem was an adventurous tale. He then decided to write the story as a novel. He wrote "Port of Errors" in just three months. However, it took him nine years to research, edit and put the missing pieces together. Port of Errors will eventually be a trilogy under the name "Born of Tyranny”.
Steve will always love the stereotypical, romanticized version of piracy. But he has more cooking in that oven. Steve has now written a second novel, the first in a series of 4. But this one is a YA paranormal fantasy - out in 2012. The title, at first, was "The Son of Nicholas Namely". But Steve soon changed the name to "Scapemaker", which will be the name of the series. As of January 2013, the second book has a completed, detailed outline and he will begin writing it shortly.
Steve loved photography and is very good at it. He shot weddings for a while, but mainly loves wildlife and landscape. He also loves volleyball and hiking. He has a mountain bike, but never rides it. He loves to write. And finally, he is a sad self-indulgent, fanatic, addict, junkie, freak, and lover - of movies!
(Steve also wrote a children's book called "Biggle and Bee" while waiting for the completion of the first Scapemaker edit.)
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
February 10, 2012
"Port of Errors" by Steve V. Cypert is the first in a proposed series of novels titled "Born of Tyranny". It is an enjoyable and colourful historical fiction novel that involves everyone's favourite anti-heroes, the swash-buckling pirates of the 1700's.
The story is set in a time when relations between the major European powers, England, Spain and France are at a low point and the seas have become a perfect hunting ground for privateers and pirates. Into this world are born Davey and Joseph, two friends who grew up in the same orphanage. However, after an accident they become separated and embark upon very different lives. Joseph is adopted and renamed Daniel prior to becoming a Captain in the Royal Navy, meanwhile Davey turns to piracy and becomes known as the dreaded pirate captain, Black Hearted. Now on opposing sides, these two former friends being a game of cat and mouse in an attempt to hunt down and kill each other, without realising that their foe is actually a long lost friend.
Everything you could expect from a pirate based novel is contained in "Port of Errors", there are tall ships, sea battles, damsels in distress and elements of tyranny, friendship and loyalty. This was all packaged up in a novel that started slowly but soon developed into a fun, fast paced read that included a few elements of dark humour. There was also plenty of action and adventure interspersed throughout and the plot itself was rather detailed and quite intricate at times.
The intricate plot though does have its disadvantages as it results in a large variety of characters and there is a fair bit of jumping back and forth in time. This was made worse by the fact that various characters changed names and allegiances throughout the book so it could get a little bit confusing. In addition, I felt that the Cypert struggled to fully realise all the characters due to the number involved. Some of them were superbly developed and I enjoyed following them, but other just didn't grab me to any real extent and some even felt a little bit unneeded.
I did note that there is a fair amount of graphic violence in the novel, which is to be expected considering the type of people it is based around. However, if you are someone who is not fond of reading a detailed description of someone being keel hauled etc. then you may wish to give this book a wide berth.
Overall, this was an enjoyable adventure novel with an interesting and intricate plotline that really kept me hooked once it got going. The ending also came together very nicely and it leaves an interesting opening for future novels in the series that I now look forward to reading. I just hope that the author doesn't throw many more characters into the next novel or my head may just explode.
The story is set in a time when relations between the major European powers, England, Spain and France are at a low point and the seas have become a perfect hunting ground for privateers and pirates. Into this world are born Davey and Joseph, two friends who grew up in the same orphanage. However, after an accident they become separated and embark upon very different lives. Joseph is adopted and renamed Daniel prior to becoming a Captain in the Royal Navy, meanwhile Davey turns to piracy and becomes known as the dreaded pirate captain, Black Hearted. Now on opposing sides, these two former friends being a game of cat and mouse in an attempt to hunt down and kill each other, without realising that their foe is actually a long lost friend.
Everything you could expect from a pirate based novel is contained in "Port of Errors", there are tall ships, sea battles, damsels in distress and elements of tyranny, friendship and loyalty. This was all packaged up in a novel that started slowly but soon developed into a fun, fast paced read that included a few elements of dark humour. There was also plenty of action and adventure interspersed throughout and the plot itself was rather detailed and quite intricate at times.
The intricate plot though does have its disadvantages as it results in a large variety of characters and there is a fair bit of jumping back and forth in time. This was made worse by the fact that various characters changed names and allegiances throughout the book so it could get a little bit confusing. In addition, I felt that the Cypert struggled to fully realise all the characters due to the number involved. Some of them were superbly developed and I enjoyed following them, but other just didn't grab me to any real extent and some even felt a little bit unneeded.
I did note that there is a fair amount of graphic violence in the novel, which is to be expected considering the type of people it is based around. However, if you are someone who is not fond of reading a detailed description of someone being keel hauled etc. then you may wish to give this book a wide berth.
Overall, this was an enjoyable adventure novel with an interesting and intricate plotline that really kept me hooked once it got going. The ending also came together very nicely and it leaves an interesting opening for future novels in the series that I now look forward to reading. I just hope that the author doesn't throw many more characters into the next novel or my head may just explode.
October 15, 2011
Review for: Blodeuedd
Ahoy, me mateys!! Set yourself down for a tale of friendship, betrayal, heroicy…and pirates. Yes, I said pirates! Don’t we love them all? When B. send this request over, I just couldn’t refuse.
Port of Errors is the first book in the Born of Tyranny series. It’s the story of Davey and Joseph, two friends who are thicker than thieves and closer than brothers. They strike up a friendship when they meet as young boys in an orphanage. Tragedy soon strikes and they are separated. For Davey and Joseph, however, it’s not out of sight, out of mind. As they grow up, they never forgot about each other. They grow very different from each other, though, and face very different challenges.
Joseph is adopted and renamed Daniel. He grows up to become a Captain in the Navey. Davey isn’t so lucky and he becomes the dreaded pirate Black hearted, feared by all.
Can you guess where this is going? I bet you can, and it’s a very good read because of it. Even if it complex with the multitude of characters and flashbacks in the story. Especially so because when the orphans were sold off, many names were changed. So you have to keep your focus with this story. However, it didn’t bother me as it was nicely done.
It did put in question as to the audience of this story. According to Smashwords its intended audience are young adult readers, but reading Port of Error I found it to be more for either advanced readers or adult readers. It could be both, but there is a lot of violence in the story as well that made me question it. Then again, I was 14 when I started reading adult Vietnam war fiction. Sometimes books will attract the right audience.
Both Davey and Joseph are likable characters. They are well thought out and have a solid place in the story. Many of the other characters lacked this, depending on their role in the story. Some just made a short appearance while others were recurring. They are fillers as well as part of the story, but they aren’t rounded.
I enjoyed reading this pirate story, but there was one thing that bothered me immensely and that were the spelling and grammatical errors. There were quite a few and it made me doubt if this book was edited or spell proofed. In theory is story is an awesome read, but so many errors put a bit of strain on the story. It made it sloppy.
All in all, I can really recommend Port of Errors and I look forward to the next book!
Ahoy, me mateys!! Set yourself down for a tale of friendship, betrayal, heroicy…and pirates. Yes, I said pirates! Don’t we love them all? When B. send this request over, I just couldn’t refuse.
Port of Errors is the first book in the Born of Tyranny series. It’s the story of Davey and Joseph, two friends who are thicker than thieves and closer than brothers. They strike up a friendship when they meet as young boys in an orphanage. Tragedy soon strikes and they are separated. For Davey and Joseph, however, it’s not out of sight, out of mind. As they grow up, they never forgot about each other. They grow very different from each other, though, and face very different challenges.
Joseph is adopted and renamed Daniel. He grows up to become a Captain in the Navey. Davey isn’t so lucky and he becomes the dreaded pirate Black hearted, feared by all.
Can you guess where this is going? I bet you can, and it’s a very good read because of it. Even if it complex with the multitude of characters and flashbacks in the story. Especially so because when the orphans were sold off, many names were changed. So you have to keep your focus with this story. However, it didn’t bother me as it was nicely done.
It did put in question as to the audience of this story. According to Smashwords its intended audience are young adult readers, but reading Port of Error I found it to be more for either advanced readers or adult readers. It could be both, but there is a lot of violence in the story as well that made me question it. Then again, I was 14 when I started reading adult Vietnam war fiction. Sometimes books will attract the right audience.
Both Davey and Joseph are likable characters. They are well thought out and have a solid place in the story. Many of the other characters lacked this, depending on their role in the story. Some just made a short appearance while others were recurring. They are fillers as well as part of the story, but they aren’t rounded.
I enjoyed reading this pirate story, but there was one thing that bothered me immensely and that were the spelling and grammatical errors. There were quite a few and it made me doubt if this book was edited or spell proofed. In theory is story is an awesome read, but so many errors put a bit of strain on the story. It made it sloppy.
All in all, I can really recommend Port of Errors and I look forward to the next book!
November 21, 2011
If you enjoy a good pirate story, you will certainly enjoy Born of Tyranny. While the majority of the story takes place on the high seas, there are instances of flashback that give great insights into the younger lives of the characters. At the center of the plot, this story shows how life’s choices can lead to surprising (and tragic) endings.
The characters are well written. The pirates behave as you would expect pirates to. At first I thought this was meant to be a middle grades book, but I quickly realized it’s meant more for the older reader. There are some graphic scenes that might be too gory for the younger readers (but fitting of a pirate story). There is also a small amount of sexual innuendo (this is a pirate story) that would probably fly over a younger reader’s head, but I still would still be leery of including it in my classroom library. My two favorite characters were Black Hearted and Daniel. As kids, both boys were orphans that formed a strong friendship. Through a series of tragic events in their young lives, both boys ended up on opposite ends of the law. You can imagine the conflict that unfolds between the two. Black Hearted has sworn revenge on the Royal Navy and his dearest childhood friend is now a captain in the Royal Navy.
The plot of the book is detailed. A little slow at times, it took me a while to get through the first 100 pages. I was engrossed in the story while I read it, but at the same time I didn’t feel that drive to continue reading. I tried to read the book while I was flying, but I found myself doing other things to occupy my time after twenty or so pages at a time. I think a large part of this was due to my lack of knowledge about pirates. I wanted to try something different, so I picked up this book. A true pirate fan would love this story. The novel has a sort of story-like feel to it. It doesn’t read like a history lesson; instead, it feels like I’m reading a journal from one of the characters.
I enjoyed the story line. There were enough surprises that it kept the reading fresh and exciting for me. Once I realized the role of Blackbeard, I was hooked. Who doesn’t know about Blackbeard, right? Overall, it was a good pirate adventure book that I think older readers would enjoy.
The characters are well written. The pirates behave as you would expect pirates to. At first I thought this was meant to be a middle grades book, but I quickly realized it’s meant more for the older reader. There are some graphic scenes that might be too gory for the younger readers (but fitting of a pirate story). There is also a small amount of sexual innuendo (this is a pirate story) that would probably fly over a younger reader’s head, but I still would still be leery of including it in my classroom library. My two favorite characters were Black Hearted and Daniel. As kids, both boys were orphans that formed a strong friendship. Through a series of tragic events in their young lives, both boys ended up on opposite ends of the law. You can imagine the conflict that unfolds between the two. Black Hearted has sworn revenge on the Royal Navy and his dearest childhood friend is now a captain in the Royal Navy.
The plot of the book is detailed. A little slow at times, it took me a while to get through the first 100 pages. I was engrossed in the story while I read it, but at the same time I didn’t feel that drive to continue reading. I tried to read the book while I was flying, but I found myself doing other things to occupy my time after twenty or so pages at a time. I think a large part of this was due to my lack of knowledge about pirates. I wanted to try something different, so I picked up this book. A true pirate fan would love this story. The novel has a sort of story-like feel to it. It doesn’t read like a history lesson; instead, it feels like I’m reading a journal from one of the characters.
I enjoyed the story line. There were enough surprises that it kept the reading fresh and exciting for me. Once I realized the role of Blackbeard, I was hooked. Who doesn’t know about Blackbeard, right? Overall, it was a good pirate adventure book that I think older readers would enjoy.
August 27, 2011
Port of Errors is a swash-buckling pirate tale and historical fiction, set in the Atlantic in the late 1700s. Relationships between Spain, France and England are tentative and there are plenty of opportunities for privateers and pirates. Davy and Joseph grew up in the same orphanage, but when it was burnt down they were separated and took very different paths to end up on opposing sides. The pair are unwittingly trying to hunt down and kill each other, not realising the identity of their foe.
I like historical fiction and have been known to enjoy Pirates of the Caribbean so this sounded like a good bet. I knew a little about the political climate of the time and thought it made for a good backdrop. I also thought the way the boys had been torn apart but had never forgotten one another, yet were now attempting to destroy their former friend was a good twist. I certainly enjoyed the basic premise of the book. I also liked the slightly archaic language and turns of phrase which gave a taste of the setting without getting too cartoon-y.
However I found the plot and the number of characters, some of whom switched allegiances, a bit confusing at times. It was all just a bit too complicated. Black-Hearted (Davy's pirate name) and Captain Stirvin (Joseph's adopted name) were good characters with a decent background presented, but many of the other characters lacked depth and felt a bit superfluous. And I'm afraid although I'm not talking about an error a page there were far too many for my liking, a mix of spelling errors, missing or extra words and rogue commas and apostrophes. Unfortunately in this case it did affect my appreciation of the book as I found it a bit too distracting. Some more attention to formatting, for example putting more obvious breaks between paragraphs when the scene changes, would also be helpful. The good news is that this is easily corrected, and the story itself was pretty good.
I did enjoy the story and could be tempted to read future books in the series (set up nicely at the end of the book) However I can't give it a great rating because of the above issues.
I like historical fiction and have been known to enjoy Pirates of the Caribbean so this sounded like a good bet. I knew a little about the political climate of the time and thought it made for a good backdrop. I also thought the way the boys had been torn apart but had never forgotten one another, yet were now attempting to destroy their former friend was a good twist. I certainly enjoyed the basic premise of the book. I also liked the slightly archaic language and turns of phrase which gave a taste of the setting without getting too cartoon-y.
However I found the plot and the number of characters, some of whom switched allegiances, a bit confusing at times. It was all just a bit too complicated. Black-Hearted (Davy's pirate name) and Captain Stirvin (Joseph's adopted name) were good characters with a decent background presented, but many of the other characters lacked depth and felt a bit superfluous. And I'm afraid although I'm not talking about an error a page there were far too many for my liking, a mix of spelling errors, missing or extra words and rogue commas and apostrophes. Unfortunately in this case it did affect my appreciation of the book as I found it a bit too distracting. Some more attention to formatting, for example putting more obvious breaks between paragraphs when the scene changes, would also be helpful. The good news is that this is easily corrected, and the story itself was pretty good.
I did enjoy the story and could be tempted to read future books in the series (set up nicely at the end of the book) However I can't give it a great rating because of the above issues.
January 14, 2012
Port of Errors, by Steve Cypert, is a tale of pirates, tall ships, damsels in distress, tyranny, friendship, a whole conglomeration of actions and emotions and characters all rolled into one fast paced story set in the Atlantic in the 1700s. Travelling back and forth between England, Spain and France you’re taken on a journey with colourful characters who start out as friends then become enemies, then friends again. Their tale is chock full of wins and losses, and friends and foes as they grow from young boys in an orphanage to swashbuckling pirates and sailors in the English Navy.
There are times in this tale that the switching back and forth from friend to foe and back again gets a little confusing and you have to stop and think about who is friends with whom, at times it a little distracting. For the most part the characters are well developed and colourful, and the scenes are almost life like. You can’t help but compare it to Pirates of The Caribbean, but the story has a character of it’s own. There are a few misplaced punctuation marks and spelling errors that slow the flow of the writing but I’m sure just a wee bit of editing would fix those nasty little errors and make things move along nicely, on an even keel.
The story starts out a little slow but once things start moving it races from one scene to the next with hardly a chance to take a breath, let alone stop and grab a coffee. It keeps you on the edge of your seat, wondering what those gnarly characters will get themselves into next. If you like action and adventure, with surprising twists and leathery pirates thrown in, you’ll love this tale about Black-Hearted, Captain Stirvin and all their friends and foes. Just make sure you’ve got the coffee pot close to hand so you can read and pour at the same time. As you sail off into the sunset you’ll be wishing you had the next novel on hand to continue the tale without pause. Arrr maties! Bring it on!
There are times in this tale that the switching back and forth from friend to foe and back again gets a little confusing and you have to stop and think about who is friends with whom, at times it a little distracting. For the most part the characters are well developed and colourful, and the scenes are almost life like. You can’t help but compare it to Pirates of The Caribbean, but the story has a character of it’s own. There are a few misplaced punctuation marks and spelling errors that slow the flow of the writing but I’m sure just a wee bit of editing would fix those nasty little errors and make things move along nicely, on an even keel.
The story starts out a little slow but once things start moving it races from one scene to the next with hardly a chance to take a breath, let alone stop and grab a coffee. It keeps you on the edge of your seat, wondering what those gnarly characters will get themselves into next. If you like action and adventure, with surprising twists and leathery pirates thrown in, you’ll love this tale about Black-Hearted, Captain Stirvin and all their friends and foes. Just make sure you’ve got the coffee pot close to hand so you can read and pour at the same time. As you sail off into the sunset you’ll be wishing you had the next novel on hand to continue the tale without pause. Arrr maties! Bring it on!
July 30, 2011
It's kind of hard at this point to review anything historical and pirate related without coming up with some similarities between the story in question and Pirates of the Caribbean. I mean, similarities are bound to jump out, even if they are the most basic ones of being set in the past and featuring pirates as the main characters. Port of Errors does call to mind the famous franchise, but only in the way that every book set in a boarding school or featuring magic calls to mind Harry Potter.
No, while reading Port of Errors I was reminded much more strongly of the narrative style of The Princess Bride. The book isn't a comedy, so it wasn't that that triggered my memory, but instead it was the way that the story felt like it was an oral tale that had been written down. It was like someone was telling stories around a campfire, or settling kids down for bed with an adventure story that was told in installments, night after night.
The Amazon synopsis sums the plot of the story up pretty efficiently. After spending their formative years in an orphanage, best friends Davy and Joseph take dramatically different life paths. One becomes a respectable Navy captain, and the other becomes a notorious pirate. Eventually, they have to confront the fact that these different life paths mean they're pretty much total enemies, with all associated implications. To make matters worse, it's not just a private battle for these two; now they have full crews on each of their ships depending on them for their livelihood and survival. It's not pretty.
There are epic sea battles and acts of courage as well as side plots involving the side characters that all come to a head at the end of the book. Much like a good bedtime story, this is a good candidate to digest in small bits and pieces in order to absorb what's already happened and be ready for what happens next.
No, while reading Port of Errors I was reminded much more strongly of the narrative style of The Princess Bride. The book isn't a comedy, so it wasn't that that triggered my memory, but instead it was the way that the story felt like it was an oral tale that had been written down. It was like someone was telling stories around a campfire, or settling kids down for bed with an adventure story that was told in installments, night after night.
The Amazon synopsis sums the plot of the story up pretty efficiently. After spending their formative years in an orphanage, best friends Davy and Joseph take dramatically different life paths. One becomes a respectable Navy captain, and the other becomes a notorious pirate. Eventually, they have to confront the fact that these different life paths mean they're pretty much total enemies, with all associated implications. To make matters worse, it's not just a private battle for these two; now they have full crews on each of their ships depending on them for their livelihood and survival. It's not pretty.
There are epic sea battles and acts of courage as well as side plots involving the side characters that all come to a head at the end of the book. Much like a good bedtime story, this is a good candidate to digest in small bits and pieces in order to absorb what's already happened and be ready for what happens next.
August 19, 2011
I was very excited to start this book. I love pirate stories. Even as I read through the, rather slow, start of the story, I still had high hopes. Soon my high hopes began to fail and confusion took over.
There are a lot of characters to keep track of. Some are introduced in flashback so there is also the confusion as to how the flashback characters fit into the current story. Some were orphans growing up and when they were auctioned off their names changed. As readers we are privy to the change but I still had to keep flipping back to keep track of the new name. It is also hard for an author to develop this many characters well. I had trouble connecting with the characters.
I was also confused as to the author's intended audience. The sentence structure, vocabulary and glossary at the end of the book, suggest a young audience but the level of graphic violence and sexual innuendo is much higher than I would be comfortable recommending for a child. Privateers of the time were brutal and the author is likely accurate in his portrayal but some things are better glossed over in the presence of young ears.
There is some appealing dark humour in the book that was appropriate, and many of the characters are eccentric and fun. I loved the introduction of young Edward Teach (pirate lovers will better know him as Blackbeard). He just wouldn't take 'no' for an answer!
Arguably, the best part of the book was the ending. Everything came together nicely and yet left room for more. As this is the first book in the 'Born of Tyranny' series, we know there are other adventures in the offing. Hopefully now that the stage is set and the characters fleshed out, future books in the series will move at a faster pace.
There are a lot of characters to keep track of. Some are introduced in flashback so there is also the confusion as to how the flashback characters fit into the current story. Some were orphans growing up and when they were auctioned off their names changed. As readers we are privy to the change but I still had to keep flipping back to keep track of the new name. It is also hard for an author to develop this many characters well. I had trouble connecting with the characters.
I was also confused as to the author's intended audience. The sentence structure, vocabulary and glossary at the end of the book, suggest a young audience but the level of graphic violence and sexual innuendo is much higher than I would be comfortable recommending for a child. Privateers of the time were brutal and the author is likely accurate in his portrayal but some things are better glossed over in the presence of young ears.
There is some appealing dark humour in the book that was appropriate, and many of the characters are eccentric and fun. I loved the introduction of young Edward Teach (pirate lovers will better know him as Blackbeard). He just wouldn't take 'no' for an answer!
Arguably, the best part of the book was the ending. Everything came together nicely and yet left room for more. As this is the first book in the 'Born of Tyranny' series, we know there are other adventures in the offing. Hopefully now that the stage is set and the characters fleshed out, future books in the series will move at a faster pace.
October 22, 2011
As I reserve my five star rating for only the books I find really good and am in no way a pirate fan (in fact I've avoided all Pirates of the Caribbean films because they are not my thing), you will see that this book must have been brilliant to ear it's stars.
The author has a knack that allows you to sink into the world he has created, probably helped by his knowledge of piracy and their ships. I found the glossary very helpful also for quick, easy to understand explanations of the terminologies.
The plot was really intricate and there were always things happening which I didn't see coming. Even items and events that may appear insignificant suddenly surprise you and show themselves to be an integral part. It ended well, wrapping up this story nicely, yet also leading on to the next in the serious.
The characters were all very individual which helps to keep the book fresh and interesting, also the hint of humour here are there lightens the read making it even more enjoyable. One of the things that could have so easily become boring are the battles, but due to Cypert's inventiveness with the ways people die in the book and the various forms of battle, this is never an issue.
My only criticism is that is needs proof-reading. There are too many typos and spelling mistakes to be acceptable, but this really doesn't interfere with the story. The other thing I found pulled me out of the tale was that as it was set in England, it seemed weird when there were Americanisms, because surely the characters wouldn't be thinking or talking in such a way (although obviously in the time it was set they are unlikely to be talking like a modern reader wherever they are from anyway!)
** I received this free of charge through Goodreads First-Reads **
The author has a knack that allows you to sink into the world he has created, probably helped by his knowledge of piracy and their ships. I found the glossary very helpful also for quick, easy to understand explanations of the terminologies.
The plot was really intricate and there were always things happening which I didn't see coming. Even items and events that may appear insignificant suddenly surprise you and show themselves to be an integral part. It ended well, wrapping up this story nicely, yet also leading on to the next in the serious.
The characters were all very individual which helps to keep the book fresh and interesting, also the hint of humour here are there lightens the read making it even more enjoyable. One of the things that could have so easily become boring are the battles, but due to Cypert's inventiveness with the ways people die in the book and the various forms of battle, this is never an issue.
My only criticism is that is needs proof-reading. There are too many typos and spelling mistakes to be acceptable, but this really doesn't interfere with the story. The other thing I found pulled me out of the tale was that as it was set in England, it seemed weird when there were Americanisms, because surely the characters wouldn't be thinking or talking in such a way (although obviously in the time it was set they are unlikely to be talking like a modern reader wherever they are from anyway!)
** I received this free of charge through Goodreads First-Reads **
January 31, 2012
Firstly, thank you to Steve Cypert for providing the book. I truly appreciate it!
This story is a vibrant story of pirates on the high seas. It follows the pirate Black Hearted, and Captain Sturvin, locked into a battle to the death, without ever realizing that they are, in fact, "brothers". They had grown up together in an orphanage, and through relentless twists of fate and misunderstandings, were unaware of the others identity. They fight for love, for pride, but above all else, for revenge.
I'll start with what I liked about the book. It was, without a doubt, exciting. The battles were bloody, with such delectable descriptions that I found it easy to visualize. It was a well thought out plot, which I'm sure will twist nicely into the sequel. I look forward to seeing how it all works out.
Now, what I didn't like. There were so many characters, I couldn't keep their names straight. It didn't help that all the ships had names too! Admittedly, I don't read a lot of pirate stories, so the nautical jargon did hinder me a tad (though that is really more of a compliment to the author - I love that he used the proper terminology).
I'm not sure if I had an early edition of the book or not, but there were MANY typos and misused words (My favourite being when they told the horse to "WOE!" instead of "WHOA!"). I'm not holding this against the author, at all, but merely pointing out that it was a substantial distraction to enjoying the book to its fullest.
Looking forward to the sequel!!
This story is a vibrant story of pirates on the high seas. It follows the pirate Black Hearted, and Captain Sturvin, locked into a battle to the death, without ever realizing that they are, in fact, "brothers". They had grown up together in an orphanage, and through relentless twists of fate and misunderstandings, were unaware of the others identity. They fight for love, for pride, but above all else, for revenge.
I'll start with what I liked about the book. It was, without a doubt, exciting. The battles were bloody, with such delectable descriptions that I found it easy to visualize. It was a well thought out plot, which I'm sure will twist nicely into the sequel. I look forward to seeing how it all works out.
Now, what I didn't like. There were so many characters, I couldn't keep their names straight. It didn't help that all the ships had names too! Admittedly, I don't read a lot of pirate stories, so the nautical jargon did hinder me a tad (though that is really more of a compliment to the author - I love that he used the proper terminology).
I'm not sure if I had an early edition of the book or not, but there were MANY typos and misused words (My favourite being when they told the horse to "WOE!" instead of "WHOA!"). I'm not holding this against the author, at all, but merely pointing out that it was a substantial distraction to enjoying the book to its fullest.
Looking forward to the sequel!!
August 21, 2011
I was really surprised at how much I got into this book. The main characters are developed well and I found myself really liking some of them and really hating others. Throughout the story you follow Davy and Joseph, two boys brought together at an orphanage. They get separated as they get older and one becomes a pirate and the other becomes a great captain of the royal navy. Without knowing who each other is, they wind up fighting each other hand to hand. During their fighting they learn who each other is...but by then each of their crews are fighting and are under orders to fight to the death and so must they...but will they be able to kill each other now that they know who each other is?? It has suspense, violence, humor, and mystery. The end wraps everything up very nicely. I didn't know what to expect with a pirate themed book, but was pleasantly surprised.
September 9, 2011
I won this book through goodreads first reads. The beginning is really slow, but it gets better from there. The story is exciting, but the writing is not as good as it could be. I did enjoy the plot once I got past the first chapter. The pirate Black-Hearted is an enjoyably dark character with an interesting past. I liked the flashback-esque description of his life at the orphanage and how he came to be a pirate. There are a few overly dramatic parts towards the end, but there are quite a few sections with solid writing and intriguing plot lines. To sum up, this is not the worst book I read, but it is not the best either. I would read future books by this author because an author's writing improves with experience. I believe J. K. Rowling's writing got better as she wrote more and this could be the case with this author as well.
November 16, 2011
I love a good pirate story and this book was just that! A lot of swashbuckling action and adventure but with a really good story behind it. Also quite a few surprises right until the very end that kept me on the edge. Although a sequel seems most likely it did not leave me hanging, just an honest feeling of I can not wait to read what will happen next.
September 24, 2011
I liked this book. It started off feeling a little like a children's book, but it got a lot better. I did get a bit confused between the main characters and found the name chainging a little confusing, but still found the book enjoyable. It left me wanting more - in a good way.
April 1, 2015
Lack certain things like location of these pirate hideaways in the Eastern Atlantic. Is this off north Africa? Off the Canaries? They sound like they're close to Europe as they go back and forth between them quickly. It was okay.
September 16, 2020
I received this book through the First Reads giveaway program on Goodreads. Review to follow.
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