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Gerald Poole and the Pirates
Gerald Poole, a young Englishman, is miserable when he is dispatched abroad aboard a naval vessel, and is reluctantly attended to by the cold and put-upon Lieutenant Jack Wicks - this tense relationship is interrupted and put under pressure when the two are kidnapped by pirates. A novella with a little bit of adventure, M/M/M romance, and queerness in the 18th century Mediterranean!
CONTENT THEMES & WARNINGS (POTENTIAL SPOILERS):
This story is set at sea in the late 18th century, and throughout there is language and behaviour typical to the period, including racism, homophobia, and ableism throughout, as well as blood and violence. It’s a kidnapping narrative, and therefore consent could be considered coerced, although everybody is enthusiastically consenting.
Although there is no label applied due to the period, two protagonists are depicted as ADHD, Gerald Poole and Orion Thwaites.
CONTENT THEMES & WARNINGS (POTENTIAL SPOILERS):
This story is set at sea in the late 18th century, and throughout there is language and behaviour typical to the period, including racism, homophobia, and ableism throughout, as well as blood and violence. It’s a kidnapping narrative, and therefore consent could be considered coerced, although everybody is enthusiastically consenting.
Although there is no label applied due to the period, two protagonists are depicted as ADHD, Gerald Poole and Orion Thwaites.
142 pages, Paperback
First published May 18, 2022
About the author
Johannes T. Evans
73 books304 followersJohannes T. Evans is a gay trans man from the South of Wales, now living in Yorkshire, and predominantly crafts fantasy, romance, and erotic works featuring complex and layered characters, especially those who are queer and trans, and he has a particular affection for writing disabled, chronically ill, and neurodivergent characters like himself.
When not writing, he spends his time absorbing queer period works & history, petting cats, taking photographs of native insects, or lusting over fictional pirates and non-fictional bearish men.
He began the transition to publishing original work officially with the publication of his first novel, Heart of Stone in July of 2020.
When not writing, he spends his time absorbing queer period works & history, petting cats, taking photographs of native insects, or lusting over fictional pirates and non-fictional bearish men.
He began the transition to publishing original work officially with the publication of his first novel, Heart of Stone in July of 2020.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
April 30, 2023
Fun and very gay pirate romance adventure about a kidnapped gentlement.
Perfect for fans of Our Flag Means Death!
Perfect for fans of Our Flag Means Death!
April 3, 2023
3.5*
I really love Johnannes T. Evans’ way with character and dialogue; and this story about a blossoming menage between the white son of a British merchant, a Black naval officer and a Desi pirate is often sheer delight. But it wears its origins as a Twitter fic on its sleeve, being episodic and somewhat repetitive. It’s also, despite much innuendo and talk, almost chaste - it’s a very effective technique of edging the reader but damn I really did want a more-than-kissing scene between Gerald, Thwaites and Jack. And while I liked the way the story built solidarity between its characters of colour, and faced issues of racism and homophobia head on, I found myself wanting a little more historical context. On the one hand, that’s asking a lot of the story - I can see that - but on the other, if you’re going to write about Black British experience in the 18th century Navy, then it needs more anchoring, in my opinion.
Still, a super enjoyable read in the midst of my reading slump.
I really love Johnannes T. Evans’ way with character and dialogue; and this story about a blossoming menage between the white son of a British merchant, a Black naval officer and a Desi pirate is often sheer delight. But it wears its origins as a Twitter fic on its sleeve, being episodic and somewhat repetitive. It’s also, despite much innuendo and talk, almost chaste - it’s a very effective technique of edging the reader but damn I really did want a more-than-kissing scene between Gerald, Thwaites and Jack. And while I liked the way the story built solidarity between its characters of colour, and faced issues of racism and homophobia head on, I found myself wanting a little more historical context. On the one hand, that’s asking a lot of the story - I can see that - but on the other, if you’re going to write about Black British experience in the 18th century Navy, then it needs more anchoring, in my opinion.
Still, a super enjoyable read in the midst of my reading slump.
May 13, 2025
It’s like was it a little cringe? Well yes!! But was it also gay polyamorous neurodivergent pirates? Well yes!!!!
Did Not Finish
June 27, 2022DNF at 60%. This started as a tweetfic and unfortunately you can tell. Evans' writing is good and the characters are interesting, but it's as though this was missing the necessary connective tissue to make this a story instead of a series of connected scenes. Plus the characters were all still dancing around each other at 60% but there wasn't enough longing or feelings or whatever to make it feel like a satisfying slow burn.
July 16, 2022
Very entertaining short read. Another great one from this author, who brings nuance, sweetness, and both light and depth to concepts and tropes that could have been much more grim in other hands.
September 30, 2024
Odd read, ran to a short book started to cheat my two books a month target. All the same, I had high hopes after all my fond memories of Heart of Stone and while this was very much the sort of fun erotic romp Johannes T Evans has made his trade writing and while it ended up being better than the sum of its parts.
I remember reading through first act and feeling let down that the prose doesn’t feel dynamic, with language often lacking the urgency and sentences not tightening up in tense moments. While the same style works in something domestic and slow like Heart of Stone, here, in a story that is deceptively fast, it causes problems. For example, when the pirates arrive, the narrative pace doesn’t hurry up or get frantic in the way that would suggest panic. Of course, the third act explains this to an extent, but in the moment it feels like the narrative is telling me different things to the writing.
However, while the writing can feel pedestrian and almost overly simple, there is excellent narrative intimacy when describing how a character is attracted to another (which is to say, the prose stylings and emotional charge of the text begin to echo, and thereby invoke in the reader, the feelings felt by the character). Usually it seemed to struggle to dwell on points and allow them to be explored, whether it be descriptions of mood or of place, but this was never for the ways in which different characters are seen by the POV character, which is arguable the most important part to get right. That is the key to understanding this book for me.
Character description is also very good, the pirate captain’s luxurious, almost indulgent introductory paragraph is exceptionally well written, though it slows the pace in an early scene which was already slow, and could have been established while he acted rather than during a narrative halt.
What works is the narrow focus on Gerard (such a perfect dumb slut) and the specific relationships the narrative is concerned with. No time is wasted on irrelevant matters around the purpose of the voyage or the fault life that might take away the focus of the reader. However, while it clarified the focus quite well for me, it caused the jeopardy of the pirate kidnapping to lack stakes sufficient for the arrival of pirates to be something I should be awfully torn up over. Again, this ultimately proves to be narratively appropriate based on what the ending reveals, but in the moment it felt like a missed beat.
My favourite feature of JTE’s writing is how he interrogates characters, because both Poole and Wicks get unravelled and challenged by the people around them, with Poole (slut) facing up to the privilege he has and trying to understand how self centred he appears, and Wicks (repressed) grappling with his own issues. They are not just characters as platonic ideals or fixed, understood points; they are characters who they are perceived (often wrongly) by others, and a lot attention is drawn to these gaps in understanding. Poole proves to actually be eager and capable, in spite of Wicks impressions, for example. It’s a great tool in this writer’s arsenal.
However, the often undifferentiated sentence length, lack of dynamism in the writing, and short, overly direct paragraphs (outside of the more romantic digressions, which are absolutely the highlight but often feel segregated from the main prose), accentuated with the same issues with publishing (paragraphs don’t split across pages and are double spaced, which makes this short book feel cheaply/artificially drawn out, not a fault with writing but an annoyance) takes this down a few marks. It’s not as good as Heart of Stone, and it’s definitely not as grand, but if I take it on its own terms it’s a fun, fast, erotic queer romance story that doesn’t take itself awfully seriously but does have things to say. As a bit of fun, while I felt very uncertain about the first part, it hits its stride well and I enjoyed the experience of reading this silly adventure about a dumb, fancy twink, his surly, marginalised valet, and a bunch of colourful pirates.
I remember reading through first act and feeling let down that the prose doesn’t feel dynamic, with language often lacking the urgency and sentences not tightening up in tense moments. While the same style works in something domestic and slow like Heart of Stone, here, in a story that is deceptively fast, it causes problems. For example, when the pirates arrive, the narrative pace doesn’t hurry up or get frantic in the way that would suggest panic. Of course, the third act explains this to an extent, but in the moment it feels like the narrative is telling me different things to the writing.
However, while the writing can feel pedestrian and almost overly simple, there is excellent narrative intimacy when describing how a character is attracted to another (which is to say, the prose stylings and emotional charge of the text begin to echo, and thereby invoke in the reader, the feelings felt by the character). Usually it seemed to struggle to dwell on points and allow them to be explored, whether it be descriptions of mood or of place, but this was never for the ways in which different characters are seen by the POV character, which is arguable the most important part to get right. That is the key to understanding this book for me.
Character description is also very good, the pirate captain’s luxurious, almost indulgent introductory paragraph is exceptionally well written, though it slows the pace in an early scene which was already slow, and could have been established while he acted rather than during a narrative halt.
What works is the narrow focus on Gerard (such a perfect dumb slut) and the specific relationships the narrative is concerned with. No time is wasted on irrelevant matters around the purpose of the voyage or the fault life that might take away the focus of the reader. However, while it clarified the focus quite well for me, it caused the jeopardy of the pirate kidnapping to lack stakes sufficient for the arrival of pirates to be something I should be awfully torn up over. Again, this ultimately proves to be narratively appropriate based on what the ending reveals, but in the moment it felt like a missed beat.
My favourite feature of JTE’s writing is how he interrogates characters, because both Poole and Wicks get unravelled and challenged by the people around them, with Poole (slut) facing up to the privilege he has and trying to understand how self centred he appears, and Wicks (repressed) grappling with his own issues. They are not just characters as platonic ideals or fixed, understood points; they are characters who they are perceived (often wrongly) by others, and a lot attention is drawn to these gaps in understanding. Poole proves to actually be eager and capable, in spite of Wicks impressions, for example. It’s a great tool in this writer’s arsenal.
However, the often undifferentiated sentence length, lack of dynamism in the writing, and short, overly direct paragraphs (outside of the more romantic digressions, which are absolutely the highlight but often feel segregated from the main prose), accentuated with the same issues with publishing (paragraphs don’t split across pages and are double spaced, which makes this short book feel cheaply/artificially drawn out, not a fault with writing but an annoyance) takes this down a few marks. It’s not as good as Heart of Stone, and it’s definitely not as grand, but if I take it on its own terms it’s a fun, fast, erotic queer romance story that doesn’t take itself awfully seriously but does have things to say. As a bit of fun, while I felt very uncertain about the first part, it hits its stride well and I enjoyed the experience of reading this silly adventure about a dumb, fancy twink, his surly, marginalised valet, and a bunch of colourful pirates.
July 2, 2024
3.5*
I'd loved Evans' Heart of Stone and so I decided to pick this one up too! It's just a fun little novella, with quick and witty dialogue and truly surprising passages about race, class and wealth that felt very genuine and necessary, considering the era and dynamics between the characters. The "romance" aspect was entertaining, although I was very surprised the book ended with no actual sex scene? It just felt a bit odd to have all those rather explicit bits - and it never really comes to a conclusion? I was just waiting to gasp and clutch my pearls, damnit!
Overall, just a fun time all around!
I'd loved Evans' Heart of Stone and so I decided to pick this one up too! It's just a fun little novella, with quick and witty dialogue and truly surprising passages about race, class and wealth that felt very genuine and necessary, considering the era and dynamics between the characters. The "romance" aspect was entertaining, although I was very surprised the book ended with no actual sex scene? It just felt a bit odd to have all those rather explicit bits - and it never really comes to a conclusion? I was just waiting to gasp and clutch my pearls, damnit!
Overall, just a fun time all around!
October 1, 2024
Weirdly explicit for a book with no sex scenes. Some characters were charming, but the story was oddly paced with a rushed ending. I probably won't read it again.
August 7, 2026
2.75
Again with this writer, it could have been my favourite book... BUT.
I love navy historical series like Hornblower and I also like my M/M romance/erotica so this could have been great for me, but it was disappointing both as a historical setting and a romance. I'm ok with romance without explicit scenes, but all the sexual teasing in this story goes anywhere and it can be veery frustrating. On the other side, the historical side is a bit better but there is no plot to entertain and compensate for the lack of the other elements (elements promised by the premise and the continuous teasing of the first part... the famous "Checkov's gun"... more like Checkov's cock LOL).
I loved the humour, though. Would it been a short comedy, without the explicit sexy stuff at all, I would have appreciated it more).
I think that there should be a better balance between historical setting, witty (and sometimes long and out of context) dialogues, and smut, because despite reading it easily, the second half was very underwhelming and there were not enough feelings involved between the characters to make me care about their romance. :(
Again with this writer, it could have been my favourite book... BUT.
I love navy historical series like Hornblower and I also like my M/M romance/erotica so this could have been great for me, but it was disappointing both as a historical setting and a romance. I'm ok with romance without explicit scenes, but all the sexual teasing in this story goes anywhere and it can be veery frustrating. On the other side, the historical side is a bit better but there is no plot to entertain and compensate for the lack of the other elements (elements promised by the premise and the continuous teasing of the first part... the famous "Checkov's gun"... more like Checkov's cock LOL).
I loved the humour, though. Would it been a short comedy, without the explicit sexy stuff at all, I would have appreciated it more).
I think that there should be a better balance between historical setting, witty (and sometimes long and out of context) dialogues, and smut, because despite reading it easily, the second half was very underwhelming and there were not enough feelings involved between the characters to make me care about their romance. :(
June 7, 2024
This works so much better than it should. It’s a pirate story with no swashbuckling, a steamy tail where they only really kiss, and a trip through the Mediterranean with little to no description of place. This book is 80% flirtation with some examination of homophobia and racism thrown in. Still, there’s something about it that is just plain enchanting. Gerald is a ridiculous character at times, but he’s hard not to fall in love with.
I was unreasonably sad to be done with it. I rather wish this were longer.
I was unreasonably sad to be done with it. I rather wish this were longer.
June 9, 2026
I've been in a bit of a slump, so I turned to something short with high quality writing. This did the trick!
I think you might be a bit disappointed if you expected more out of the pirates and/or kidnapping part. This is more of a forced proximity three-way slow burn.
And the ending.... well, I loved the plot. I was really enjoying myself by the end. But I do feel plot teased for the entire book. So much pining and build up with zero payoff or spice. It was a little bit of a let down.
Overall solidly recommended!
I think you might be a bit disappointed if you expected more out of the pirates and/or kidnapping part. This is more of a forced proximity three-way slow burn.
And the ending.... well, I loved the plot. I was really enjoying myself by the end. But I do feel plot teased for the entire book. So much pining and build up with zero payoff or spice. It was a little bit of a let down.
Overall solidly recommended!
June 28, 2023
Fun, interesting, a little disjointed? (Originally started as a tweetfic.) In some ways I liked that, it was easier to pick and put down than if crafted in discrete, clear scenes. But also a little hard to take fully seriously despite the serious content. The layout might have contributed to that as well, pages were short which normally suggests a new chapter, and that was generally not the case. But also willing to put that on me and my expectations of form.
August 1, 2024
a delightful, silly, and incredibly horny book. and my second throuple pirate book in the last month!! (also my fourth?? throuple book in the last monthish?? i’m sensing a theme). a lil sad that it was fade to black but overall enjoyed it a heckton. literally no stakes, just flirting arguing and coming to terms with who other ppl are. a super quick read too
November 10, 2024
Enjoyed this a lot. There’s certain an element of romp to it, with some very funny moments, but more than anything else, it’s really about trying to know and understand people and the struggles that can come from that. I also liked the relationship development all around?? I just had a good time with it and I think the length meant that it had a very tight focus on the relationships.
August 1, 2022
I'm a big fan of Johannes's writing on Twitter and Medium, so as soon as I saw he had a new book out I added to it my TBR.
I really liked this! It's a short read, and I might have liked it to be slightly longer as it has an open-ending, but it's so good, and I can see this becoming another new favourite that I read every few months. It's got:
-Pirates
-Polyamory
-A LOT of flirting
-Great ADHD rep
-Kink (but no full sex scenes)
If you're a fan of Peter Darling by Austin Chant this book might be a great fit for you!
I really liked this! It's a short read, and I might have liked it to be slightly longer as it has an open-ending, but it's so good, and I can see this becoming another new favourite that I read every few months. It's got:
-Pirates
-Polyamory
-A LOT of flirting
-Great ADHD rep
-Kink (but no full sex scenes)
If you're a fan of Peter Darling by Austin Chant this book might be a great fit for you!
November 11, 2024
Extremely fragmented prose and one-dimensional characters having repetitive arguments and conversations. The titular Gerald Poole is an incredibly frustrating character and not in a way that is rewarding for the reader. There's not even any fucking and sucking.
October 25, 2022
Gerald and Wicks and Thwaites and Cotton are my precious sons. 15/10 stars.
September 8, 2024
A funny book with well developed characters and a delightful setting.
There isn’t any plot and the romance could be better explored. It’s also a bit of a tease.
There isn’t any plot and the romance could be better explored. It’s also a bit of a tease.
June 21, 2025
This book is a love note to Our Flag Means Death ... in the best way.
Quick & rough, but a light read
Quick & rough, but a light read
September 5, 2024
I want more!
I want to read basically every minute of Gerald's life. I wish this was a dozen times longer. I want to turn it over and shake it until more of it falls out. it was a perfectly reasonable length, I just didn't want it to end.
I want to read basically every minute of Gerald's life. I wish this was a dozen times longer. I want to turn it over and shake it until more of it falls out. it was a perfectly reasonable length, I just didn't want it to end.
August 18, 2026
I found this book to be silly while also discussing class through its quips. The main character slowly becomes comfortable and is a loveable whiny bratty twink, and I think that adds to the humor more than the spice or romance. I would read more adventures of Gerald Poole if he kept getting into problems because of his promiscuity.
May 23, 2022
Why hello, I do believe I just discovered a new "everything you ever wrote is going on my TBR right this instant" author by way of exceptionally excellent fanfiction!
You may remember me mentioning my urgent need for more queer pirate romance in my life, so this lovely historical novella proved absolutely impossible to resist. Stellar writing, astonishing character depth for such a short format... I thoroughly enjoyed this. If only it weren't so short!
You may remember me mentioning my urgent need for more queer pirate romance in my life, so this lovely historical novella proved absolutely impossible to resist. Stellar writing, astonishing character depth for such a short format... I thoroughly enjoyed this. If only it weren't so short!
August 15, 2023
This book is a RIDE. It’s several things at once and I absolutely wanted more at the end. Dialogue once again on point. Give us a sequel please!
June 4, 2024
36min
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews