Made in China and imported by the East India Company for the kings, queens and rising middle classes of Europe, porcelain has become the most valuable commodity in the West. They call it white gold.The secret method of its manufacture would make a millionarie of the man who discovered it or a great power of the nation which held it.and now that closely-guarded formula has been smuggled out of China in a letter which half the world is chasing - including servant-turned-pirate Patrick Devlin.To find the letter and secure the release of his kidnapped friend Peter Sam, Devlin must sail to the island of New Providence and a confrontation with his former master Captain John Coxon - not to mention Edward 'Blackbeard' Teach, a man with a fearsome reputatlin, a deep grudge, and a long memory.
Mark Keating is a new author of historical fiction, whose debut novel THE PIRATE DEVLIN was published by Hodder & Stoughton in the UK in February 2010 and by Grand Central Publishing in the US in July 2010. It draws on the wealth of tales from the Golden Age of Caribbean piracy with the emphasis on adventure and accuracy. No monsters, romance or romantic monsters. He was born in Enfield, North London and now lives in Windsor, Berkshire.
Read this book in 2011, and its the 2nd part of the delightful "Pirate Devlin" series.
Set in the early 18th Century, between AD 1717-1721, and this tale is mot about gold, but all about a commodity that in this period of history is even more valuable.
Obsessed with the flavours of the new world, like chocolate and coffee, but now there's something that will catch the eye of the public in Europe, with Kings, Queens and the rising middle classes at the forefront, and that's Chinese porcelain.
A very important letter containing the secret formula of this Chinese porcelain has gone missing, and anyone who can obtain it can become very rich indeed.
The Portuguese, Valentim Mendes, who Patrick Devlin has crossed swords before with, is trying to blackmail Devlin in finding this letter.
With Mendes blackmailing him and his nemesis, John Coxon, hot on his heels Devlin must find a way to obtain this letter and make his profit, while at the same time he must somehow neutralize both Mendes and Coxon.
Highly recommended, for this is a top-class pirate addition to this great series, and that's why I like to call this episode: "A Fantastic Pirate Sequel"!
The action is set around 1717-1718, the golden age of piracy is coming to an end, as the 1715 Treaty of Utrecht, stopped the British Government looking on pirates as “privateers”, free to attack French and Spanish ships and more as a nuisance impeding trade with America, in need of reform or hanging. Patrick Devlin is a Pirate Captain with a poor Irish background, this is the second tale of his exploits, I haven’t read the first. We first meet Patrick in a bar in Madagascar, where his slumber is disturbed by two unwary gentlemen. Patrick drugs them and relieves them of the ship they sailed in on, the Talefan, a brig faster than his Shadow, and makes sail for the Caribbean, as his quartermaster, Peter Sam has been kidnapped. Ignatius, a rather mysterious character, in Charles Town, South Carolina, will return Peter Sam in exchange for a special treasure he wants Devlin to bring to him. This treasure is not the gold, Devlin secreted away in New Providence in the earlier tale, Ignatius wants an industrial secret, the arcanum for making porcelain. The secret had been smuggled out of China by a Jesuit priest and promises great riches to anyone who can exploit it. The early eighteenth century witnessed the fashion for hot drinks, and having a cup which didn’t burn the hands when drinking would be a godsend with a ready market.
This was not as exciting as I'd hoped a pirate story would be. Partly, that is down to the fact that I found the characters very difficult to distinguish - not helped by formatting that meant we switched to scenes with completely different characters without any clear line break to denote the switch. That made for a confusing read.
The plot sounded intriguing - a rush to try and steal the secret of producing one of the era's most sought-after commodities - but by the end, I'd lost track of who was supposed to be on which side, who was trying to get revenge on who and there was no way of tracking how much time had elapsed between scenes either - despite time clearly *having* passed as characters sailed between Madagascar and the Caribbean. Two characters who seemed important in the first part of the book just disappear later on... the whole book just seemed... sloppy. As if it needed another round of editing before being published - I can only assume the publishers wanted to get the book out quickly to capitalise on whichever Pirates of the Caribbean film was the latest one at the time. In one scene, a certain manouever seemed to have been ripped right out of the first POTC film.
Really disappointed with this book. It had the potential to be a lot better.
Brilliant story, worth way more than I paid for it. Not usually a fan of pirate stories, but this was just different enough to keep my interest. Some of the paragraphs are a bit heavy on the nautical terms and slow the story down, if you're like myself and not well educated on sail boats. Otherwise, we get a good mix of history and fiction. If you come across this book, pick it up, let it rest on your bookcase for a while, when ready, give it a read.
Very disappointing. Sounded good and had all the ingredients to be an interesting read, but the writing, or perhaps the editing and compilation let it down badly. In the end I just stopped reading it.
I do love a swashbuckling pirate adventure, ram-packed full of action and good old fashion sword fights.
This is the second in the series and I'm LOVING it. Just as exciting as the first book; same feel and writing, just a different storyline. A series like this could really go on forever with a different pirate adventure each time.
I'm a big lover of pirates anyway, having read a lot of history books on the 'Golden Age of Piracy' so this book is right up my street.
It didn't once leave me bored and I love the third person writing, switching from character to character. I feel I get to follow more of the whole story line as opposed to first person, where we're only hearing from the main character. But this book jumps from the hero, to the bad guy, to crew member, back to the hero, and I feel really immersed in this style, getting the full picture, even if the characters don't.
Exciting from start to finish, this is a book series you don't want to miss out on.
I really wanted to love this book. I read the Pirate Devlin and thought it was a masterpiece. Unfortunately I found the sequel just not measuring up to the adventure of the Pirate Devlin. Keating's writing is exceptional and it is a well realised adventure, but I think ensuring historical accuracy bogs the plot down in unnecessary information when all that is needed is a quick swashbuckling.
Worth a read for anyone interested in the subject though, very interesting as historical fiction, just not quite as good as his first one.
2nd in series and it just keeps getting better.I know nothing about Nautical Terms or Sailing, but that does not detract from a really good story that has been well researched and well written.
Devlin is brilliant and I for one cannot wait to read book 3-Blood Diamond.
All characters are really well thought out and are loveable into the bargain.
It is really worth reading if you like historical fiction set on the high seas with some fun thrown in.
Part of the series where I review books I read a long time ago
It was while reading this book that my mind concocted up the complete plot for an alternate story. That should tell you something about this one. It is not bad. It has pirates, some kind of action and a credible plot. But it was just a little taxing to plough through. I kept comparing Devlin to Jack Sparrow the entire time I was reading this, their similarities and start differences, but that's on me.
Generally an easy enjoyable read, the standard of writing continues to be of good quality. I particularly enjoyed the almost poetic first few paragraphs of chapter 11.
While there are many threads to the plot, it is hardly a complex story, so the seemingly regular spoon-feb recaps that appear (I guess incase you forget/are lost) are frustrating; beginning of chapter 29 is a prime example.
Probably best for those who already have an established love of naval fiction, because the heavy-duty sailing descriptions and in-depth naval battles will quickly lose an amateur's interest. An interesting premise, but doesn't fulfill its potential.
Excellent second adventure of Devlin and crew. Mark Keating is a master at top quality historical fiction and this series is a must for pirate fans. Highly recommended!
Great prose!!! Amazing descriptions. The characters are great and the plot keeps you on the edge of you sofa until the last page. Unfortunately, it is on the violent side. Nevertheless, a great read!