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Black Sam: Prince of Pirates
The War of Spanish Succession is over, many sailors are out of work, and the thriving American colonies are quickly becoming the place of opportunity. For Sam Bellamy, it was the opportunity of becoming the captain of his own ship.
When he falls in love with a rebellious New England debutante, he finds out very quickly that he needs more than a dream to win over her socialite parents. After a failed treasure salvaging expedition, Sam makes one last desperate attempt to change his economic standing, and unwittingly becomes the Captain of the Pirate ship ‘Mary Anne’.
As a self proclaimed “Free Prince” Sam wages war on greedy merchantmen, slave traders, and Mother Nature, in a bid not only for the love of his life, but for life itself.
When he falls in love with a rebellious New England debutante, he finds out very quickly that he needs more than a dream to win over her socialite parents. After a failed treasure salvaging expedition, Sam makes one last desperate attempt to change his economic standing, and unwittingly becomes the Captain of the Pirate ship ‘Mary Anne’.
As a self proclaimed “Free Prince” Sam wages war on greedy merchantmen, slave traders, and Mother Nature, in a bid not only for the love of his life, but for life itself.
343 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2013
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109 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
April 6, 2013
When I first started reading this book I was not sure of the author's intent. I had the feeling that perhaps Mr. McLeod's major purpose was to write a historical romance, but had hopes that it was intended to be pure historical fiction. After reading it, I'm not sure it rates as even a historic romance, everyone is just too polite too virtuous and too nice – at best (or worst depending upon your point of view), this is just some pubescent female's fantasy masquerading as a pirate novel.
To be totally fair to the book the facts known of Black Sam Bellamy's life (to a point) are all here (McLeod gets an A+ for historical research). However, it is the facts that are not known about his life that make this book stick in my craw! Let's get right down to the nitty-gritty of the issue, it is the ending – it is billed as a surprise, and it is that owing to the totally unbelievable, absurd concoction that is contrived to deliver a "satisfactory" resolution. The ending defies all logic and is a major disservice to known historical facts and also to the memory/legend of Maria Hallett. I am also pretty confidant that Barry Clifford (the archaeologist who discovered the wreck of the Whydah) would have issues with various constructs of this ending.
Bottom line, the book may be fine for its intended audience (who was not me), and it was probably a mistake on my part for expecting it to be different from what it was. As historical fiction (although the research was excellent), the book, to me, was a major disappointment; as a very, very soft romance story, I have no idea if it actually succeeded or not – however, the story of Black Sam Bellamy and the legend of Maria Hallett are enough of a grand Shakespearean tragedy to deserve better treatment than that of a junior high school fantasy.
Be forewarned of what kind of story you are getting as, or if, you are contemplating reading this book.
To be totally fair to the book the facts known of Black Sam Bellamy's life (to a point) are all here (McLeod gets an A+ for historical research). However, it is the facts that are not known about his life that make this book stick in my craw! Let's get right down to the nitty-gritty of the issue, it is the ending – it is billed as a surprise, and it is that owing to the totally unbelievable, absurd concoction that is contrived to deliver a "satisfactory" resolution. The ending defies all logic and is a major disservice to known historical facts and also to the memory/legend of Maria Hallett. I am also pretty confidant that Barry Clifford (the archaeologist who discovered the wreck of the Whydah) would have issues with various constructs of this ending.
Bottom line, the book may be fine for its intended audience (who was not me), and it was probably a mistake on my part for expecting it to be different from what it was. As historical fiction (although the research was excellent), the book, to me, was a major disappointment; as a very, very soft romance story, I have no idea if it actually succeeded or not – however, the story of Black Sam Bellamy and the legend of Maria Hallett are enough of a grand Shakespearean tragedy to deserve better treatment than that of a junior high school fantasy.
Be forewarned of what kind of story you are getting as, or if, you are contemplating reading this book.
August 31, 2013
Sam Bellamy isn't so much a faux Pirate as a faux pas. All you will get is a mealy mouthed main protagonist with a vapid blonde lady love, with more hair than wit.
In my mind, and this is only a personal view, a Pirate should buck his swash and be full to the brim with derring do - nothing like that happened in this book, it was dull as a Florida Swamp.
I need a big pat on the back for getting through this, it was quite an achievement as it was so dull I kept dropping off to sleep - and I love an all action Vast Me Harties story full of plunder and mayhem.
On the positive side, apart from a big corker, there were very few errors however (as usual I will list them on the Blog Post #370 in August 2013).
The corker I will talk about here: Now, I've just re-checked it on Amazon and it is still showing the Author as James Lewis both on the Amazon page, and on the cover image that downloaded (interestingly the Good Reads cover image seems to be correctly named). I will say though, when the file was opened it clearly says Mat MacLeod.
Why put a different author's name on the front cover? It's not the first time that I've come across this: I still remember what I like to call "Highlander's Hope Gate" earlier this year (if you're interested Blog Post #381 in July 2013.
I digress ......... like most of the cannon balls in the book .... it fell way short of the mark, and only got 2 stars from me (one of those stars is for being relatively error free).
In my mind, and this is only a personal view, a Pirate should buck his swash and be full to the brim with derring do - nothing like that happened in this book, it was dull as a Florida Swamp.
I need a big pat on the back for getting through this, it was quite an achievement as it was so dull I kept dropping off to sleep - and I love an all action Vast Me Harties story full of plunder and mayhem.
On the positive side, apart from a big corker, there were very few errors however (as usual I will list them on the Blog Post #370 in August 2013).
The corker I will talk about here: Now, I've just re-checked it on Amazon and it is still showing the Author as James Lewis both on the Amazon page, and on the cover image that downloaded (interestingly the Good Reads cover image seems to be correctly named). I will say though, when the file was opened it clearly says Mat MacLeod.
Why put a different author's name on the front cover? It's not the first time that I've come across this: I still remember what I like to call "Highlander's Hope Gate" earlier this year (if you're interested Blog Post #381 in July 2013.
I digress ......... like most of the cannon balls in the book .... it fell way short of the mark, and only got 2 stars from me (one of those stars is for being relatively error free).
May 6, 2015
Note: GoodReads has this book written by two authors: James Lewis and Mat McLeod. However, McLeod’s name doesn’t appear on any of the cover art and he is not listed as an author of the book Audible.com. So, not too sure what is going on there.
It’s the early 1700s, the War of the Spanish Succession has ended, and Sam Bellamy, like so many others, is out of a job. The American colonies is where work and opportunity lay. He falls in love with Maria, a New England debutante who comes from a family of some wealth and repute. Sam must make a name (and a wealthy bank account) for himself before Maria’s parents will even consider him a candidate for her hand. Sam takes on a ship and crew to go treasure hunting off the coast of the Florida. Along the way he meets several other entrepreneurs (aka pirates), earns a few enemies, suffers loss, and gains a wealth of knowledge.
Sam is a good guy, like the boy next door. He can be depended on to do the honorable thing. So while his character was pretty predictable, he was still fun and easy to connect with. He runs around saving women, rescuing his men, and standing up to bullies and other disreputables. In fact, his inclinations towards the good true often leave him in a fight.
This is the time of privateers. It seems every major European country has their privateers. The rules these privateers live by seems largely up to the captain. Needless to say if you privateer on an opposing countries ships and get caught, you can be hung as a pirate. The line between pirate and privateer is often thin. I bet you can guess how our hero Black Sam Bellamy ends up in so much trouble!
There’s plenty of historical characters, like Black Beard the pirate, walking in and giving cameos in this book. That was quite fun and I am sure there are more than I recognized. Sometimes they were giving Sam a hand, sometimes obstructing him, and definitely showing him the seedier side to pirating.
There are very few women in this story and often they are focused on the men and/or need rescuing. Maria was the main female and even so she had a small role. If she wasn’t thinking about men she was talking to or about them. Hence, the ladies were entirely predictable and rather boring.
I did enjoy the book. The plot was a bit predictable because the main characters were predictable. Even so, it was a fun romp through the American colonies and on the high seas. The good guys win, the sticklers for protocol get snubbed and perhaps learn something, and the bad guys either die or go on to wreak havoc for a sequel. If you are looking for a pirate adventure that doesn’t require close attention, then this is perfect brain candy.
The Narration: As you can see above, there was quite the cast for this book! Alex Hyde-White was our main narrator and he did a really good job as Sam Bellamy’s voice. I had a fun time picking out familiar narrators as they popped in and out. My only criticism is that sometimes the background white noise changed as we switched narrators, making it clear that not everyone was in the same studio during recording, and also some studios had a better quality of recording than others.
It’s the early 1700s, the War of the Spanish Succession has ended, and Sam Bellamy, like so many others, is out of a job. The American colonies is where work and opportunity lay. He falls in love with Maria, a New England debutante who comes from a family of some wealth and repute. Sam must make a name (and a wealthy bank account) for himself before Maria’s parents will even consider him a candidate for her hand. Sam takes on a ship and crew to go treasure hunting off the coast of the Florida. Along the way he meets several other entrepreneurs (aka pirates), earns a few enemies, suffers loss, and gains a wealth of knowledge.
Sam is a good guy, like the boy next door. He can be depended on to do the honorable thing. So while his character was pretty predictable, he was still fun and easy to connect with. He runs around saving women, rescuing his men, and standing up to bullies and other disreputables. In fact, his inclinations towards the good true often leave him in a fight.
This is the time of privateers. It seems every major European country has their privateers. The rules these privateers live by seems largely up to the captain. Needless to say if you privateer on an opposing countries ships and get caught, you can be hung as a pirate. The line between pirate and privateer is often thin. I bet you can guess how our hero Black Sam Bellamy ends up in so much trouble!
There’s plenty of historical characters, like Black Beard the pirate, walking in and giving cameos in this book. That was quite fun and I am sure there are more than I recognized. Sometimes they were giving Sam a hand, sometimes obstructing him, and definitely showing him the seedier side to pirating.
There are very few women in this story and often they are focused on the men and/or need rescuing. Maria was the main female and even so she had a small role. If she wasn’t thinking about men she was talking to or about them. Hence, the ladies were entirely predictable and rather boring.
I did enjoy the book. The plot was a bit predictable because the main characters were predictable. Even so, it was a fun romp through the American colonies and on the high seas. The good guys win, the sticklers for protocol get snubbed and perhaps learn something, and the bad guys either die or go on to wreak havoc for a sequel. If you are looking for a pirate adventure that doesn’t require close attention, then this is perfect brain candy.
The Narration: As you can see above, there was quite the cast for this book! Alex Hyde-White was our main narrator and he did a really good job as Sam Bellamy’s voice. I had a fun time picking out familiar narrators as they popped in and out. My only criticism is that sometimes the background white noise changed as we switched narrators, making it clear that not everyone was in the same studio during recording, and also some studios had a better quality of recording than others.
April 2, 2015
"Captain Samuel Bellamy, "Black Sam" Bellamy the English pirate of the high seas in the 18th century, and known as the wealthiest pirate in recorded history- Wikipedia/ Forbes." The Robin Hood of the seven seas, we know the history, but listen to this incredible multi-character cast to hear it as it was meant to be told. You are introduced to the heart of a man who fell in love and lost his life in a tragic event that would separate two ill fated lovers; a story beyond legend that is still told in folklore, song and storytelling today. Each character is brought to life as we are transported back to a day of piracy, duels, adventure, and a fight for honor and glory. This story is so much more than mere literature; it is the history and legacy of the Robin Hood of the seas, Captain Samuel Bellamy. It is the story of the people that surrounded him and the struggle for life and independence. This is an audiobook that I would highly recommend to anyone wanting to experience the treacherous high seas on a journey for honor and glory. You will feel as if you have become part of the crew on the "Whydah" as you experience true pirate history in the adventure of a lifetime. This is true story telling at its best.The entire narration cast was exceptional, and the author's work flowed smoothly for superior narrative storytelling. A pleasure to listen to.
March 19, 2016
Reader, I could not finish it.
I hadn't expected "Black Sam" to be terribly correct with the level of historic accuracy that we would find in, say a Davis Lyss novel, and was prepared to tolerably complacent when there were minor, infrequent faux pas. Unfortunately, this book was so riddled with implausible situations and erroneous historic ties that it only made my head ache with sadness and frustration. If only the story had been set in some fictional Lala land, I could understand that the daughter of the richest merchant in town would be allowed (socially and practically) to staff the shop, alone. In Lala, unlike early 18th century New England, a pair of gentleman courting a young lady could decide that they wanted to talk privately with each other, about her, and so send her to walk on anywhere, alone. I don't even want to get into the nautical errors. My brain begged me to stop.
Here's where I admit that the audio version of this book did it no favors. There are some wonderful and talented audio redaers out there and they can make even the most insensible plots enjoyable to hear. This book even had some of those readers. The production of this audio book undermined any talent brought to it. None of the readers kept the same pace; there were disparities in volume and even pronunciation, that my ears, too, begged me to stop.
I gave in and did not finish.
I hadn't expected "Black Sam" to be terribly correct with the level of historic accuracy that we would find in, say a Davis Lyss novel, and was prepared to tolerably complacent when there were minor, infrequent faux pas. Unfortunately, this book was so riddled with implausible situations and erroneous historic ties that it only made my head ache with sadness and frustration. If only the story had been set in some fictional Lala land, I could understand that the daughter of the richest merchant in town would be allowed (socially and practically) to staff the shop, alone. In Lala, unlike early 18th century New England, a pair of gentleman courting a young lady could decide that they wanted to talk privately with each other, about her, and so send her to walk on anywhere, alone. I don't even want to get into the nautical errors. My brain begged me to stop.
Here's where I admit that the audio version of this book did it no favors. There are some wonderful and talented audio redaers out there and they can make even the most insensible plots enjoyable to hear. This book even had some of those readers. The production of this audio book undermined any talent brought to it. None of the readers kept the same pace; there were disparities in volume and even pronunciation, that my ears, too, begged me to stop.
I gave in and did not finish.
April 21, 2015
I listened to the audiobook. The group cast did a phenomenal job of bringing the characters to life. I've long been a fan of Horatio Hornblower and Sharpe's Rifles as well as Master and Commander. I have enjoyed the Napoleon era sea tales. I had to keep reminding myself that Black Sam took place nearly a hundred years earlier.
The story begins with a big storm at sea and then flashes back to show how Sam got into that situation. Because I was listening, one challenge I had was keeping track of the timing of everything. It only really became a problem toward the end. I'm not going to spoil anything but it made the ending a little disjointed. Someday, I would like to go back and read section in the book where I got confused. Nonetheless, it was a satisfactory ending. I would listen to it again.
The story touches on some of the terrible things that people have done to each other in our history, and continue to do today. it does so in a way that makes it readable for people of all ages.
I received a copy of the audio book in exchange for an honest review.
The story begins with a big storm at sea and then flashes back to show how Sam got into that situation. Because I was listening, one challenge I had was keeping track of the timing of everything. It only really became a problem toward the end. I'm not going to spoil anything but it made the ending a little disjointed. Someday, I would like to go back and read section in the book where I got confused. Nonetheless, it was a satisfactory ending. I would listen to it again.
The story touches on some of the terrible things that people have done to each other in our history, and continue to do today. it does so in a way that makes it readable for people of all ages.
I received a copy of the audio book in exchange for an honest review.
January 25, 2016
This is good pirate fun with nice historical detail, though it really is more a family tale. If you're looking for something truly gritty, keep walking.
I liked Sam. He's the most likable pirate I've ever read. He was so likable that I wanted to slap him every time he let the bad guy get away to cause more trouble later.
I listened to the audio version, and the production with a full cast of different voices was impressive. The actors did a great job. The editing, not so much. The sound qualities were different, and jumping back and forth was distracting.
I liked Sam. He's the most likable pirate I've ever read. He was so likable that I wanted to slap him every time he let the bad guy get away to cause more trouble later.
I listened to the audio version, and the production with a full cast of different voices was impressive. The actors did a great job. The editing, not so much. The sound qualities were different, and jumping back and forth was distracting.
September 2, 2016
Really liked
I live the writing style of this author, James Lewis. My only criticism is the use of modern speech. The phrases used are just not things you would hear one use in 1716.
I can overlook that due to the writing skill of this author. I loved reading the book from beginning to end, and I plan to read any follow up of this book.
Black Sam is wonderful and apparently the character is fashioned after the real man, Same Bellamy. Obviously a good deal of literary license and imagination was used in the development of this character. I actually enjoyed this character.
The book is funny, interesting, romantic and about pirates......which I love pirate genre.
I live the writing style of this author, James Lewis. My only criticism is the use of modern speech. The phrases used are just not things you would hear one use in 1716.
I can overlook that due to the writing skill of this author. I loved reading the book from beginning to end, and I plan to read any follow up of this book.
Black Sam is wonderful and apparently the character is fashioned after the real man, Same Bellamy. Obviously a good deal of literary license and imagination was used in the development of this character. I actually enjoyed this character.
The book is funny, interesting, romantic and about pirates......which I love pirate genre.
October 20, 2015
I read this book as an Audiobook and really enjoyed it. It has the most voices/narrators than any other Audiobook I've ever listened to before. I didn't like the background music at the beginning and end of the book because it was distracting while the narrator was talking. Fortunately, it only happened twice, I think (beginning and end).
The story was very entertaining and enjoyable. It's a clean book and I was able to listen to it aloud in my home. So, I liked that it was a family-friendly story.
Overall, great book!
The story was very entertaining and enjoyable. It's a clean book and I was able to listen to it aloud in my home. So, I liked that it was a family-friendly story.
Overall, great book!
May 22, 2013
I loved this book for what it was: an epic adventure about a man justifying a life of piracy. I have a bachelors in History, and am always amazed when people come out and hammer good authors for the "fictional" aspects of historical fiction.
All talk of genre aside, this was a great read packed with humor, romance, and adventure, all wrapped nicely in a blanket of historical influence. What more can you ask for? I highly recommend this book!
All talk of genre aside, this was a great read packed with humor, romance, and adventure, all wrapped nicely in a blanket of historical influence. What more can you ask for? I highly recommend this book!
September 24, 2014
Remember it's fiction
I would have enjoyed this story more, if the author would have made up a fictional pirate, than write a fictional story around a real figure. Black Sam was a real pirate and did not walk away from the ship wreck. Oops I should have said spoiler alert. it was still a pretty good read.
I would have enjoyed this story more, if the author would have made up a fictional pirate, than write a fictional story around a real figure. Black Sam was a real pirate and did not walk away from the ship wreck. Oops I should have said spoiler alert. it was still a pretty good read.
July 3, 2013
Really wanted to rate this higher as I love a good historical piece, but it felt a bit disjointed. Overall it was a fun read (though very historically inaccurate, in my opinion).
January 16, 2022
Too many errors in this book to rate a high score. I counted 18 and didn't even mark them all. It also needs to be beta read by a sailor to catch the nautical errors.
January 22, 2016
Great adventure!
October 5, 2014
Thoroughly riveting!
May 17, 2015
Five word review: Great audiobook with full cast
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews