Freebooter

Hector Lynch #5

by Tim Severin

From the moment he is captured by Barbary pirates, Hector Lynch has led a life on the high seas that has taken him from the coast of North Africa, to the treacherous routes of the Caribbean, to the wide Pacific Ocean. This is the next in a series of novels follows the story of a man forging a new life for himself and his band of friends, in dangerous, exotic new lands.

Genres: Historical, Historical Fiction

400 pages, Hardcover

Published June 1, 2017

About the author

Tim Severin was a British explorer, historian and writer. Severin is noted for his work in retracing the legendary journeys of historical figures. Severin was awarded both the Gold Medal of the Royal Geographical Society and the Livingstone Medal of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society. He received the Thomas Cook Travel Book Award for his 1982 book The Sindbad Voyage.

He was born Timothy Severin in Assam, India in 1940. Severin attended Tonbridge School and studied geography and history at Keble College, Oxford.

Severin has also written historical fiction along with non fiction. The Viking Series, first published in 2005, concerns a young Viking adventurer who travels the world. In 2007 he published The Adventures of Hector Lynch series set in the late 17th century about a 17-year-old Corsair.

Reviews

[Clemens Schoonderwoert · Rating 5 out of 5]

This exciting book is the 5th volume of the "Pirate" series, featuring Hector Lynch, by the author Tim Severin.
As ever the historical details, which you'll find at the end of the book concerning this period of history, are very well researched and superbly implemented within this magnificent tale.
At the beginning of the book you'll notice a well drawn map of the Indian Ocean, its surrounding countries and cities, and all the currents during the monsoon season which are featuring in this exciting seafaring piracy story.
Storytelling is of a top-notch quality, because the author is or has been a seafarer/explorer himself, and so with his immense knowledge about oceans and ships you'll find a lot of his experiences back in this story during the adventures of our main fictional character Hector Lynch.
Within this fascinating piracy tale there are also quite a few real historical figures featuring, and all these real and fictional characters are superbly brought to life within this story by the author.
The main geographical area that is featuring in this Pirate story is that of the Indian Ocean, and the story is also mainly during the times of the monsoons, which is in September/October of each year in this area.
What will follow is a pirate story of the highest calibre, and one in which we will follow Hector from the Island of St Mary's to the Indian Ocean, and places like Surat, Delhi to finally London with all his ups and downs that will come his way in this world of piracy.
Very much recommended, for this is an exciting and captivating story and thus one that I would like to mention as: "Piracy At Its Very Best"!

[Raymond Just · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another enjoyable entry in the adventures of Hector Lynch. The writing continues to be deft and the attention to period detail quite remarkable. Hector is a sympathetic protagonist who always does his level best. And that's where my only criticism comes in. Hector and his mates Jezreel and Jacques are without a doubt the most noble, good-hearted and duly do-right trio of pirates that who ever sailed the seven seas. This tends to be a theme in Severin's work, and I would wager that Tim himself is probably one of the nicest most upstanding gentlemen you'd ever want to meet. But he bleeds into his characters, making them all a bit unrealistically saccharine in their uniform and constant desire to do the right thing. It can make a protagonist a bit dull after a while, this lack of perceivable character flaw, and it is beginning to do so with Lynch and his story. But if you like your pirate adventures strictly PG, then you're in luck here, and the series is recommended.

[Robert Magness · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hector Lynch Can’t Catch A Break

Another fun pirate book from Tim Severin. This time, we get a glimpse into the maritime life and adventures through Madagascar and India and how trade influenced the regions and lives all the way back through to England. While there have been some characters I’ve enjoyed being part of Lynch’s team, some get dropped in new locations and don’t continue with his narrative. This book has another good side character find a new home, arc that is telling with the times. I thought this might be the last book of the series—goodness knows Lynch deserves a nice quiet life—but the last page pretty much tells us what his next book will be. I’m excited.

[Tom Lindsay · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book seemed to have been written to some formula. The plot was barely discernible and the characters appeared to be pale imitations of what they might once have been. I felt it was a sketchy novel, trying to link historical facts with rather weak links. Well-written but not exciting.