Pirata

Pirata #1-5

by Simon Scarrow, T.J. Andrews

The Sunday Times bestseller!

It is AD 25. Pirate ships strike terror in the hearts of those who brave the seas of the Roman Empire.

When young Telemachus joins the crew of the merchant ship Selene, he's delighted to escape the rough streets of Piraeus. He knows little of the dangers of life at sea. And even past hardship has not prepared him for the terror on board when a pirate ship appears . . .

The fight is bloody, but the result is never in doubt. Then the victorious pirate chief, Bulla, offers the beaten men a cruel choice: join us, or die. After surviving a brutal initiation rite, Telemachus impresses his new captain with his resourcefulness and strength, and swiftly rises through the pirate ranks. But dangerous rivals talk of mutiny and murder. While Prefect Canis, notorious commander of the imperial fleet, is relentless in his pursuit of the pirate brotherhood.

Could Telemachus be the man to lead the pirates and challenge Rome?

PIRATA is also available in five ebook novella parts.

What readers are saying about PIRATA

'I strongly recommend you read this' Amazon reviewer, 5 stars

'A great gripping read' Amazon reviewer, 5 stars

'Fast-paced and exiting throughout' Amazon reviewer, 5 stars

Genres: Historical Fiction, Historical, Fiction

496 pages, Paperback

Published March 3, 2020

About the author

Simon Scarrow is a UK-based author, born in Nigeria, and now living in Norfolk. He completed a master's degree at the University of East Anglia, and, after working at the Inland Revenue, went into teaching as a lecturer at City College, Norwich.

He is best known for his "Eagle" series. This is Roman empire military fiction, starting with the second invasion of Britain, and continuing with subsequent adventures in every corner of the empire. The stories are told through the eyes of two centurions, Macro and Cato. To date there are eighteen books in the series.

Scarrow has also written a series of four novels on the Napoleonic wars, focusing on the lives of Wellington and Napoleon.

Reviews

[Ricard Pascual · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entretenido al estilo Scarrow, pero con poca profundidad en los personajes y en algún capítulo de la parte final de la novela, deseas que acabe ya. El inicio de una saga de piratas contra Roma. Le daremos una oportunidad a la siguiente entrega de la saga para ver si despega.

[Cudeyo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Telémaco es un joven griego que malvive en las calles de un puerto. Cuando se une a la tripulación de un mercante, trabajó con el que quiere comprar la libertad dd su esclavizado hermano, poco se puede imaginar que un funesto encuentro con unos piratas cambiará de forma radical su destino.


Este libro está clasificado como novela histórica, aunque más bien lo clasificaría como aventuras o incluso juvenil. Su lectura resulta entretenida pero nada más. La historia y los personajes tienen poco desarrollo. Cuando se une al mercante Telémaco tiene poco más de quince años y nunca se había subido a un barco, por lo que podemos decir que su carrera es meteórica. 

[Anna Vr · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sarebbe più un 3,5. Bel libro, è ben scritto, capitoli brevi che rendono la lettura ancor più scorrevole, l’avventura c’è e non poca… quello che non mi ha fatto dare le 4 stelle è stata la crescita mancata del protagonista… nel senso che, a mio modo di vedere, è passato dallo status di ragazzo di strada a grande pirata senza un percorso realistico o senza un background tale da giustificarne l’ascesa. A parte questo, l’ho trovato un romanzo godibilissimo.

[Nigel · Rating 2 out of 5]

What has happened to Simon Scarrow? This was predictably formulaic and so incredibly dull I skip read the last third so as not to dump it on my DNF shelf.
I cannot believe this is the same writer that I adored after reading the Wellington series. As this is a collaboration I have to question how much input he had with this novel, it reads like a young adult.

[Doros Lesesofa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spannendes Abenteuer auf See!

[Craig Chapman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another fantastic read by Simon scarrow

[giadix · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ho messo di getto 4 stelle anche se il voto corretto sarebbe 3.5 però mi ha preso così tanto che non potevo mettere meno.
Parto subito con una delle pochissime cose che mi ha fatto storcere il naso: DEI PIRATI SENZA IL RUM? ma sono del mestiere questi??
Nonostante questo dettaglio la storia è molto avvincente con un ritmo serrato, non ci sono momenti noiosi o in cui il lettore si distrae anzi, è praticamente impossibile posare il libro e scorre veramente benissimo.
Anche se la velocità della storia non permette una caratterizzazione approfondita dei personaggi, alcuni tratti emergono dalle scene narrate e permettono al lettore di avere un’idea del personaggio; tuttavia mi sarebbe piaciuto conoscere un po’ di più alcuni background che invece sono stati appena accennati e anche la trama di per sé è abbastanza scontata. Comunque lo consiglio, è il classico libro da weekend, non troppo pesante, che si finisce rapidamente e ti trasporta in un’avventura eccezionale!

[Rui · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maravilhoso. Acaba por ser uma preaqueça de uma das sagas da águia. Gostei muito. O Simon não dececiona. Obrigado, Simon.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Originally published as a series of five novellas, this - as such, and very much like the previous collaboration of these two authors (Invader - is a distinct multi-part book, made up of the following five parts:

Pirata: The Black Flag
Pirata: The Gates of Stone
Pirata: Hunters of the Sea
Pirata: Sea of Blood
The Pirate Chief

As such, each of the five parts have their own distinct start, middle and end, with the series - as a whole -following the orphan Telemachus as he initially joins a merchant vessel before becoming a pirate and (perhaps too) swiftly rising through the ranks - I say perhaps too swiftly as that is my main criticism of the novel, with Telemachus - despite having lived his life on the streets of Piraeus - suddenly, and in a very short time, taking to the life of a pirate at sea.

An enjoyable enough diversion, but not as good - IMO - as Scarrow's Macro and Cato series of novels

[Isabel EAsson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not to sure

Took a good few chapters to get into the book, but once it really started it was a good read. I must say that I prefer Simon Scarow’s own books to that of a double act. However will venture on to the next instalment, with an open mind.

[Mick O'Shea]

These collaborations are definitely aimed at the younger teenage market. Being 5 novellas does cause a lot of repetition.
Interesting to see the ancient Roman world from the other side of the coin nevertheless.

[Dylan Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable story but the timeline of events were unbelievable the protagonist needed x4 more experience to be believable that he’d he’d be able to accomplish at the end of the book also as others have mentioned the amount of time the slave brother is mentioned becomes grading

[Sean Loone · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another rip-roaring boys own adventure which emerged out of a series of novellas. Action, fun, brutality, betrayal - the lot coupled with a great story too. Give this serious consideration if you’re looking for an historical adventure which leaves you wanting more.

[Kyle Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book right from the start. It's a shame there isn't more books like this. If anyone knows of any please let me know.

[Jonny · Rating 2 out of 5]

Poorly written and not engaging/realistic characters. A surprise given it's Scarrow

[Sonia Mirri · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had high hopes for this after reading other Roman historical fiction but felt really let down by the predictability of the story and lack of detail.
it's an easy, quick, and unchallenging read.

[Letture Sale e Pepe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Se dico Simon Scarrow si pensa subito all’avventura, allo storico, a qualcosa che riesce a distrarti da romanzi d’amore, ti immerge in battaglie e ti porta in viaggi oltremare, ti scatena l’adrenalina.

È stata una lettura piacevole, impegnativa, anche se alcune cose sono state paradossalmente irreali (strano ma vero).

Accantonato Macrone e amici, ci apprestiamo a questo viaggio negli oceani. Risultato? Amo Scarrow nella parte storica di Roma, in questi libri pecca un po’, ma la lettura dell’avventura è sempre eccitante, i marinai poi… ti ammaliano.

Nonostante qualche parte poco realistica riguardo il genere in questione, ho apprezzato la lettura.

Qui Simon si discosta dal suo genere prettamente storico, avventurandosi e facendoci avventurare in un viaggio da ricordare, con colpi di scena che lasciano il lettore a bocca aperta, con una storia che ha una dinamica esilarante, e un’avventura che si espande nelle nostre vene.

Consiglio.

[Krish · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unfortunately the least enjoyable of Scarrow’s works so far. It at least didn’t have the same storyline five times over, as in Arena, so was nice to actually have a progression of the story and characters. However, Telemachus’ rise was ridiculously fast which took away from the credibility of the whole story (slightly understandable seeing as Scarrow was trying to fit a whole career into one book).

My main issue, surprisingly, was I found the book quite boring and slow going at times, which I’ve never found with any of Scarrow’s other books. There are some fun scenes to read and parts are very engaging but they’re very limited. Whilst Telemachus was an interesting character to explore, the book ultimately came up quite short.

[All the King's Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent introduction into Roman fiction, the first thing I did after finishing the book was googling the events to read more about it. A good sign.

Interesting setting and timeline, well-described, good pace. The main character does seem to adapt flawlessly to every changing situation, but then again, talented people have always existed so why not. Exciting and compelling. A real page-turner, took me less than a day to finish the book.

Will be checking out more books from Simon Scarrow.

[Primi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entretenido. Lo mejor, como siempre en Scarrow, las escenas de acción. Es un maestro en ello. Pero en general es un libro más flojo que otros del autor. No sé si continuaré con la saga cuando salgan los siguientes.

[Scott Gardner · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not sure how much input Scarrow actually had in the book , not much I'm hoping , as it is a pretty tame read , I find it hard to believe a young boy can rise so quickly in what was a bloody live as a pirate .

[Jorge Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really not one of Scarrow's best. It was very predictable at times, unrealistic at others. I love the Macro and Cato books so was surprised at this one.

[Cameron]

Poor writing, poor characterisation, poor story. Overly clichéd

[João Luís Ferreira · Rating 4 out of 5]

Uma fantástica descrição da brutal vida marítima da época e do que levava/obrigava a dedicarem-se à pirataria.

[Sérgio · Rating 5 out of 5]

Uma obra fantástica deste autor que sou fã. É uma aventura cheia de acção, um argumento cheio de emoção. Para mim, das melhores aventuras deste escritor. Aguardo impacientemente o segundo livro.

[Marcus · Rating 3 out of 5]

Set within the larger world of Simon Scarrow's franchise, Pirata is a well written prequel novel that gives insight into the history of Telemachus who first appeared in The Eagle's Prophecy.

[Steve · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too repetitive and twice as long as the story needed to be.