Time is about to go all funny for Jack Sparrow and his faithful crew. Fitzwilliam P. Dalton III's beloved timepiece has always been vauable to him. But it has suddenly become valuable to a lot more people--including some of the Barnacle's crew's worst enemies! It turns out that Fitz's timepiece is not only a clock, but an unbelievably powerful tool that can stop time itself. It's up to Jack and his crew to find a way to keep the timepiece out of the hands of their dangerous adversaries.
Tui T. Sutherland, who sometimes writes under the pen name Rob Kidd, is a children's book author who has also written under the pen name Heather Williams. She shares another pen name, Erin Hunter, with writers Kate Cary and Cherith Baldry when they collaborate with editor Victoria Holmes on the Seekers and Warriors series of novels.In 2009, she appeared as a contestant on Jeopardy!, becoming a two-day champion and winning a grand total of $46,200.
I read this entire series when I was a preteen or young teenager. I LOVED each and every one of these and I waited impatiently for each new installment. Being an avid Disney fan and the POTC ride in Disney World is my favorite, and the POTC movies were among my most-watched movies, I could not contain myself when my dad found these for me in the book store. Although I have not read them in years, I remember them fondly and I strongly recommend them to anyone who likes pirates, tie-in novels, or just exciting adventuress. I think these would be a hit for reluctant readers as well (even though I did not classify as a reluctant reader, these grab you quickly and are pretty easy to get into).
I finally read Pirates of the Caribbean | Jack Sparrow: The Timekeeper
The previous book left us on a pretty good cliffhanger. Jack and Fitzwilliam are the only Barnacle crew members left. The fucking Flying Dutchman emerges from the sea in front of their ship.
Instead of going right into the action, the book spends several pages giving us all the exposition about Davy Jones. First of all, this makes the pacing weird. Secondly, this is technically the first encounter we see of Davy Jones in the timeline.
This book, ofc, came out after the Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest movie. But this is a prequel series. Set wayyy before Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. We learn all of this info from the 2nd and 3rd movie.
If one were to follow the chronological order today, I think it’d take away from those movies to have everything about him summarized in this book. It’d be alright to leave his nature surrounded in mystery for now.
Apparently, Fitzwilliam’s watch pauses time. Jack discovers this by accident. The person who uses it to pause time doesn’t get paused himself. This was very helpful to get him and Fitzwilliam away from Davy Jones.
I guess the watch must’ve been enchanted or something at some point? He lost it for a while, and found it again in a shop in New Orleans. Idk how Davy Jones knows about it, though. I think that’s why he approached them.
He wants the watch. I was excited to see Jack and Davy Jones meet for the first time. They clearly have some backstory in the movies. But it also seems like they already know each other in this book?
How the hell did they initially meet then? Kind of disappointing. After they escape, they reach a nearby island. Jack unpauses time, but pretends like Jones did steal the watch. After exploring the island for a bit, they fall into a trap.
Some “Aztec” people find them and capture them. They spend most of the book escaping and getting caught again. And messing some more with the watch. Fitzwilliam eventually learns that Jack still has it.
The leader of these “Aztecs” is Stone-Eyed Sam. And he seems to have the Sword of Cortés. How does this make sense? That quest has been over for some time now. They kept saying that the island felt familiar earlier.
They come to realize that they’ve been there before, in the very first book. For once, those asterisks reminding us what happened when were helpful lol. I couldn’t really remember. But I guess Stone-Eyed Sam should’ve been long-dead.
And the Sword should not be there at all. Later when they escape outside, they see fucking dinosaurs flying around. They come to the conclusion that time also reverts or something when it seems “paused”.
Or maybe some things randomly revert and others don’t? In any case, they’ve messed up time. Cool cliffhanger for the next book, once again. This book was mostly paced fairly well. Decent amount of content.
Seeing Davy Jones was a highlight, but I wish he was in the book more. I hope we see a lot more of him in the next book. The banter between Jack and Fitzwilliam was very entertaining.
Good dialogue. Removing most of the Barnacle crew lowkey worked better than it had any right to. I appreciate the callback to the first book. Decently written as well. This was a solid entry in the series, ngl.
I had the hardest time* (pun intended) getting into this one, compared to Books 1-7. For me this one seemed to push the rules of Jack's world a bit too far. Granted, I'm nearly 40 and reading these out of POTC nostalgia. Nonetheless I really liked Books 1-6 and don't feel the same satisfaction out of the arc in this book. Fitzy has his timepiece back, only not really because Jack is holding onto it. And this watch is able to stop time? Blend time? The ATF is going to have a field day with this one. I couldn't help comparing Jack's antics during time freezes to the kitchen scene where Xmen's Quicksilver breaks Magneto out of prison. Hard to top that scene really.
"Pirates of the Caribbean: Jack Sparrow" is a thrilling swashbuckling adventure that captivates readers with its charismatic protagonist, Jack Sparrow. The narrative skillfully weaves together daring escapades, mysterious islands, and a touch of supernatural intrigue. The dynamic character development adds depth to the story, making Jack Sparrow both enigmatic and endearing. The fast-paced plot keeps readers on the edge of their seats, blending humor and suspense seamlessly. The vivid descriptions of the high seas and vibrant characters create a cinematic experience in the reader's mind. Overall, the book is a rollicking journey that brings the magic of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise to life on the pages.
My son loves Jack Sparrow, so he loved this book. This is book 8 of Jack's adventures as a youngster. In it Jack Sparrow displays his cleverness often while dealing with Davy Jones, enchanted warriors, another pirate and other precarious situations. His weapon, along with his cleverness, is an enchanted watch that has the power to stop time, but with significant consequences.
The things I like about this book are that Jack displays lots of cleverness and I also like the little twist at the end that the watch doesn't just stop time, but also seems to be able to let them go back in time in a way.
I highly recommend this origin series for younger readers. It is such a unique and interesting on such a famous characters for fans who wish to get more of him! I was not disappointed in the slightest. It is definitely a good pick for Elementary and Middle School readers!