"Aye, shiver me timbers, matey!"  The late Michael Crichton's estate found this finished manuscript in his files after his death.  When is the last time a good pirate book was published?

 

This story has all the essentials:  A flawed hero:  Captain Charles Hunter;  his sleek sloop, the Cassandra;  his crew of 60 lost souls;  not one, but three fair maidens; the corrupt governor of Port Royal, Jamaica;    a more corrupt assistant;  the Spanish villain, Cazalla, the captain of the warship El Trinidad;  stolen treasure beyond imagination; a sea monster that defies sensibility; a helmsman who is a true artist;  a tongueless Moor assassin; a French pirate who is not what he appears; blazing cannons; swashbuckling swords; menacing muskets; barrels of rum called kill-devil; the development of what is known today as grenades; remote island paradises inhabited by cannibals; sea-battling-sinking-ships; wooden-legged spies; a treasure map of sorts; bawdy wenches; and plenty of action and sex.  The only thing missing from this book is a parrot.

 

Parrot be damned!  This story hooked me from the title page. It has been a while since I read Crichton.  I forgot how visual his books can be.  Hollywood will undoubtedly purchase the rights and cast a spirited crew of actors.  Until then, reading this book will have to fulfill all those dormant piratical needs.