Ahoy Maties! Were you aware that September 19th has been designated International Talk Like a Pirate Day? Here’s some pirate (never pirated!) fiction to help get you in the mood…

 Pirate Latitudes by Michael Crichton

 Jamaica in 1665 is a rough outpost of the English crown, a minor colony holding out against the vast supremacy of the Spanish empire. Port Royal, Jamaica′s capital, a cut-throat town of taverns, grog shops, and bawdy houses, is devoid of London′s luxuries; life here can end swiftly with dysentery or a dagger in your back. But for Captain Edward Hunter it is a life that can also lead to riches, if he abides by the island′s code. In the name of His Majesty King Charles II of England, gold in Spanish hands is gold for the taking. And law in the New World is made by those who take it into their hands.

 

The Requiem Shark by Nicholas Griffin

William Williams is forced into an apprenticeship with ex-slaver turned pirate Bartholomew Roberts. Set in the 18th century, the novel follows the captain and crew and their quest for treasure whilst evading the British Royal Navy.

 

 

 

On Stranger Tides by Tim Powers 

Aboard the Vociferous Carmichael, puppeteer John Chandagnac is sailing toward Jamaica to claim his stolen birthright from an unscrupulous uncle, when the vessel is captured . . . by pirates! Offered a choice by Captain Phil Davies to join their seafaring band or die, Chandagnac assumes the name John Shandy and a new life as a brigand. But more than swashbuckling sea battles and fabulous plunder await the novice buccaneer on the roiling Caribbean waters–for treachery and powerful vodun sorcery are coins of the realm in this dark new world. And for the love of beautiful, magically imperiled Beth Hurwood, Shandy will set sail on even stranger tides, following the savage, ghost-infested pirate king, Blackbeard, and a motley crew of the living and the dead to the cursed nightmare banks of the fabled Fountain of Youth.

Pirates by Celia Rees

Nancy Kington, daughter of a rich merchant, suddenly orphaned when her father dies, is sent to live on her family’s plantation in Jamaica. Disgusted by the treatment of the slaves and her brother’s willingness to marry her off, she and one of the slaves, Minerva, run away and join a band of pirates.

For both girls the pirate life is their only chance for freedom in a society where both are treated like property, rather than individuals. Together they go in search of adventure, love, and a new life that breaks all restrictions of gender, race, and position. Told through Nancy’s writings, their adventures will appeal to readers across the spectrum and around the world.

And for the younger crowd…..

Pirates of the Caribbean – The Curse of the Black Pearl Junior Novelization by Irene Trimble

 

Readers can set sail for adventure with this full-length retelling of the latest live-action Disney film. They’ll follow every swashbuckling step as a brave young man teams up with a high-seas scoundrel to rescue the woman he loves from the clutches of a band of cursed pirates. This Junior Novelization features eight pages of full-color movie stills straight from the big screen!