Whatcha Readin' Wednesday: Pirate Latitudes

After the death of Michael Crichton in 2008, many thought that his unique and brilliant writing style had perished with the publication of Next in 2006.

Not true!

Discovered as a complete manuscript in Crichton’s files after his death, Pirate Latitudes was published in November of 2009, over a year after the author’s passing.

A rousing tale of whirlwind adventure, brave seamanship, intrigue and naval battle; Pirate Latitudes is the heir apparent to Crichton’s acclaimed Great Train Robbery, a brilliant piece of historical fiction the doesn’t lose the adventure and mystery of Crichton’s purely fictional works.

When a Spanish treasure ship is prevented from sailing due to bad weather, Governor of Jamaica James Almont sees an opportunity to make a staggering amount of money and stick a thorn in the sides of the Spanish. To this end, he turns to Port Royal’s premier privateer, Captain Charles Hunter.

Almont sets Hunter the task of reaching the island where the galleon is resting undetected and then stealing the ship and sailing her back to Port Royal. There is, however, one problem. The island in question is the dreaded Matanceros, a seemingly impenetrable fortress overseen by the brilliant and bloodthirsty Cazalla.

Hunter turns to the bomb maker Don Diego, the ruthless killer Andre Sanson, the sharp-eyed Lazue and the silent-but-deadly Moor to lead his expedition. He explains to them a brave and foolhardy plan for destroying the island’s deadly guns before they can sink his precious sloop, Cassandra.

And thus the stage is set and the action begins in earnest. Crichton’s research is extensive, almost exhaustive. Every naval action is not only executed, but explained in great detail. The action and plot are painstakingly realistic, with none of the high-flying acrobatics and tightrope-fighting that are so inexplicably ingrained in the American perception of pirates.

There is rum, there are swords, there is a Kraken and there are feats of heroism aplenty, but nowhere in the text does Crichton abandon his customary style. Plans and consequences are just as important in the novel as the actions that carry us between the two.

The novel tells the story of a harrowing adventure, but it doesn’t read like a Michael Bay screenplay. Instead, the action is balanced equally with thought, dialogue and explanation. This leads to a novel that is entertaining, highly informative and historically accurate.

So if you love tales of the high seas, have an interest in colonial-era naval combat or just like anything and everything to do with pirates, Pirate Latitudes is just the book for you. It also leads me to hope that Michael Crichton had at least one more of these masterpieces hidden away in his notes.