lory_enterenchanted's review against another edition
Entertaining and full of action, it kept me turning the pages but overall I think I liked Scaramouche better. The racism and colonialism was distasteful--while it's considered absolutely horrific for Blood and his white compatriots to be enslaved, there is never any questioning that for black slaves this treatment is fine for an inferior and naturally subject race. Etc.
suchasuckerforbooks's review
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
anjreading's review against another edition
4.0
Adventure on the high seas, a dash of romance, an honorable and brave hero... This 1922 novel holds up surprisingly well. Irish doctor Peter Blood is wrongfully accused of treason in the 1680s and is shipped off into slavery in the Caribbean. All manner of events befall him and lead him into pirateering, and, eventually and rather circuitously, back into good standing with England.
*1922 pick for my century reading project 1921-2020
*1922 pick for my century reading project 1921-2020
rachelkbc's review against another edition
5.0
Four years ago, I first picked up this book and quickly read through it - and in doing so did not recall the plot all too much. On vacation, I decided to pick it up and relish it. Honestly, my literacy has improved since, and I was able to enjoy it to the fullest. What a fantastically old-school, feel-good classic!! Captain Blood is certainly one of my new all-time favorites. I couldn't help rooting for Peter Blood - wrongly accused after one act of mercy and compassion sent him to a Barbados plantation in the bonds of slavery. There, he meets and undoubtedly falls in love with Arabella Bishop, the niece of Colonel Bishop. However, Blood and his fellow rebels-convict escape and become pirates sailing the Spanish Main.Captain Blood is a swashbuckling novel of adventure, action, romance, and the sea. Absolutely an amazing read! Loved it from cover to cover.
cartwright's review against another edition
5.0
A genre-defining pirate adventure story, nothing more; nothing less.
caitz's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
wmonk3's review against another edition
4.0
Similar themes to that of the Count of Monte Cristo. A doctor and learned philosopher redefines what it means to be a pirate after escaping a wrongful conviction.
deep_sea_horror's review against another edition
I was excited for this one, this was actually my second go at the book I thought, hey I'm bored at work maybe at can roast this or even see what parts I like after I push through the first part but no. I know it's a mark of the setting but the attitude towards slavery and the general racism is so horrendous I don't know how someone now can read it and not want to fling it into the trash. I have better things to read, good swashbuckling and plotting and even lovely prose but suffers from written in the 1920s by a white man disease although that's really...there are books from this era that are wonderful that are occasionally racist that don't manage to disgust me half as much. I know he watched birth of a nation and liked it.
kathrynamonett's review against another edition
5.0
Ah, so intensely pleasurable. Perfect weekend read.
lynneelue's review against another edition
4.0
Though the introduction to this Penguin Classic was horribly biased, unfounded, and boring, the book itself was fantastic. A swashbuckler published in 1922 with a trickster hero quite as capable as Zorro and The Scarlet Pimpernel, this was an entertaining, easy to read, even sometimes humorous, book set in the West Indies--loaded with piracy and ships with sails. I wouldn't be surprised if this inspired The Pirates of the Caribbean. There was some bias with evil vs. good nations and characters, but that isn't surprising. I enjoyed Captain Blood's constancy to his moral compass, the empire setting, and Blood's capable (but not extensively described) sea battle maneuvers. I liked getting to laugh at the infuriating and reactive dialogues between Blood and other pompous ship captains. Disappointed when it ended, and enjoyable throughout, this is a fun classic worth reading.