preciouslittleingenue's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
Man this was a waste of time. My friend and I decided to read this together after watching Curse of the Black Pearl one night, because we’re huge fans of the movie and the ride, and we’d read that this book took heavy influence from the ride, and then the movie borrowed some stuff from the book.
Yeah…it wasn’t worth it.
There was only one audiobook of it on Libby so my friend gave me a turn when she didn’t finish and I just told her not to even bother finishing it.
Firstly, and maybe this is my fault for expecting to be spoon fed this kind of stuff during a pirate book, but I could not for the life of me decipher wtf was going on during any of the sea battles or sword fights. I know zero terminology. I kind of just heard “blah blah blah” until it was made clear that someone was stabbed lol.
Secondly, the magic was TOO MUCH. Not that it was used too much. There were WAY too many minute details in the book. I felt like I was listening to a chemistry textbook instead of a whimsical pirate fantasy. Way, way, WAY too complex.
Thirdly…gotta just love how Beth is nothing but a means to an end for every character. Frend just wanted to fuck her because he could. Blackbeard just wanted to marry her to get magic. Her dad just wanted her as a conduit to bring his dead wife back. And then! The one character who’s supposed to see her as a person and genuinely care for her: WE GET NONE OF THAT. They threw some cookies at a seagull and that was the only on screen affection we got between the two of them. And I’m supposed to just buy that they’re madly in love enough for Jack to spend the whole book trying to save her.
Will and Elizabeth OBVIOUSLY did it better.
Any way. If you’re a fan of the Pirates franchise, don’t bother. This completely went off the rails. The only reason it’s a 2 and not a 1 is because parts of Part 1 were enjoyable and Davies was an excellent, fun character. Can definitely see Barbossa in him. But parts 2 and 3 were incoherent, buckwild madness.
Yeah…it wasn’t worth it.
There was only one audiobook of it on Libby so my friend gave me a turn when she didn’t finish and I just told her not to even bother finishing it.
Firstly, and maybe this is my fault for expecting to be spoon fed this kind of stuff during a pirate book, but I could not for the life of me decipher wtf was going on during any of the sea battles or sword fights. I know zero terminology. I kind of just heard “blah blah blah” until it was made clear that someone was stabbed lol.
Secondly, the magic was TOO MUCH. Not that it was used too much. There were WAY too many minute details in the book. I felt like I was listening to a chemistry textbook instead of a whimsical pirate fantasy. Way, way, WAY too complex.
Thirdly…gotta just love how Beth is nothing but a means to an end for every character. Frend just wanted to fuck her because he could. Blackbeard just wanted to marry her to get magic. Her dad just wanted her as a conduit to bring his dead wife back. And then! The one character who’s supposed to see her as a person and genuinely care for her: WE GET NONE OF THAT. They threw some cookies at a seagull and that was the only on screen affection we got between the two of them. And I’m supposed to just buy that they’re madly in love enough for Jack to spend the whole book trying to save her.
Will and Elizabeth OBVIOUSLY did it better.
Any way. If you’re a fan of the Pirates franchise, don’t bother. This completely went off the rails. The only reason it’s a 2 and not a 1 is because parts of Part 1 were enjoyable and Davies was an excellent, fun character. Can definitely see Barbossa in him. But parts 2 and 3 were incoherent, buckwild madness.
jonahbarnes's review against another edition
That was the best pirate tale I’ve read yet.
cereuslyrico's review against another edition
4.0
So, obviously Disney stole this and only admitted it for the third movie. I hope Powers got a massive settlement out of it.
It was good, well-written, but not the most. Elizabeth was a non-character that made it difficult for me to care about, especially since her fate pretty much drives the plot. And I found Jack (the original William) to be fairly unlikeable.
That being said there is tons of swashbuckling goodness that made this well worth the read.
It was good, well-written, but not the most. Elizabeth was a non-character that made it difficult for me to care about, especially since her fate pretty much drives the plot. And I found Jack (the original William) to be fairly unlikeable.
That being said there is tons of swashbuckling goodness that made this well worth the read.
jdunne3's review
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
kiteabooks's review against another edition
3.0
-Pirates & Puppetry with a bit of Magic
-ABC Challenge O
-ABC Challenge O
jarichan's review against another edition
3.0
Wahrscheinlich weil ich aus dem Binnenland Schweiz stamme, übt das Meer eine gewisse Faszination auf mich aus, dazu kommt meine Angst vor tiefen Gewässern, die diese Faszination paradoxerweise noch verstärkt. Somit war ich natürlich gespannt auf dieses Buch und freute mich auf die Lektüre.
Schlussendlich muss ich sagen, dass das Buch ganz in Ordnung war, aber nicht das, was ich mir erhofft hatte. Powers nimmt sich auf eine interessante Weise dem Thema der Zombies an und führt uns zurück zum Ursprung dieses Glaubens.
Eigentlich ein gutes Thema und ein tolles Setting (Jamaica!), aber es fehlte einfach an Spannung. Einerseits ist die ganze Sache viel zu lang geraten und andererseits passt der Autor auch an rasanten Stellen seinen Stil nicht an. So liest man und liest und liest und merkt plötzlich, dass eigentlich etwas Wichtiges geschehen ist, ohne dass man es wirklich mitbekommen hat.
Dieses Buch hätte etwas für mich sein können, war es aber nicht. Nun gut, Challenge-Aufgabe abgeschlossen, das ist ja auch was.
Schlussendlich muss ich sagen, dass das Buch ganz in Ordnung war, aber nicht das, was ich mir erhofft hatte. Powers nimmt sich auf eine interessante Weise dem Thema der Zombies an und führt uns zurück zum Ursprung dieses Glaubens.
Eigentlich ein gutes Thema und ein tolles Setting (Jamaica!), aber es fehlte einfach an Spannung. Einerseits ist die ganze Sache viel zu lang geraten und andererseits passt der Autor auch an rasanten Stellen seinen Stil nicht an. So liest man und liest und liest und merkt plötzlich, dass eigentlich etwas Wichtiges geschehen ist, ohne dass man es wirklich mitbekommen hat.
Dieses Buch hätte etwas für mich sein können, war es aber nicht. Nun gut, Challenge-Aufgabe abgeschlossen, das ist ja auch was.
gyttja's review against another edition
3.0
Underhållande piratberättelse med stort fokus på voodoo. Första halvan tyckte jag var väldigt spännande medan jag upplevde den andra som betydligt svagare. Störde mig också väldigt mycket på att de enda kvinnliga karaktärerna som är med är där för att motivera "hjälten".
jack2255's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5