A review by cheye13
On Stranger Tides by Tim Powers

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This is very well-written and excellently structured; it's an inventive story and the language and imagery are evocative. The plotline itself - in equal parts intentionally predictable and shocking - was what kept me reading. Aside from the premise and the writing, I wholly did not like this book.

There was no relationship development – these characters simply feel this way about each other and that's that. The deepest relationship is between Shandy and his late father, who isn't present in the story. The story is about Shandy's rescue of Beth, yet their relationship doesn't really go beyond "you are woman, I am man." The depiction of women in general is unkind at best, harmful at worst. There were also a number of significant story elements I simply dislike reading about – stolen agency, parental neglect, incestuous undertones, etc.

I love the concept of mystisizing real historical events, but the execution here left much to be desired.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Violence, and Blood

Moderate: Confinement, Fatphobia, Incest, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Kidnapping

Minor: Cursing, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicide, Vomit, Cannibalism, and Death of parent

Regarding incest:

The main plot thread is about a man attempting to evict his daughter's spirit from her body so he can replace it with his dead wife's spirit. This isn't portrayed as a sexual desire for his daughter, but there is a clear conflation between the two women. Another villain has memories of making sexual advances on his mother in his past and at one point magically grooms the same daughter as a stand-in for a simulacrum for a mother who won't reject his advances.

Regarding sexual assault:

Throughout the first half of the book, a villain openly lusts after and controls the main female character, at one point kidnapping her. Though he does not get the opportunity to rape her, he does sexually assault her in a briefly detailed scene, and he often magically controls her physically against her will. Despite the cast being pirates, rape is otherwise only ever mentioned in abstract passing.

Regarding self harm and suicide:

Characters often self-harm to draw blood necessary for the magic system of the story. The few suicides are mostly enacted through intentionally losing battles, so as to avoid a "worse" demise due to magic.

Racism and sexism is "of the time" – not explicit nor egregious, but definitely included, addressing both Black and Indigenous peoples.