Review: Wait, What?
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 12 12, 2011
I'm a little bit stumped by this book. There are EIGHT five star reviews here. Having read the book, I do not understand why.This book is billed as post-apocalyptic, and I suppose it is, but beyond calling the former times "The Troubles", there is virtually no explanation of what happened. OK, I don't like it, but I could work with it.It is set in some undefined point in the future, several generations removed from present times, after The Troubling Times, which were apocalyptic in nature (wasn't totally clear what exactly happened), and most known people live in coastal/island villages. They are civilized, and have governments and such, and have even re-developed some technologies, but it is a primitive existence compared to life as we currently know it, and mostly agrarian or fishery based.The book is very well written, though long and wordy, and even slightly archaic sounding in the speech. And it is soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo detailed about the sailing life that I feel like I could actually pass a nautical test. Much, much more than your average reader, I believe, needs to know about sailing in a light read, but Navy and Marines will likely enjoy that part a lot. I admit that during pitched battles and voyages I skimmed. A LOT of pages. But the author is extremely well learned or researched on the subject.So these island outposts are set up, everyone gets along and helps everyone else, and - AVAST YE MATEYS - here come the pirates, hell bent on death and destruction. Not a fan of pirates, but ok, post-apocalyptic book about pirates....I can even work with that.The protagonist, Sam Bowditch, a sailor/captain, and his ship run afoul of the pirates. They do escape their first battle, but not unscathed. Once back on land, Sam lobbies for a Navy to be formed, to go after the pirates, and to protect the villagers all along the coasts. Interesting angle...I can even work with that.What I can NOT stomach is the nature of the pirates. After all the vast knowledge and setting up of the book's universe, the author totally loses me with his version/vision of who and what the pirates are. It reeks of prejudice and stereotypes, and he totally lost me with that one.