Review: terrific --
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 09 4, 2012
This is a terrific book!The Red King really wasn't what I expected it to be. And that's a good thing. Please, for heaven's sake don't pay too much attention to the book blurb -- you could easily be led astray in your expectations, as I was. I don't want to reveal too much about the book, 'cause not knowing what's coming up next is half the fun, but I will say that this is a wild ride in the best traditions of Captain Blood or The Sea-Hawk -- if those had been written in times when authors could be more candid about subjects like homosexual relationships, and if Sabatini cared as much about people in love as Ms. O'Malley obviously does.Yes, I do have some minor quibbles about the book -- but, really, the overall reading experience overrides any quibbling I might want to do. My enthusiasm for this book built gradually over about the first third of the story, and by about the half way mark I was cheering it on full steam ahead. The book repeatedly surprised me, again and again -- first in NOT being the "fainting virgin mastered by the domineering pirate" tale that I expected it to be, second in giving so much strength to both main characters, third in doing such a good job of presenting meaningful emotion in all the characters (both primary and secondary) without lapsing into "let's all stand around and talk about our emotions" territory, fourth with the unexpectedly high quality of the writing (nothing personal, Rosemary, but I don't know ya and I didn't expect you to be such a darned good writer!), fifth with the exciting ups and downs of the plot, and....well...I'm sure there's lots more I could gush about, but I'm probably boring you by now.One caveat: if you are sensitive to rape scenes, stay away. This book does not pull its punches while a MC is being mistreated. But if you want excitement, love, suffering, and Good Triumphing Over Evil, read this book!