Pirate Latitudes

By: Michael Crichton

Narrated by: John Bedford Lloyd

Length: 9 hrs and 9 mins

Publisher's summary

From one of the best-loved authors of all time comes an irresistible adventure of swashbuckling pirates in the New World, a classic story of treasure and betrayal.

The Caribbean, 1665. A remote colony of the English Crown, the island of Jamaica holds out against the vast supremacy of the Spanish empire. Port Royal, its capital, is a cutthroat town of taverns, grog shops, and bawdy houses. In this steamy climate, there's a living to be made, a living that can end swiftly by disease - or by dagger.

For Captain Charles Hunter, gold in Spanish hands is gold for the taking, and the law of the land rests with those ruthless enough to make it. Word in port is that the galleon El Trinidad, fresh from New Spain, is awaiting repairs in a nearby harbor. Heavily fortified, the impregnable harbor is guarded by the bloodthirsty Cazalla, a favorite commander of the Spanish king himself. With backing from a powerful ally, Hunter assembles a crew of ruffians to infiltrate the enemy outpost and commandeer El Trinidad, along with its fortune in Spanish gold. The raid is as perilous as the bloodiest tales of island legend, and Hunter will lose more than one man before he even sets foot on foreign shores, where dense jungle and the firepower of Spanish infantry stand between him and the treasure....

Pirate Latitudes is Michael Crichton at his best: a rollicking adventure tale pulsing with relentless action, crackling atmosphere, and heart-pounding suspense.

©2009 Michael Crichton (P)2009 HarperCollins Publishers

I loved it

Listened to it multiple times. Other than the Kraken part, I loved the story. I think it would be an amazing movie.

Interesting but Predictable

A story a step above average and excellent narrative. Worth the time of listening and enjoying.

Outstanding!!

The main character reminds me of Jack Sparrow! This makes for a great pirate book!

Not Crichton's Best Work

I've been on a huge Michael Crichton kick lately, after I finished the Jurassic Park series I listened to "Dragon's Teeth" and I loved all three. This one seemed like it had a lot of forced plot points as if the author was going through a "Pirate Adventure Check List"
-High Sea's Naval Battle
-Stealing Gold
-Encounter with "savage" native tribes
-"THE KRACKEN"
It didn't offer a lot of new ideas to the pirate adventure narrative.

Ok

This book was ok. The narrator wasn’t bad but not great and annoying at times. The story was kind of bland and predictable, and the action scenes were short/few. Overall, it may be a better read than audiobook

A gripping adventure novel...

provided one is willing to put up with an excessive amount of sex and violence :| Would probably make a great pirate movie. On the downside the ending is somehow rushed and disappointing, but it's only the last five minutes of listening or so.

Is this an abridged version?!

The story seemed somewhat disjointed to me. At times I thought to myself this must be an abridged version but, that doesn’t seem to be the case. Good story was entertaining enough and the performance was good but I’d have liked a little more character development and the fleshing out character interaction may have helped so the novel didn’t seem so chopped up I honestly thought I’d somehow skipped a chapter on a few occasions.

Great pirate fiction, let down by narrator

Story is great, well researched. Narrator has incorrect tone and delivery for most character dialogue, which saps the protagonists of any charm or subtlety the text grants them.

The action never stops

This book was published posthumously after it was found on Crichton’s computer. I was Given that understanding after i finished the book and I found myself reviewing some of my opinions. I would guess that Crichton wasn’t quite finished with the book and that’s why it was still on his computer. Why do I think that ? The story starts out with lots of energy as Captain Hunter is assembling his privateer crew in the English colony of Port Royale Jamaica. The Captain is our narrator and introduces us to an intriguing set of characters. Each crew-member has a particular attribute That will become essential during the voyage Captain Hunter intends to capture a rich Spanish treasure ship forced to winter in a nearby Spanish port. The port. Is overseen by a particularly vicious man responsible for many hideous deaths including the captain’s brother. Swashbuckling pirates, gruesome weapons, ships and treasure found me quickly wrapped up in the adventure and i think you will be too. It’s a fun read but some of the most interesting characters get killed off for the convenience of the author and the plot and i would have liked them to stay around a little longer. The virtual bloodbath in the final chapters help Crichton quickly close his tale when I would rather let things unfold more naturally. The author also throws in a couple of unexpected sea-monsters a la Jules Verne. that are out of place in this carefully researched historical novel.
I’m meandering i recommend you read it and enjoy it as i did and leave the analysis of whether Or not the author was ready to publish to your book club

Well, it did have pirates...

While I enjoyed it, that was mostly due to how starved the piratical genre is for modern books. The story is enjoyable, with the exception of how all but one woman with a pulse throws themselves at the nearest man at any opportunity. If it wasn't for that, I might have rated it higher. The narrator has a very good, engaging voice that is enjoyable to listen to.