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

Pirates

Good story for a short vacation. The reading is good. Nothing surprising in the story, but entertaining.

Mixed media tale.

The overall plot is a great swashbuckling tale with most of the book fast paced. You can tell at times this was writting by multiple authors, without colaboration to the end. Some may have been there, but there is a disjointedness at times. I think if you removed the otherworldly elements it would be a very consistant story, or if you enhanced them and reduced the historical referances it would also be enhanced. But, I do think overall it was a fun read and not a waste of money.

An enjoyable listen

I enjoyed this story of the affable Captain Hunter and his rag-tag group of privateers. Although the action in this tale may have been piled on a little too thick, I still found this to be a very entertaining story. I won't get into the debate over whether or not Crichton actually wrote this and I won't call it Crichton at his best. But it sure made the commute go quickly!

A gritty pirate tale!

Crichton tackled a childhood favorite of mine - PIRATES - in his typical fashion. Deeply studied and rich with detail without warning into murky exposition.

The story was enjoyable (if not a bit on the overlong side) and the characters were fun.

I had the good fortune to have finally picked this book up around the same time as I picked up Assassin's Creed Black Flag for my Xbox One.

Unlikely companions, the book and video game complimented one another. The costumes, environments and scenery all helped to bring the story to life.

Interesting phenomenon.

Bones of an incredible pirate adventure!!

Only negative is you can sorta tell it's posthumously published, but great bones of story!!

Very Good!

I really loved this book. I listened to this while I was driving and it was very engaging. The whole story was so vivid with lots of good gore. I have listened to a lot of Micheal's books and I have loved them all - well OK Next was not great but I really did enjoy it. This book really was well done and the story is so engaging. I really think anyone would love this story if you like Pirates!!

Pirates inspire with this story.

I've listened to this over and over. It is absolutely marvelous. Still rough, as it was no-doubt a second to the last draft, since it was found under his bed after his death, but absolutely riveting and worth numerous re-listens of some of the great action sections, like when the Privateers are attacked by a Giant Squid. There is a tremendous amount of historical information that is just as intriguing. I am a pirate enthusiast now! If you like story telling, this is for you!

Fantastic Book

Michael Crichton is a fantastic story teller and did a wonderful job with this story. You are taken back to a time of pirates, privateers and sea adventures.

fabulous sea worthy<br />

It is slow going in the beginning, but is a wow zinger, all the way through it. If you're looking for a novel to keep your mind wanting to read on and on this is it

Adventure on the High Seas

This was a great book. It was fun to listen to and the narrator was animated and engaged making it easy to feel like you are experiencing the story first hand (some of that could be Michael Crichton's doing). It is different from other books by the author but I found it to be very entertaining. It is definitely action packed and never boring with lots of excellent plot twists and some dynamic story lines. Lots of great character traits and emotions ranging from honor, virtue, strategy, duty, and discipline to lust, deception, treachery, resentment, and revenge. If you've liked Michael Crichton's other books, you will enjoy this one as well.