• Under the Jolly Roger

  • Bloody Jack #3
  • By: L. A. Meyer
  • Narrated by: Katherine Kellgren
  • Length: 14 hrs and 44 mins
  • 4.8 out of 5 stars (1,689 ratings)

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Under the Jolly Roger  By  cover art

Under the Jolly Roger

By: L. A. Meyer
Narrated by: Katherine Kellgren
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Publisher's summary

In the third book of the "Bloody Jack" series, unlikely heroine Jacky Faber, a pirate at heart, returns to the sea in a truly swashbuckling tale filled with good humour, wit, and courage.

After leaving the Lawson Peabody School for Young Girls in Boston - under dire circumstances, of course - Jacky boards a whaling ship bound for London, where she hopes to find her beloved Jaimy.

But things don't go as planned, and she is off on a wild misadventure at sea. She thwarts the lecherous advances of a crazy captain, rallies the sailors to her side, and ultimately gains command of a ship in His Majesty's Royal Navy. But Jacky's adventures don't end there....

Soon she is being called a pirate, and there's a price on her head!

©2008 Listen & Live Audio, Inc. (P)2008 Listen & Live Audio, Inc.

What listeners say about Under the Jolly Roger

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,350
  • 4 Stars
    273
  • 3 Stars
    54
  • 2 Stars
    8
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    4
Performance
  • 5 out of 5 stars
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    1,225
  • 4 Stars
    88
  • 3 Stars
    24
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    1
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,044
  • 4 Stars
    223
  • 3 Stars
    48
  • 2 Stars
    9
  • 1 Stars
    3

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Best book in the series (so far!)

I absolutely LOVE this series, and especially this third book. I have to admit I got a bit annoyed with Jacky when she was landlocked in the second book, but in Under the Jolly Roger, she is back at sea, and the story is the most exciting one yet (and I think the best in the series, having now listened to all of them up to Book 7, The Rapture of the Deep). There were parts that had me cheering out loud and clapping, or covering my mouth in horror as I listened to this on my commute and around the house. Kellgren continues to dazzle with her narration -she one of the best narrators out there, and in fact is definitely more of an actress than a reader. Each book is a real performance, and it's like I'm watching a movie in my head while she reads. It's amazing how well she even does the male characters - I forget that I'm listening to one female doing all the parts - it feels like a full cast.

I had no problem waiting a month for my new credits between the first and second book, and the second and third book, but when Under the Jolly Roger reached it's breathtaking conclusion, there was no possible way I could wait, and ended up buying the fourth book sans credits, and it was well worth it, as I've now listened to the third and fourth books twice each.

Don't hesitate to buy this audiobook - it is Jacky Faber at her most resourceful and brilliant, and the entire cast of characters is fantastic - from the loyal Werewolves, to the wonderful and trusty Higgins (I wish I had my own Higgins!!), to the gaspingly evil villain Captain Scroggs. The final scenes of the book are easily the most beautiful and dramatic of the entire series thus far. This book is not to be missed.

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10 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Don't judge a book by its cover...

... or by Audible's age rating either!

STORY (historical fiction) - The only thing accurate about the cover art for this book is the time period, which is during Britain's war with Napolean in the early 1800's. But the book is NOT serious. The main character is a feisty young female named Jacky Faber, whose spirit and adventures on the high seas will keep you in stitches. Also, Audible rates this for teens 11-13 -- so wrong! I don't think kids that age would enjoy this book, but whatever. My daughter is older than the target age group, and I still found the book exciting and a hoot!

To make things short, Jacky ends up owning her own ship and aiding Britain's war effort by privateering (pirating) off the French coastline. And, leave things to Jacky, she always gets in trouble and then finds a way to get back on top again. What a character she is, and in this book she is at her best -- back at sea!

PERFORMANCE - Katherine Kellgren is amazing, one of my top two or three narrators. The performance alone will keep you entertained, even when she sings!

OVERALL - This is the third book in the series, and you really should listen to them in order. This book has a great ending, but it definitely leaves you wanting more. There is no bad language or sex, but there are sexual references. There are also battles at sea and fighting, but this is not a violent book - just lots of adventure and fun! I would recommend this for anyone at any age, I suppose, but I personally think listeners should be older than Audible's suggested 11-13. And I think this would appeal more to women than men. (At least my husband would want more violence, blood and guts and less girlie stuff).

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9 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

omg can't wait for my credits to post!!!!

So I finished this in less than a week. At first I didn't think I was going to like it, for some reason I didn't like the way it was heading after book 2. But again I was so into the whole story line within the first 2 chapters.
But here I sit for another 17 more days before I can have more. I have now ran out of credits and don't want to listen to anything eles I have in my library and I have a few that I still need to listen too, I will have to make do.
The narrater is so good. I feel it when she gets all crazy my heart rate goes up. I love how these are so full of passion and umf in the voice, and I just love these books. My husband thinks I am crazy I go around pretending to be proper lady; eyes hooded, chin up, teeth apart, lips together and of course with the accent to lol. He laughs at me, he is not even sure what I am doing but its all fun to me.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

I can't stop listening!!

I had ignored this series despite my love of Historical and particularly Nautical Fiction (I count Dewey Lambdin and Dan Parkinson two of my favorite authors) due to the fact that it was considered a young adult title. Boy was I wrong for ignoring it. this series grabs you by the ears and makes you want to continue listening to the adventures of this plucky waif who makes the most of any situation. This is one series where I literally could not stop listening. A lot has been said about Katherine Kellgren's reading on this series and she deserves every bit of praise she has received, she breathed life into all of the characters until you couldn't help but feel you were listening directly to their voices and feeling their emotions. This is one series that I will not be deleting off my computer, as I know I will want to listen to it again someday.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Like a big bowl of ice cream.

This series is just plain adorable. Katherine Kellgren's narration is worth a credit on its own. She's marvelous as Jacky. Like a big bowl of ice cream, it's a great treat. But, it's not a meal. I've listened to the first three and I'm done.

As a break in the routine, I've thoroughly enjoyed listening - more because of Kellgren than the rather simplistic plot. But all the talk of mizzen masts and bowsprits makes me long for another listen to the whole Master and Commander series by Patrick O'Brian. With Patrick Tull giving voice to Stephen and Jack, it's a complete meal for sure.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

This whole series was made for audio

While in no danger of winning any pultizers, this whole series of audio books is a pleasure, and the performance is wonderful.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent Narration and a great story

I thoroughly enjoyed this audio book, although despite my rating of 5 stars it could have been a little better. The beginning is a little slow and there are a couple coincidences which seemed a little far fetched. The part which takes place aboard the Wolverene ( the major part of the book) is absolutely fantastic. This and the excellent climax at the end make this a 5 star book. I had some concerns about the parts aboard the Emerald, where the book seemed to take a turn. It didn't make much sense that nobody fires back, for that would have caused a real moral problem, wouldn't it? The low point is when Jackie gets a politically correct sermon about racial slurs. While I agree wholeheartedly that racial slurs are bad, it was out of place and if the author wanted to make this point it should have been done through plot and not a speech.
That said, I will give this book 5 stars because the complaints are really quite minor and I enjoyed this as much or more than any book I have every listened to.
I recommend this book for any age but I caution that if this book were a movie there is a disturbing and important scene which would push the boundaries of a PG13 rating.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Jackie (And Series) Spectacular!

Love the entire series but I'm going to take this book to note just how wonderful a narrator Miss Kellgren is. Her energy, dynamic voice acting, and wonderful singing voice pull you into the story. You won't want to put this 'Book' down!

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Yes, The Narrator is Really THAT Good.

Any additional comments?

Bloody Jack is a pleasant surprise of good fun. I am happy to have found a new series to loose myself in. This is a slight step away from my usual reading lists, and honestly, I only got the book because it was on-sale and all the reviews just raved on and on about the Narration. The story grabs hold almost immediately and there is hardly a dull moment to be found. Our Heroine is so likable that you can’t help but root for her the entire way. But the true gem of this story is Katherine Kellgren (with due respect to the author).

Yes, Ms. Kellgren is THAT good! She does for Bloody Jack what Nick Podehl does for The Name of The Wind (which up until now has been my all time favorite performance of a book I have EVER heard). It’s hard to explain. I cringe at calling it “narration” as anyone who listens will immediately realize it’s something more. And no, it’s not a “Dramatization” – it’s more subtle than that. It’s a gift. That’s the only way I can explain it. Listening to Ms Kellgran read this novel was an experience – a 7 hour thrill ride through the streets of London, and over the perilous sea.

As a seasoned Audio Listener I can appreciate what I have stumbled across here. I am excited again to have found a series worth getting sucked into – and I plan to!

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

I'm enjoying the series but...

I wish Meyer would fix a couple of things:

1. Editing. There were three places where I was rolling my eyes impatiently at the seemingly endless detail about how seamen are trained and how the rigging is hung and how the ship is managed. So very, very, very much detail that I found myself wanting to do the audio-book version of skimming.

2. Screaming. Ms. Kellgren is very good but gosh how I hate the screaming. I'd be listening along, deep in some detail about foresails or Jackie's contemplation of something or other something and suddenly the narrator would be screaming in my poor, abused ears. I really didn't much appreciate it.

But, having said that...
Jackie Faber is a charming character. Her wit and courage and cleverness and girl-ness are extremely engaging. Everytime she'd go, "Wha...?" I could picture her incredulity or puzzlement and when she'd go, "Oh oh" I knew we were in trouble.

The other characters are interesting or funny or brave or smart or stupid or vile or sweet or charming and all develop depth as the stories proceed. I have grown very fond of many of them (especially Higgins) and I look forward to getting to know Jamie a little better now that things are ... um ... as they are.

As completely unbelievable as these tall tales are, I do enjoy them for sheer entertainment value. And if you ever have need to sail three-masted schooner, you'll feel like an expert.

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