On Stranger Tides

By: Tim Powers

Narrated by: Bronson Pinchot

The basis for the upcoming Pirates of the Caribbean film.

On Stranger Tides follows the exploits of John Chandagnac, who travels to the new world after the death of his puppeteer father to confront his uncle, who has apparently made off with the family fortune. During the voyage, he befriends Beth Hurwood and her father, Benjamin Hurwood, an Oxford professor. Before they arrive at their destination, their ship is waylaid by Blackbeard and his band of pirates. With the help of the professor and his assistant, the captain is killed, and Chandagnac is pressed into piracy and sorcery as Blackbeard searches for the Fountain of Youth. Chandagnac, newly dubbed “Jack Shandy”, must stop the evil plot and save Beth Hurwood.

©2006 Tim Powers (P)2010 Blackstone Audio

Critic reviews

“World Fantasy Award-winner Powers demonstrates a precise control of complex narratives…This dark fantasy tale will appeal not just to pirate fans but also to anyone who appreciates Powers’ talent for blending the most unlikely elements into a brilliantly cohesive whole.” ( Publishers Weekly)

“Powers writes action and adventure that Indiana Jones could only dream of....Keeps you reading for the joy of it.” ( Washington Post)

decent outline with mess in the details

This is a weird instance where the outline of the book was decently well done, but the story itself is a complete mess. I generally liked the major points that got hit, but how they got to the points was pretty bad. The magic system was atrocious. It was confusing and nonsensical, and everyone did or least could do magic, which was stupid. The ending had a character become a bad guy kinda randomly that I didn't really enjoy because it didn't make a ton of sense. They could have just made a more straightforward story with waaaaaay less magic, no long treks through jungles(easily the worst part of the story), and more character development, and the story easily could be 5 star. This was a mess though.

The narrator was mostly good, but did the whole whispering to almost yelling thing that so many narrators do and I hate. I wish audible let me somehow normalize the volume so I could listen to it in the car without cranking the volume all the way up.

One of the best narrators I have heard!

Absolutely magnificent performance of a very well written story. The worlds of mayhem and mysticism infused seamlessly into a delightful tale of Caribbean life in the golden age of piracy.

Amazing voice actor

This was a fun and exciting story with one of the best voicing acting performances I’ve ever heard. The amount of authentic accents pulls you straight in like you’re really there

What a great adventure!!

I simultaneously read the book and listened to the audio, where I read some first and then caught listening after, which took the experience to another level. The narration and voice acting was spot on and it helped me pronounce all the French dialect. Most of all, if you want a a fun and exciting pirate adventure, this is it! Definitely a future re-read. 👍👍

Needs to be its own movie

Great story, loved the adventure. The narrator was great, but my only complaint is that I mostly listen to audiobooks in the car and I had to rewind and turn up some bits because his narration gets so soft I couldn’t hear it over the road noise. But excellent all around.