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Hotlists 2008

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Booklists

Lists of books, many of which received at least one starred review (indicating a work of unusual merit) from the following review sources: Booklist , Publisher's Weekly (PW), Kirkus and Library Journal (LJ). Additional titles of interest may be included on the lists. Titles are generally listed alphabetically by author.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Overbooked specializes in providing timely information about fiction (all genres) and readable nonfiction. Overbooked has been online since 1994. Overbooked is a work in progress . . .

Overbooked is the winner of the 2008 Louis Shores - Greenwood Publishing Award: to recognize excellence in book reviewing and other media for libraries. The award recipient is selected for significant achievement related to a reviewing process that helps librarians make selection decisions.

Booklists and Suggested Reading

Pirate Stars

 

Page Modified: August 19, 2008

Books about Pirates for readers of all ages. Includes fiction and nonfiction.

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Annotations are from Advance, the Ingram Book Magazine, unless noted.

Adult Fiction

• Ironfire: A Novel of the Knights of Malta and the Last Battle of the Crusades
  Author: Ball, David W.
  Publisher: Delacorte $ 24.95 ISBN: 0385336012 Date: 2004
  LJ
  In the Mediterranean, 16th-century, a mighty struggle looms between the Christian kingdoms, roiled by religious strife and political intrigue, and the surging Ottoman Empire. All that stands in the sultan's way is a tiny island and its small band of defenders--the Knights of Malta.
  Suggested Reading: Historical Fiction Stars
  Updated 11.18.03
• Hawke
  Author: Bell, Ted
  Publisher: Atria $ 25 ISBN: 0743466691 Date: 2003
  LJ
  "The best adventure in years, Hawke is a swashbuckling, spine-tingling, bloody good masterpiece of an adventure novel" (James Patterson)--and the debut of a bold new talent.
  Suggested Reading: Fiction & Mystery Debuts
  Updated 6.5.03
• Scurvy Dogs: Rags to Riches
  Author: Boyd, Andrew & Ryan Yount
  Publisher: AIT Planet $ 12.95 ISBN: 1932051279 Date: 2005
  Booklist
  Pirates of the past...today! The Scurvy Dogs search for jobs, love, and adventure - with disastrous results! This volume collects all five issues of the critically-acclaimed, independent humor, comic book sensation. But that's not all! It's chock-full of bonuses - including rare, behind-the-scenes materials, a character sketchbook, creator interviews, pin-up gallery, and an original commentary on all five issues written exlusively for this volume by creators Andrew Boyd and Ryan Yount. A must-have for the deranged; or for collectors of oddball comedy. - Publishers Marketing.
  Suggested Reading: Graphic Novels | Blackbeard
  Updated 10.24.05
• Fan Tan
  Author: Brando, Marlon
  Publisher: Knopf $ 23.95 ISBN: 1400044715 Date: 2005
  PW
  Brando and his collaborator Cammell create the story of an eccentric early 20th century pirate, a larger-than-life character who saves the life of a Chinese prisoner. When he is released from jail, the pirate becomes entangled in the biggest act of piracy that part of the world has ever seen.
  Updated 7.25.05
• The Pirate's Daughter: A Novel of Adventure
  Author: Girardi, Robert
  Publisher: Delacorte $ 21.95 ISBN: 038531485x Date: 1997
  PW
  Wilson Lander suffers from constant "dread" of disaster. When he meets a reckless female sailor named Cricket, Wilson throws caution to the winds and joins Cricket on a boat trip around the world. But Wilson finds navigating Cricket's dark heart more challenging than navigating the ocean. An epic adventure from the acclaimed author of Madeleine's Ghost.
  Updated 10.12.04
• Requiem Shark
  Author: Griffin, Nicholas
  Publisher: Villard $ 23 ISBN: 0375503366 Date: 2000
  PW Kirkus
  Set in the 18th century's golden age of piracy, this literary debut is the tale of a young recruit, William Williams, and his forced apprenticeship to Captain Roberts, slaver-turned-pirate captain.
  Suggested Reading: Sea Stories | Historical Fiction Stars
• Off the Chart
  Author: Hall, James W.
  Publisher: Minotaur $ 24.95 ISBN: 0312271786 Date: 2003
  Booklist
  Passion and intrigue heat up the Florida Keys as Thorn and Alexandra Rafferty face down a brutal killer bent on destroying everything they hold dear.
  Suggested Reading: Florida Fiction
  Updated 5.14.03
• Kingston By Starlight
  Author: Farley, Christopher John
  Publisher: Three Rivers $ 13.95 (paper) ISBN: 1400082455 Date: 2005
  LJ
  Lyrically written and bursting with the adventure and beauty of the Caribbean, Kingston by Starlight brings to life the legendary exploits - based on historical fact - of Anne Bonny, an Irish woman pirate who sailed the West Indies in the 1700's. - Publisher Marketing.
  Updated 4.7.05
• The Pirate's Daughter: A Novel of Adventure
  Author: Girardi, Robert
  Publisher: Delacorte List Price: $21.95 ISBN:038531485x Date: 1997
  PW
  The critically acclaimed author of Madeline's Ghost returns with an epic adventure that fulfills his promise as one of today's most exciting young novelists. With extraordinary verve and imagination, Girardi has crafted a contemporary tale of love in an era of excess, and history in an age of absence.
• Scar
  Author: Mieville, China
  Publisher: Del Rey $ 18.95 (trade paper) ISBN: 0345444388 Date: 2002
  PW LJ
  Aboard a vast seafaring vessel, prisoners and slaves are being transported to a fledgling colony of New Crobuzon. When the ship is besieged by pirates, the senior officials are executed, and surviving passengers are brought to a floating city constructed upon the hulls of pirated ships, a place whose leaders harbor a sinister agenda.
  
• The Nautical Chart: A Novel of Adventure
  Author: Perez-Reverte, Arturo
  Publisher: Harcourt $ 26 ISBN: 0151005346 Date: 2001
  Kirkus Booklist
  Love and betrayal on the high seas highlight this new work by the bestselling author of The Seville Communion. Coy is a suspended sailor with time on his hands, a mariner without a ship. While attending a maritime auction in Barcelona, he meets a beautiful woman on a search for lost treasure. As they follow the course of past sailors, their own journey becomes perilous as secrets await in the depths of the sea.
  Suggested Reading: Sea Stories
  Updated 8/1/01
• The Confusion
  Author: Stephenson, Neal
  Publisher: Morrow $ 27.95 ISBN: 0060523867 Date: 2004
  Kirkus Booklist PW LJ
  In this profoundly compelling adventure, Stephenson brings to life a cast of unforgettable characters in the late 1600s on the high seas. It is a time of breathtaking genius and discovery for men and women whose exploits define an age known as Baroque.
  Suggested Reading: All Stars | Historical Fiction Stars | Sea Stories
  Updated 4.5.04

Also:

• Target Lock by James H. Cobb (2002)
• The Pyrates by George MacDonald Fraser (1983)
• Spyder Web by Tom Grace (1998)
• Wake of the Perdido Star by Gene Hackman (1999)
• The Pirate Round by James L. Nelson (2002)
• Hunters of the Dark Sea by Mel Odom (2003)
• On Stranger Tides by Tim Powers (1987)
• China Sea by David Poyer (2000)
• Riptide by Douglas J. Preston and Lincoln Child (1998)
• Sword Born by Jennifer Roberson (1998)
• Birds of Prey (1997) and Monsoon (1999) by Wilber Smith
• Islands in the Net by Bruce Sterling (1988)

Classics:

• Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie
• The Red Rover by James Fenimore Cooper
• Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe
• Howard Pyle's Book of Pirates by Howard Pyle
• Captain Blood by Rafael Sabatini
Treasure Island by Robert Lewis Stevenson

Romances Featuring Pirates

• The Iron Rose by Marsha Canham (2003)
• Devil's Daughter by Catherine Coulter (1985)
• Least Likely Bride by Jane Feather (2000)
• The Pirate Prince by Gaelen Foley (1998)
• Guardian Angel ( 1990) and The Gift (1991) by Julie Garwood
• A Pirate's Pleasure by Heather Graham (1989)
• In a Pirate's Arms by Mary Kingsley (1996)
• Gentle Rogue (1990) and A Pirate's Love (1996) by Johanna Lindsey
• Grania by Morgan Llywelyn (1986)
• Promise Me Forever (1992), Pirate (1998) and Tempt the Devil (1998) by Connie Mason
• Till Dawn Tames the Night (1991) by Meagan McKinney (1991)
• Captive Passion (1997), Captive Embraces (1979) and Captive Secrets (1991) by Fern Michaels
• Pirates by Linda Lael Miller
• Siren's Song by Constance O'Banyon (1996)
• Island Flame (1981) and Sea Fire (1982) by Karen Robards
• Wicked Loving Lies by Rosemary Rogers (1976)
• Seraglio by Janet Wallach (2003)

Adult Nonfiction

• Dangerous Waters: Modern Piracy and Terro on the High Seas
  Author: Burnett, John
  Publisher: Dutton $ 24.95 ISBN: 0525946799 Date: 2002
  PW
  Dangerous Waters charts the resurgence of piracy in recent years and reveals why it poses such a threat to safety and security. A dauntless investigation into a chilling phenomenon, this is an epic, breathtaking modern tale of the sea.
  Updated 6.13.05
• The Lost Fleet: The Discovery of a Sunken Armada from the Golden Age of Piracy
  Author: Clifford, Barry
  Publisher: Morrow $ 27.95 ISBN: 0060198184 Date: 2002
  Kirkus
  In 1678, most of the French Fleet in the Caribbean sank on the killer reef of Lad Aves island, devastating the French naval power and sparking a new age of piracy. A renowned explorer interweaves the legend of this maritime disaster with the story of his expedition to the wrecks.
  Suggested Reading: Sea Stories
  Updated 6.30.02
• Under the Black Flag: The Romance and the Reality of Life Among Pirates
  Author: Cordingly, David
  Publisher: Random $ 25 ISBN: 0679425608 Date: 1996
  For this rousing, revisionist history, the former head of exhibitions at England's National Maritime Museum has combed original documents and records to produce a most authoritative and definitive account of piracy's "Golden Age". As he explodes many accepted myths (i.e. "walking the plank" is pure fiction), Cordingly replaces them with a truth that is more complex and often bloodier.
  Updated 6.13.05
• The Pirates Lafitte: The Treacherous World of the Corsairs of the Gulf
  Author: Davis, William C.
  Publisher: Harcourt $ 28 ISBN: 015100403x Date: 2005
  Booklist Kirkus
  Davis untangles the lives of Jean and Pierre Laffite, buccaneers during the most colorful period in New Orleans' history, the era from just after the Louisiana Purchase through the War of 1812.
  Updated 4.7.05
• A Pirate of Exquisite Mind: The Life of William Dampier
  Author: Preston, Diana & Michael
  Publisher: Walker $ 27 ISBN: 0802714250 Date: 2004
  Kirkus Booklist
  The first major biography of the explorer--and pirate--who inspired Darwin, Defoe, and Cook, A Pirate of Exquisite Mind restores William Dampier to his rightful place in history--one of the pioneers on whose insights our understanding of the natural world was built.
  Suggested Reading: Darwin, Naturalists & Evolution
  Updated 3.11.04
• The Republic of Pirates: How a Band of Thieves Created an Eighteenth-Centry Democracy
  Author: Woodard, Colin
  Publisher: Harcourt $ 27 ISBN: 9780151013029 Date: 2007
  Kirkus
  In this unique and fascinating book, Woodard brings to life the virtually unexplored chapter of the Republic of Pirates--a notorious and enormously powerful cooperative headed by Edward "Blackbeard" Teach and "Black Sam" Bellamy--and its ultimate defeat.
  Updated 3.2.07
• The Pirate Hunter: The True Story of Captain Kidd
  Author: Zacks, Richard
  Publisher: Hyperion $ 25.95 ISBN: 0786865334 Date: 2002
  PW
  This harrowing tale traces Kidd's voyages in the 1690s from his home near Wall Street to London, from the ports of the Caribbean to a secret pirate paradise off Madagascar. Filled with superb research, The Pirate Hunter is both a masterpiece of historical detective work and a ripping good yarn--an authentic pirate story for grown-ups.
  Updated 6.13.05
• The Pirate Coast: Thomas Jefferson, The First Marines, and the Secret Mission of 1805
  Author: Zacks, Richard
  Publisher: Hyperion $ 25.95 ISBN: 1401300030 Date: 2005
  Updated 6.13.05

For Kids of All Ages - Age and grade designations are approximate, parental judgement should be used.

• Peter and the Starcatchers
  Author: Barry, Dave & Ridley Pearson
  Publisher: Disney $ 17.99 ISBN: 0525473246 Date: 2005
  Booklist | VOYA Best Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror | Booksense Book of the Year Honor Book
  Treacherous battles with pirates, foreboding thunderstorms at sea, and evocative writing immerse the reader in this story that slowly reveals the secrets and mysteries of the beloved Peter Pan.
  Grades: 4-7 Category: Fiction | Specuative
  
• The Giant Rat of Sumatra or Pirates Galore
  Author: Fleischman, Sid & John Hendrix (ilt)
  Publisher: Greenwillow $ 15.99 ISBN: 0060742380 Date: 2005
  Kirkus
  Newbery Medalist offers a new pirate adventure set in San Diego, California, in 1846. Twelve-year-old Shipwreck, a cabin boy on the pirate ship "The Giant Rat of Sumatra," is so named because he survived a shipwreck. This is his story.
  Grades: 5-8 Category: Fiction | Action & Adventure
  Updated 6.3.05
• The Buccaneers
  Author: Lawrence, Iain
  Publisher: Delacorte $ 16.95 ISBN: 0385327366 Date: 2005
  Bulletin PW
  In this conclusion to The Wreckers and The Smugglers, 17-year-old John Spencer must match wits and brawn with a band of pirates in the West Indies.
  Updated 6.13.05
• Piratica: Being a Daring Tale of a Singular Girl's Adventure Upon the High Seas
  Author: Lee, Tanith
  Publisher: Dutton $ 17.99 ISBN: 0525473246 Date: 2004
  Kirkus SLJ
  The award-winning author introduces a swashbuckling pirate heroine in this gaudy, outrageous tale that sparkles with swordplay, skullduggery, and salty language--not to mention over-the-top comedy.
  Grades: 3-7 Category: Fiction | Action & Adventure | Humor
  Updated 5.25.05
• Piracy & Plunder: A Murderous Business
  Author: Meltzer, Milton
  Publisher: Dutton $ 24.99 ISBN: 0525458573 Date: 2005
  SLJ
  Meltzer, the recent winner of the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award, uncovers the true--and often bloody, always fascinating--stories of pirates and piracy, both past and present.
  Grades: 4-9 Category: History
  
• Airborn
  Author: Oppel, Kenneth
  Publisher: Eos $ 16.99 ISBN: 0060531800 Date: 2004
  SLJ | SLJ Best Books | BBYA
  The author of the Silverwing trilogy creates a new fantasy in which humans fly but the airplane has never been invented. In the early 20th century, a young orphan serves as a cabin boy aboard an airship and is witness to life-and-death battles in the sea and above land.
  Grades: 3-7 Category: Fiction | Speculative
  
• Pirates! The True and Remarkable Adventures of Minerva Sharpe and Nancy Kington, Female Pirates
  Author: Rees, Celia
  Publisher: Bloomsbury $ 16.95 ISBN: 1582348162 Date: 2003
  PW SLJ
  This powerful and thrilling novel presents the story of the inspiring journey of two 18th-century women who break the bonds of gender, race, and position to find their own way to glory.
  Grades: 7+ Category: Fiction | Action & Adventure
  Updated 10.28.03

Link: Books for Buccaneers

 

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