Pirate Latitudes by Michael Crichton

I finished reading Pirate Latitudes by Michael Crichton. This novel was found on the hard disk of his computer after he died in 2008. Like Tom Clancy and John Grisham, I have read a lot of Michael Crichton's books over the last twenty years. I have read twelve of his books, but interestingly not The Great Train Robbery or The Andromeda Strain.

Pirate Latitudes is a pirate novel set in late 17th century in Port Royal, Jamaica. It is a light fast moving adventure tale that hits the pirate story from all angles, including life in the town and abroad ship, a raid on a Spanish treasure ship and the loose code of rules by which the pirates lived.

Several years ago, I read Under the Black Flag. This book provided a factual look at the pirates active in the Caribbean and the Atlantic Coast in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. Pirate Latitudes seems reasonably consistent with the history laid out in this book.

I enjoyed the book. I picked it out of my pile of books because I was looking for something light to read after the Roosevelt biography. With so many good books in the world, it is not a book that I strongly recommend. There appears to be some debate about whether or not Crichton really ever intended it to be published. Reading this book reminded me that I wanted to read Treasure Island. Additionally, I have added The Great Train Robbery and the The Andromeda Strain to the growing pile of books on my nightstand...