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Title: On Stranger Tides
Series: ———-
Author: Tim Powers
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 301
Words: 122K
Phewwwww, what a re-read. I read this for the first time back in ’07. Then the Pirates of the Caribbean movie franchise used it as the basis for the 4th movie.
This time, while I enjoyed it as much as the previous time, the magic used in the story really bothered me. I found the same thing when I read The Stress of Her Regards. The emotional content really hit me in the pit of the stomach. The inclusion of demoniacal beings in league with humans bothered me a lot more than last time too. Being older and seen more since then has made me realize that joking around about spiritual affairs, or trivializing them in fiction, has consequences.
Other than that, this was a cracking good read. I mean, we’re talking about pirates and magic all rolled together. Plus the Fountain of Youth and ghosts that can run you through with a ghost sword. That is just good story telling right there 😀 Add in that the hero’s name is Jack Shandy, he gets the girl in the end AND he kills an immortal Black Beard the Pirate, well, if that doesn’t do it for you then you should probably check your pulse.
★★★✬☆
Bookstooge's Reviews on the Road 
I just checked my pulse and got nothing. I may be a zombie pirate.
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Well, watching movies like Existenze will do that to you. Try some bin hauling, that might do the trick of reviving you.
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My bins are full of zombie pirates.
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Ahhh, well, there’s your problem. They probably bit you when you weren’t looking and infected you.
Sounds like a serious case though, so you’ll probably have to consult an expert…
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I’ve checked Alex’s pulse and there’s nothing.
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Then yep, it is a really BAAAAAAAAAD case. I don’t know who we’re gonna call?
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How can you kill an immortal pirate?
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Very carefully….
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Tried reading this one years ago and then wandered off around the time of the first pirate attack. /sigh/
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If it’s not for you, then it’s not for you.
You can always watch the movie instead, hehehehehe….
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Arrrrgh, matey.
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Sounds good Booky! I have several pulses.
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Well, if you can find it in your heart to lend one of them to Alex, I suspect we’d all be grateful to you 😀
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I’ll pop one in the post. 🙂
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Feel free to charge it to my account. Once I win the lottery I can afford a few pulses here and there 😀
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Just checked with the Other Side to pick out your lucky PowerBall numbers. You can’t lose with these:
12.5, lightning bolt, pi, Q, XX, Starbucks logo, blushing emoji.
Enter those and we’ll all split the winnings! Let’s go!
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Huh, that’s rather unconventional. I like it!
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😀
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I read a couple of Tim Powers’ books back in the day – think this book is where I stopped? So The Anubis Gates, Dinner at Deviant’s Palace , and The Drawing of the Dark. I read the latter a few years ago and the mc was as likeable as ever, but the story tended to meander along without reaching any sort of climax. The Anubis Gates has a sub-plot about an evil clown(?) who – aside from being completely extraneous to what is otherwise a good story – is a really boring character. Otherwise, I found Powers pretty good.
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I’ve read his Anubis Gates multiple times, but beyond this and The Stress of Her Regard, I never got into his catalog. Overall, I’m happy with that decision.
I keep hearing about the drawing of the dark, so maybe someday I’ll get around to it, but it’s going to take a recommendation AND some serious “i have nothing to read” on my part (and since my tbr is almost 2 years long, well…..), so I suspect it will be quiiiiiiite a while.
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The Drawing of the Dark is interesting as a feat of ventriloquism. The mc is a weary Irish mercenary somewhat past his best who ends up participating in the siege of Vienna. There’s a lot of musing about old battles, ex-girlfriends etc, all very well done – so it’s kind of surprising to discover that Powers was only 27 when he wrote it.
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I don’t know, it sounds just like the kind of thing I’d have eaten up in my 20’s. So I can see why he wrote it then too.
Some day, maybe, some day.
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Like you say, if you’re at a loose end?
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That’s about the sum of it…
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Being pierced with a ghost sword does leave a ghostly wound or a real one? Inquiring minds want to know… 😉
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a VERY real one. As many sailors found out the hard way, hahahahaa 😀
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***OUCH***
😀
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There is a lot of violent death in this story.
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I remember liking this one. I have another Tim Powers book on my TBR: Declare.
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I haven’t heard of that, is it a new one by him?
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“Declare” is my favorite Tim Powers! It’s about djinn and the Kim Philby spy ring.
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Hmmmm, thanks. Is that cold war or WWII?
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Jack Shandy is THE BEST character name!! I’m adding this to my tbr! 😁
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I hope you enjoy 😀
It is amazing to me how much of a difference a name can make in the book. I guess for the author it is like naming a baby 😀
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Ha! I’d not thought of it like that before, but I guess it must be. 😁
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Just the other day I was wondering if there were any known and beloved pirate stories out there. This one sounds pretty cool.
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I don’t know how well known this is outside of fans of Tim Powers, but it’s definitely been around for awhile 🙂
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