Pirate latitudes

It's 1665 and Capt. Charles Hunter, a Harvard-educated Englishman, has led a daring raid to capture a Spanish treasure galleon in the Caribbean Sea. He has killed several guards, all of whom were sleeping, drunk or inept, and he must now make it back to his ship. He barges into the quarters of his archnemesis - the man who killed Hunter's brother. "He turned to look around the room. This was Cazalla's quarters, richly furnished. A dark-haired girl was in the bed. She looked at him in terror, holding the sheets to her chin, as Hunter dashed through the room to the rear windows. He was halfway out the window when he heard her say, in English, 'Who are you?'" You wouldn't be surprised to hear him respond, "Bond, James Bond." Crichton's last novel, found in his files as a complete manuscript after his death in 2008, is unabashed fun. Hunter and his colorful crew of associates - they have names like Whisper, Black Eye, the Moor - hail from Port Royal, Jamaica, the strongest English settlement in the New World and "not a town where much attention was paid to past histories." Commerce thrives on "privateering" (basically, piracy), which the island governor, Sir James Almont, discreetly encourages. Captain Hunter handles this charge with aplomb - as he does everything that comes his way, including Spanish warships, hurricanes, cannibals and giant squid. Yup, no doldrums here.

In Crichton's posthumously published novel, Capt. Charles Hunter leads a lovable gang of pirates in a raid on a Spanish ship loaded with gold off the coast of Jamaica. Hunter's determination must contend with a host of rapacious cannibals, hurricanes, sea monsters, simmering mutiny, and capture by sadistic Spaniards. Crichton draws on every pirate cliche in the book, refreshing and reanimating them with heady atmosphere, crackling dialogue, and an endearing hero-all of which are brought to life by John Bedford Lloyd, who excels at accents and colorful personalities. Lloyd's deep and controlled voice projects energy and excitement, and steers clear of caricature. A Harper hardcover. (Dec.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Posthumously discovered among Crichton's files; DreamWorks has already nabbed the film rights; John Bedford Lloyd reads. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.