The Price of Freedom

Hi, there.  I have decided that every once in a while I'm going to post a book review.  Writing and reading go hand in hand, after all.  I will be talking about The Price of Freedom, a Pirates of the Caribbean novel by A.C. Crispin.

This 653-page book is a prequel to the movies and tells of how Captain Jack Sparrow first acquired his beloved ship, the Black Pearl.  It starts out with a 25-year-old Jack working for the EITC and Cutler Beckett.  After the death of his captain, he is promoted to captain of an EITC vessel, the Wicked Wench.  Beckett has ordered him to persuade one of his house slaves into revealing the location of the fabled island of Kerma, the location of Zerzura, the Shining City, as well as an underground labyrinth filled with treasure.  But Jack knows that Beckett intends to take all the treasure for himself and imprison the people who live there.  Now Jack's not sure whether he really wants to go along with it and soon makes some plans of his own...

Crispin definitely did her research.  The terminology used and the lifestyle was what it would really have been like to sail a ship in the eighteenth century.  The culture was well-written for the period, yet Crispin managed to include aspects of the POTC universe as well.  I could easily see what was going on because of Crispin's vivid world-building.

Yes, this is quite a long book, but it is an exciting read.  It contains pirates, EITC, a princess in disguise as a slave, and, of course, an island hidden by magic with a monster-infested labyrinth.  It has the air of a POTC book, but is also refreshing with new characters and new places.  There are also a couple of recognizable faces, such as Captain Teague and Captain Barbossa.

If you are interested in reading this book, you can find it on Amazon: Price of Freedom.

A.C. Crispin is also the author of the Starbridge series as well as a few Star Wars and Star Trek books.

~Catherine