The Pirate Captain: Nor Gold
This second book in Lynne’s Chronicles of a Legend series and follows directly from the action of the first (the author does a less-than-comprehensive job back-filling, so this book is best read in sequel to The Pirate Captain).
Cate MacKenzie, cruelly used by fate, has been the property of pirate captain Nathanael Blackthorne, trying to adjust to life as a fugitive on the high seas, when he abruptly sells her to Thomas, the captain of the pirate ship Griselle, and sailed off. Cate is thus forced to adjust all over again in a series of dramatic and well-orchestrated adventures that read like a cross between Patrick O’Brian’s Aubrey/Maturin novels and the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. Lynne’s industrious historical research is evident in every chapter of this very long book, but it is her surefooted understanding of her characters’ emotions that makes this series so enjoyable.
The lives of Cate and Blackthorne are linked to that of evil Lord Breaston Creswicke (“an elite, though dubious, club,” as Cate thinks of it), and although Nor Gold delivers several satisfying conclusions, it is clear – and welcome – that the series has many more instalments to go. Recommended.
