The Requiem Shark

Rating:
Summary: This novel is nothing less than BLASTEMY.
Review: Either the author of this novel is grossly misinformed or is rewriting history.

Nay say I. For thee thinks he deserves to be haunted relentlessly by the Great Pirate Roberts in retribution for his slander made upon the memory of whom he hath insulted.

How does this author dare show anything less than respectful admiration to the greatest pirate (and perhaps greatest sea Captain) ever to sail a ship.

Captain Bartholomew (John at birth) Roberts was NOT illiterate, as stated within these pages but rather a well educated gentlemen merchant turned pirate after his law bidding ship was captured.

Should one, who is forced into a life, then not try to make the best of it?
Would this author be one to scoff at Merlin, who is hailed at the greatest magician of all time, simply because he was a trickster and an alchemist.

Why has this author invented a 12th article, for there were only 11. No such article stated as being "No Irish, None at All." Calling the Irish "faithless teagues prancing peacocks" further stating that Captain Roberts did not touch alcohol as it was already in his blood.
OH ROT! Captain Roberts did not drink alcohol for in deadened his capacity for intelligent thinking.

Captain Roberts was not on shore while awaiting the return of the Rover but below deck eating turtle soup. The Royal Fortune was lying at anchor when a dishonorable British Captain Ogle, under false color, sailed upon her before she could make sail.

In the last, of Captain Roberts' death, also in stated in error, as only one broadside was fired from the Sallow and Captain Roberts was killed when grapeshot tore out his throat.

In this woman's opinion that the author took much of his knowledge from the same pages of error, which states it was Marie Antoinette who said "Let Them Eat Cake" when in actuality, it was Marie-Therese the daughter of Philip IV, King of Spain and the wife of Louis XIV.

To close in on other failings I find it most interesting that for a man who supposedly sailed upon a tall ship, knows not, how to get underway.

In regard to the foretold vivid sexual acts, the first was pretty timid and the second reduced to a short paragraph. If this is Griffin's idea of lovemaking I must offer his woman my sympathy.

This fan of Errol Flynn and Robert Louis Stevenson found this book not only grossly inaccurate but believes that those who wrote the reviews and the writing on the back cover know nothing of Captain Roberts, or of life as it was as sea during the period or they would of written reviews of a different sort.

At least Griffin was accurate in the area that Captain Roberts held religious services on board his ship and made a fair attempt to speak in Old English. But nevertheless, the only way I would recommend this novel was if it was a cold night and one was out of kindling.

This reader has no objection to Historical Fiction providing it is entertaining and does not alter the facts. However this book does not measure up to the reviews and has little historical value.

Rating:
Summary: Arr!
Review: I picked up The Requiem Shark because my favorite author, Guy Gavriel Kay, mentioned on his website that it was on his "to read" pile. I really hope he didn't love it, because if he did, then I might have to reconsider my high opinion of him.

This is the story of Welshman William Williams, a youngest son who is determined to go out in the world and make something of himself. To that end, he hangs out in pubs by the coast until he is conscripted. This doesn't last long, as his ship is overrun by pirates. As the "music" on board, he is commandeered to serve on the pirate vessel instead.

Here is my impression of what follows:
Something bad happens. Williams is sick/injured/whatever. Random character with wacky pirate name is introduced on pg xx. Dies on pg xx+2. Oh, look now Williams is better. But, you know, I just didn't care.

I didn't care about Williams or the captain, and certainly not about any of the characters with two pages of existence. I'm aware that the views I hold on pirates are probably very idealistic, but I don't think my opinions were influenced by the graphic depiction of pirate life. I simply think the author did a poor job of communicating the true personality of his characters. It wasn't that I didn't care about their fate because they were doing piratey things, but rather that I didn't care because I didn't feel that I knew or understood them. It was quite a chore to make it to the end, but I'm stubborn so I persevered.

The only reason this gets two stars instead of one is that things finally start to pick up in the last 80 pages or so. The ending is surprising and admirable in its way. If Griffin wanted it to be viewed with detachment, then he succeeded, though it could've been a lot more affecting if the characters were more fully fleshed out.














Rating:
Summary: "...a gentle pendulum through which time might be kept"
Review: Mr. Griffin is a talented new Author who is likely to produce many more fine tales, be they historically based or pure fiction.

"Requiem Shark" is an unvarnished description of the profession of Pirates and their experiences and actions that will challenge your constitution. This is probably not a book to read just before or after a meal, and if you tend to recreate in your dreams that which you read while falling to sleep, keep this book for the daylight hours.

The partial sentence that is the title of this review is clear evidence that Mr. Griffin is a gifted writer, a future master-craftsman. But the fragment is pure misdirection that when placed in context, is rather dark, like tar?

The story is graphic, at times brutally so, but as uneasy/queasy as I sometimes felt, the violence was never gratuitous. The first definition in the glossary is for "Bloody Flux", its placement is appropriate.

The primary character Mr. Williams memorializes the exploits of Captain Robert's and his crew as they hunt for the ultimate trophy, the ship Juliette. Their race to catch their prize takes them across vast distances, and tests how far they will go, either through personal hardship, or in the infliction of same on others. Mr. Williams also finds what he can maintain of his original self and what end it will lead him to.

Sheri Holman wrote "The Dress Lodger". In her book she made the London of Charles Dickens a theme park in comparison. Mr. Griffin too likes the dark side of the human, and it's condition. His next book is to be about "anatomists and body snatchers in 18th century London".

I just completed reading "In The Heart Of The Sea" by Nathaniel Philbrick. I mention this as his research of the medical effects of the sea on people was impeccable, and where these two stories experienced a similar event, Mr. Griffin was on the mark with his facts.

A great tale, a brutal tale, a tale for older readers. You have not seen Pirates like those that Mr. Griffin will haunt you with. If re-opening a wound to remove the worms that are growing within does not make your squirm too much, "The Requiem Shark" will delight!

Rating:
Summary: Full Circle through the Pirate World
Review: My previous exposure to the world of pirates was limited to 'B' films growing up in the '50's. There was always something surreal about pirates; they operated outside the lines. Still, I knew little about them until I read "The Requiem Shark." As an adventure book, it can stand on its own. Anyone who doesn't enjoy the tale can walk the plank (funny, there was never any plank-walking in this book). More importantly, I learned a great deal about pirates as I took this voyage with William Williams.

Williams is 'recruited' into the fleet of Capt. Bart Roberts in the first few pages. You'll be amazed when you learn exactly how a pirate ship collects its crew. From the coast of West Africa, Williams sails to Brazil, then up to the Caribbean, and then back again to Africa with Roberts. The size of the pirate fleet grows, shrinks, and grows again with various encounters on the high seas.

Inevitably, the adventure concludes at the end of a rope, but through the story, Griffin takes us full circle through the pirate world. With one or two exceptions, I did not find the book overly barbaric nor squeamishly graphic given the subject matter.

Griffin does a superb job developing an array of characters centered around Williams: Roberts the Captain; Scudamore the Surgeon, Bunch the Cabin Boy, and a shipful of others. I empathized with most despite the nature of their trade.

I don't recall seeing a good pirate film since I was a kid a long time ago. Maybe someone could grab this book up and re-introduce the genre to film. Read it and you'll see exactly why it would fit well on the big screen.

Rating:
Summary: Pirate Puzzle Piece
Review: This book took me to a world of piracy on the high seas that I probably had never thought I'd revisit after Treasure Island. While not exactly a page burner, it is worth the read. Nicholas Griffin gives a enough sense of day to day reality to the characters that makes you connect with what it must have been like to lead these lives. The historical detail and research give a great air of authenticity to the story.

The great challenge is how do you make a reader identify with a group of people who steal and murder for a living? The most interesting character for me was Innocent, the Yoruban black convert to an African brand of Christianity, who comes across as half savage, half mystic. Even the Captain Bartholomew Roberts' fear of the Almighty lent a spice of philosophic reality to what otherwise could have been a very two-dimensional character. Griffin lets us in enough on these inner lives to engage us with the characters.

The reversal at the end was for me an unexpected though intriguing finish with the motives of Phineas Bunch, the cabin boy, who is introduced by the second page, seems a minor character, and yet plays a key role. I won't spoil that surprise! It's a good pirate puzzle piece.

I recommend this book as a good read. It is satisfying as an adventure, as a historical snapshot of the period, written with enough twists and turns to make you enjoy the voyage.

Rating:
Summary: A crashing bore
Review: This is a novel about pirates in the early eighteenth century and if you like this sort of thing, you will greatly enjoy this terrific read.

It is written in the third person and told primarily from the point of view of William Williams, a youthful English scholar, impressed by an English slaver, and shortly thereafter captured by pirates. The story is that of his adventures with these pirates and their captain, Bartholomew Roberts, aka, Black Bart, a real life historical personage.

What sets this book apart from its peers is not only its great attention to detail, but the attention it pays to those little things that all of us who read historical fiction are interested in. How is justice meeted out on a pirate ship, for example? How does a captain become a captain, and how does he remain one? How is he able to get these outlaws to do anything? What do they do with their riches? Who would trade with them? For that matter, where do they get their crew? All of this is explored, and all of it is quite interesting. Also conveyed quite well is the way of life in general in this long ago century. If life in London was tough, life in the English navy was tougher. And life on a pirate ship was very, very brutal.

Also exceptional are the characters, who are unusual, but nevertheless completely believable. Along with your typical European cutthroats, there is also mixture of black Africans, Amazonian Indians, and Portuguese merchantmen thrown in. I particularly liked Innocent, the Queequeg of the novel, with his weird philosophy--an illogical mixture of the barebones stories of Jesus and Homer's Odyssey--taught to him by a bored, smirking shipmate. The main impression you get of these guys is their ignorance. None of them can read or write, and all of them are superstitious and childishly cruel. Of course, this makes sense. Pirates were culled from the lowest dregs of society.

The plot is as it must be: there are the wanderings around the Atlantic, the sometimes vicious encounters with merchants, the storm scene, the starvation scene, the mutiny, and finally the scene in which they are brought to justice. But it is fresh, and there is something new to be found in all of it. It is also artfully done. The ending, in particular, is poignant, as we realize that the lives of these poor men--those that survive anyway--are never going to change. They can expect no sympathy during the course of their short, brutish lives, and what little hope they nurture turns out to be illusory.

Rating:
Summary: First Rate Pirate Yarn
Review: This is a novel about pirates in the early eighteenth century and if you like this sort of thing, you will greatly enjoy this terrific read.

It is written in the third person and told primarily from the point of view of William Williams, a youthful English scholar, impressed by an English slaver, and shortly thereafter captured by pirates. The story is that of his adventures with these pirates and their captain, Bartholomew Roberts, aka, Black Bart, a real life historical personage.

What sets this book apart from its peers is not only its great attention to detail, but the attention it pays to those little things that all of us who read historical fiction are interested in. How is justice meeted out on a pirate ship, for example? How does a captain become a captain, and how does he remain one? How is he able to get these outlaws to do anything? What do they do with their riches? Who would trade with them? For that matter, where do they get their crew? All of this is explored, and all of it is quite interesting. Also conveyed quite well is the way of life in general in this long ago century. If life in London was tough, life in the English navy was tougher. And life on a pirate ship was very, very brutal.

Also exceptional are the characters, who are unusual, but nevertheless completely believable. Along with your typical European cutthroats, there is also mixture of black Africans, Amazonian Indians, and Portuguese merchantmen thrown in. I particularly liked Innocent, the Queequeg of the novel, with his weird philosophy--an illogical mixture of the barebones stories of Jesus and Homer's Odyssey--taught to him by a bored, smirking shipmate. The main impression you get of these guys is their ignorance. None of them can read or write, and all of them are superstitious and childishly cruel. Of course, this makes sense. Pirates were culled from the lowest dregs of society.

The plot is as it must be: there are the wanderings around the Atlantic, the sometimes vicious encounters with merchants, the storm scene, the starvation scene, the mutiny, and finally the scene in which they are brought to justice. But it is fresh, and there is something new to be found in all of it. It is also artfully done. The ending, in particular, is poignant, as we realize that the lives of these poor men--those that survive anyway--are never going to change. They can expect no sympathy during the course of their short, brutish lives, and what little hope they nurture turns out to be illusory.

Rating:
Summary: High seas adventure
Review: This is an adventure story formed around the goals of the pirate Bartholomew Roberts, or Black Bart as he has been known.

Nicholas Griffin writes very well, and this is his first published book. I will read his next book also. The glossary in the back is very helpful, but I wish it had been more extensive. Also, in the paperback, the printing on the map is too small to read.

It did seem odd to me that an educated person like William Williams found himself among such cutthroats. Why was he there, and why did he stay in the face of the horrors they committed?

If you like boats, adventure, pirates, this is a good book to read.

And, it's a good time to read this book and contrast it with the summer's movie from Disney, Pirates of the Caribbean.

Rating:
Summary: Muddled, incoherent mess
Review: What a difficult book to slog through.

I've always been an avid reader of historical fiction, whether it was historically accurate (which usually meant "tragic") or more of a swashbuckling sort of adventure. "Requiem Shark" seems to fall into the "tragic" category.

Brutally honest and unflinching in its descriptions of the trials, tribulations, and rewards of being an 18th-century "pirate," it certainly doesn't pull any punches in describing the great lengths that sorely-pressed men went through in order to survive.

But it's told in a terribly disjointed, incoherent manner. It reads more like an incomplete summation of the facts. The characters are little more than vague, watery shadows of real people.

I was particularly annoyed by the constant point-of-view switching going on in the narrative. One moment we're in Williams' head, the next minute we're in Cap'n Roberts' head, the next minute we're hovering somewhere above the entire scene like an unfortunate ghost that's been condemned to hang around this lousy story.

Ray Bradbury once compared a well-told story to the feeling of holding a sparrow in your hands - you don't feel the weight of the bird, but you can feel its heartbeat.

"Requiem Shark" is a big, bloody pile of weighty words that simply do not flow, and there is no heartbeat to speak of. You're left at the end of the book not caring one bit about any of the characters; in fact, you rejoice that the story has ended, tragically or otherwise.

Terrible book, in my opinion. One of those stories that leaves you regretting the time you spent trying to get through it.