Customer Reviews

Black Swan

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I collect Sabatini novels, and when I occasionally re-read a few, The Black Swan is one of the first I'll revisit. It bears almost no resemblance to the Tyrone Power/Maureen O'Hara film; in fact, it's much better. While traveling from a British Caribbean colony to England, Priscilla Harradine and family friend Major Sands encounter Sir Henry Morgan's lieutenant (and former buccaneer) Charles de Bernis just before they are all captured by the notorious pirate Tom Leach. While de Bernis sets about convincing Leach he's on his side, Priscilla quietly falls for the Frenchman and Sands reveals himself to be a pompous old fool. In the end, of course, the hero de Bernis has something up his sleeve and things work out in typical Sabatini fashion.

The plot isn't as complex as most of Sabatini's other works, and it is one of his later books. But while it's a bit lighter, it's still an entertaining read. One interesting difference from the author's other works is the near absence of the misunderstanding between the male and female lead characters that keeps them apart for a while.

This is definitely one I'd recommend.

Rafael Sabatini's The Black Swan takes you through the jadegreen waters and tropical islands of the Caribbean into the violent,adventurous world of pirates and buccaneers. Priscilla Harradine is on her way to England after her father's recent death, accompanied by Major Sands, a devoted but pompous and dull-witted friend of her late father. Just before the Centaur, the ship on which they are traveling casts off, a tall dark stranger bound for Guadeloupe boards. Major Sands resents the presence of the dashing Frenchman, especially after learning that he is a former buccaneer. Priscilla however, much to the indignation of the Major who hopes to marry her, is fascinated by Charles de Bernis. She and the mysterious adventurer enjoy each other's company in the short time before he is to be put ashore at Sainte Croix. But the tranquility of the voyage is soon shattered when Monsieur de Bernis sights a dark image from his past on the morning horizon... The Black Swan is an intriguing, well written book that will keep your attention riveted to its pages. Readers who enjoy it will also like The Sea Hawk and Captain Blood by the same author.

Perhaps the best pirate novel ever written, Sabatini takes you right there, to feel the salt and sun, the fear and the joy, the fearsome loyalty. A classic adventure, magnificent wordcrafting and verbal choreography. When Sabatini describes a swordfight, you hear and see every clash, grunt and splash. They don't write like this anymore. Only George McDonald Fraser comes close these days.

Rafael Sabatini was scoffed at by many critics of his day who did not enjoy his melodramatic historical novels but remained popular with the public. (Just goes to show that sometimes the public is right. His best working period were the teens and early twenties of the twentieth century during this time he wrote the Sea Hawk, Captain Blood, Bellarion and Scaramouche. His later books have not quite the ramantic charm but they are still quite a lot better than your average modern historic novel.

The plot is basically a contest of wills on a south sea island between a French corsair who is defending a lady passenger and a rather nasty English pirate. The suspense is well portrayed and there is a rather good suprise ending. (It's not giving anything away to say that no one could forget the severed head scene) I found the heroine to be somewhat dim-witted at times but I really liked the hero, Charlie.

The movie version of this book does not follow it at all (it only borrows a few characters names) so viewing is no substitute for reading the real thing.

It is a source of great mystery to me that there hasn't been a Sabatini renaissance the last couple of years. The romantic vision of the Pirate World is back in pop culture full force, but no new Sabatini movie adaptations, no runs on his wondrous, terrific stories. Nobody ever wrote better pirate books, and "The Black Swan" is one of his best.

Unique in swashbucklers because it is every bit as appealing to women as to men (maybe more so), "Black Swan" weaves the thrilling tale of a beautiful lady in distress, a battle at sea, a murderous Captain, odious Majors, white sandy beaches, tropical jungles, Spanish Gold, and one really hot Pirate. Charles de Bernis is one of Sabatini's best creations; smart, debonair, capable and really sexy. We know, deep down, that Foxy Charlie has it all figured out, but the fun is watching him pull his clever scheme off on his treacherous companions. A total delight from start to finish.

I can't recommend this sprightly novel enough, especially in these general depressing times. It is rare to find a great yarn combined with genuine literary talent. Sabatini could do it all. He deserves his share of the buccaneer pie.

GRADE: A
(When you've finished "Black Swan", probably in one day, move on to "Sacramouche", also a blast.)

The Black Swan was a very entertaining book, though it is not quite as good as some of Sabatini's other books. Scaramouche was far superiour to this one, because the Black Swan is rather shallow and light compared to the complexity of Scaramouche. It is not even Sabatini's best pirate novel, as Captain Blood was significantly better. Despite this, I don't regret taking the time to read it. It may not be Sabatini's best, but it is significantly better than most of the dreck you will find in fiction sections today. A book that is mediocre by Sabatini's standards is still excellent by modern swashbuckling standards. If you've not read much Sabatini, though, I would recommend checking out Captain Blood before this one.

My only real complaint is about the edition I picked up rather than the book itself. The 60's Ballantine version is hideous. Ballantine published a bunch of Sabatini's books and tried to pass them off as romance novels to reach a wider audience. The cover looks like some cheap romance cover, and it has a horrid tagline about "desire on the high seas" or something, and the quote from the book on the inside makes it sound like a penny dreadful romance. It was so appalling that I almost didn't read the book, because I was afraid the book would actually be like that. I was pleased to discover that the quote from the book was not to be found anywhere in the book, and had apparently been fabricated to make it seem like a romance novel. What possessed them to do this I cannot fathom. In any case, be careful what edition you get. The Ballantine version is so bad I would be embarassed to read it in public.

I have yet to read a Raphael Sabatini novel I didn't enjoy. I would rank this book among my favorites (the others being The Sea Hawk, Love-at-Arms and The Sword of Islam). Set when Henry Morgan, governor of Jamaica, is charged with clearing the Caribbean of the pirates that used to be his brethren, The Black Swan is the story of Henry's trusted lieutenant who, supposedly en route to his retirement, runs into the last pirate at large, and finds himself and the beautiful governor's daughter traveling on board at his mercy. To save his life (and hers) he convinces the pirate that he's turned against Morgan and that the lady is under his protection. What follows is an adventure fraught with peril and suspense as our hero tries to balance his story and actions against a pirate determined to double-cross him at the first chance he gets, for the treasure and the girl.

It's a great story. The Maureen O'Hara - Tyrone Power movie is a toothless, fluffy version of the story. A better movie to compare the feel of this story to would be "The Glass Key" with Alan Ladd. Our hero is as cool-headed and calculating, and never loses sight of his ultimate goal.

Gosh, this has become my favorite book ever! Don't bother with the movie as it's a pale shadow of the original story. I began reading Sabatini with Scaramouche (wonderful!) but really fell in love with this story. Why couldn't they have made the movie of this like the book? I would love to see these characters in film.