From Library Journal
Of the numerous books that London wrote, precious few can be considered great. Most are merely competent potboilers he penned to keep money flowing in. This collection of unrelated stories about a kind of sun-bronzed white superman who operates throughout the South Seas was first published in 1908, shortly after London sailed in that region in his leaky yacht, the SNARK. There are many colorful characters and some clever plots, but the book as a whole is dull. Moreover, it contains enough racist claptrap to make listeners forget what they like about London's other writings. Brian Emerson has a fine reading voice, but he often narrates passages as though they were not punctuated. In addition, he would have done well to study nautical terminology before tackling this. With all of London's works in the public domain, there's no reason for audio publishers to waste resources; Martin Eden, The Iron Heel, The People of the Abyss, and John Barleycorn remain unrecorded. Not recommended. Kent Rasmussen, Thousand Oaks, CA
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
