Customer Reviews

Doctor Syn on the high seas

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

 

 

This is the first, in chronological sequence anyway, of Russell Thorndike's seven highly entertaining novels about the Reverend Doctor Syn, the apparently harmless vicar of Dymchurch in Kent who led a secret life as a pirate and smuggler.

The full series is:

1) Doctor Syn on the High Seas
2) Doctor Syn Returns
3) The Further adventures of Doctor Syn
4) The Courageous Exploits of Doctor Syn
5) The Amazing Quest of Doctor Syn
6) The Shadow of Doctor Syn
7) Doctor Syn

This first book tells the story of how Doctor Syn, the vicar of Dymchuch, resigned his living and went to sea to search for his missing wife. While searching for her he adopted the persona of the notorious pirate, Captain Clegg ...

These Russell Thorndyke books are an acquired taste but it seems he has a fairly large loyal following. I first read the books in the late 60's and then discovered the Disney adaptation which was shown as a television mini-series in 1970-71.

It is very old-fashioned writing to be sure, very wordy and lots of jargon unfamiliar to modern readers, but it is definitely colorful and if you enjoy the "old English flavor" it is captivating reading. Not much actually happens, but they talk about it a lot. Still, I am hooked and I think there is definitely an audience for this sort of thing. That said, the editorial quality of these paperbacks does leave something to be desired, misspellings and printing errors happen regularly, and in one instance, it seems like several pages were left blank! I am almost tempted to buy another copy to see if the same pages are blank, but I am too cheap to do that right now. Still, if you enjoy old fashioned tales of adventure, the price is not too high and you won't be disappointed.

The book as presented is somewhat substandard in manufacture--if you are seeking high quality this publisher has missed the mark. The story, interesting as it is, is written for an audience from that time period--all telling and no showing--and this takes the emotional guts out of a great story. Yeah, two stars with the hope that a current author would take up this character and ghostwrite new adventures. >Sam

This is the second Syn book written, but the first in chronological order. Dramatically, it is also one of the best, charting the tragic, exciting journey of young Christoper Syn through his formative years, experiencing marriage, betrayal, and a dark quest for revenge. This is the book that gives the origins of the pirate Captain Clegg, and sets the stage for Syn's eventual transformation into the Scarecrow of Romney Marsh.

Thorndike's clever plotting and exciting storytelling is at it's best here, because of the dramatic arc of Syn - from a noble clergyman to bloodthirsty pirate. Although later books tend to be somewhat repetitive (though still entertaining), Doctor Syn on the High Seas is fresh and unencumbered by the tropes that the series would later develop. If you like high adventure, historical fiction, pirates, and a rousing story, this is a good bet. Doctor Syn is a compelling character, more complex than the typical masked heroes of the era (such as Zorro), and the twists and surprises are delivered with the deft precision of a learned dramatist. Which of course, Thorndike was.

I was extremely disappointed in this publication. The editing is non-existent with typos everywhere; no formatting of sentences, titles, paragraphs; foreign words appear as symbols @#&. It was atrocious and definitely substandard. A chimpanzee could have typed the text better. Had I not been so desperate to have a copy of this out of print book, I would have returned it and demanded my money back. As it is, I'm happy to have at least read this fantastic novel and am keeping my eyes open for a "proper" publication.

Do NOT order this book. It has a plain cover and is printed in a print on demand format. The pages are newsprint. This is NOT worth the 17 dollars.