Or Else My Lady Keeps the Key [Hardcover]

Kage Baker (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 31, 2008

It's 1672 in Port Royal, Jamaica. John James, London bricklayer's apprentice turned pirate, is returning from the sack of Panama with his share of the loot (a lousy 200 pieces of eight) and a resolve to go back to bricklaying, since piracy pays so badly. First, though, he has a duty: he must deliver a letter to a lady. The letter is from his dead comrade, Sir Thomas Blackstone, who was a court intriguer on a mission for Prince Rupert of the Rhine. The letter's recipient is Clarissa Waverly, Blackstone's mistress and accomplice. Before he went off to Panama, Blackstone hid four thousand pounds of the prince's money, unwilling to trust his lady friend not to make off with it in his absence. Dying of battle wounds, he wrote to let her know where he'd concealed the money.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This amusing but insubstantial short novel explores history and the limits of free will in a more straightforward fashion than Baker's Company series (In the Garden of Iden, etc.). Sturdy, good-natured John James, a 17th-century Caribbean buccaneer, wants to leave the piratical life and settle down as a bricklayer, but first he must deliver a letter to Clarissa Waverly, the mistress of one of his late shipmates. This seemingly routine errand sets John and Clarissa off on a journey to recover the dead man's cache of stolen gold. They're soon joined by Sejanus, an ex-slave who insists he's an atheist but can't elude the demands of African deities. Sejanus makes a nice counterpoint to John's lower-key angst, and his story would probably be more interesting than John and Clarissa's predictably tumultuous quest for wealth. Without imminent sequels or continuations, this short adventure is little more than a shaggy sea dog story. (Apr.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

One fine day in 1671, young seaman John James steps into a tavern in Port Royal. Just back from the sack of Panama, he plans to settle down and live respectably in the future. First, he has to deliver a letter to the mistress of a dead comrade. The letter contains clues for finding a hidden fortune, the lady has plans for recovering it, and those plans come to include John James, for she talks him into “investing” his loot in the venture. The subsequent quest is aided by a black freedman and an English clerk and is hindered by a dubious ship’s crew, pirates, hurricanes, sharks, and double and triple crosses. John James is definitely a sadder but wiser man when the tale ends. Baker’s characters are convincing and delightful, and the action keeps one flipping pages. As the setting is a time and place in which almost anything could happen, the yarn’s fillips of fantasy fit right in. --Frieda Murray

Product Details

• Hardcover: 184 pages
• Publisher: Subterranean (March 31, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1596061626
• ISBN-13: 978-1596061620
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,496,893 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A fun and entertaining adventure story, July 4, 2008

By 

Paul Stotts "alephlogos" (San Diego, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Or Else My Lady Keeps the Key (Hardcover)

Nothing beats a really good pirate story. There's just an inherent coolness factor to the bygone era where the rogues of the sea terrorized merchant ships. Women enjoy the romanticism of the stories, while men respond to the action and the pirate's rebellious attitude toward proper society. Because at some point, there seems to be a little urge in everyone that wants to just get away from the rest of the world, chucking off the yoke of everyday life to become truly free.

Kage Baker's pirate novella, "Or Else My Lady Keeps the Key" turns this urge for freedom on its head. The story revolves around John James, a buccaneer who wishes to throw off the yoke of pirate life and become a bricklayer. You see, bricklaying is more lucrative. And a whole lot less dangerous. But with apologies to all the bricklayers out there, it just isn't very sexy. Well since "Or Else My Lady Keeps the Key" is about pirates and not bricklayers, it should appear obvious that John doesn't have much success retiring from the pirate life.

The novella starts with John on that most famous of pirate quests: delivering a dead mate's letter. John dispatches his duty well (a job in the postal service might be a nice fallback option for him, if the bricklaying doesn't work out), delivering the letter to Mrs. Clarissa Waverly. Not surprisingly, the letter contains instructions detailing where John's old mate had left some treasure before his untimely demise. A whole four thousand pounds of treasure, in fact. So Mrs. Waverly cuts a deal with John: help her find the money and she will give him half. So the two of them set off on a journey for Leauchaud, booking passage on a merchant ship. Well it isn't too long before their ship is besieged by pirates, and Mrs. Waverly and John must join the band of rogues. So begins their adventure filled with naval battles, shipwrecks, voodoo, sharks and a deserted island.

Baker has written a really fun adventure story populated with great characters who hit all the right notes. The pacing is brisk, and the action just keeps steadily coming in waves as Mrs. Waverly and John must overcome all types of obstacles in their search for the treasure. There is nothing groundbreaking here, nor is that the intent of Baker. This is pure entertainment, and in this manner, the novella succeeds remarkably. Even though the ending can be seen from miles away, I didn't feel this hurt the story. It was the journey getting to the conclusion, more than the ending that mattered.

Last Word:

"Or Else My Lady Keeps the Key" is a great little pirate story filled with all the requisite elements one would expect from such a story. Also, this limited edition novella is absolutely gorgeous, which isn't surprising since it's published by Subterranean Press. So if you are searching for a fun and entertaining pirate story that will give you an afternoon of adventure, grab your cutlass, chuck off the yoke of everyday life, and set sail with "Or Else My Lady Keeps the Key".

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A fun but uneven pirate romp, May 21, 2008

By 

S - See all my reviews

This review is from: Or Else My Lady Keeps the Key (Hardcover)

More or less a straight historical novel, Kage Baker's newest book is an odd bird compared to the Company novels that have won her so many fans. Set in the Caribbean during the golden age of piracy, "Or Else My Lady Keeps the Key" follows the reluctant adventures of ex-pirate John James, whose plans to take up his former trade as a bricklayer await the fulfillment of a comrade's deathbed request. In carrying out this last task before returning "civilian" life, he's tempted into an increasingly frustrating last mission, and finds himself moving from one unlucky encounter to the next. Along the way, James accumulates a series of colorful companions who both aid and complicate his quest. The book is written straight, its frequent humor kept strictly tongue-in-cheek.

I wanted to like this more. The Company novels range from really entertaining to truly wonderful, and Baker's short fiction is excellent as well. "Or Else My Lady Keeps the Key", though, seems to lack the spark of her other work. John James is likable and competent, though it's frustrating to see him miss an obvious recurring stumbling block which becomes a tedious element. There's a touch of the supernatural that seems out of place, particularly combined with a character whose beliefs, though admirable, seem quite anachronistic. Set against the other characters' soundly "period" viewpoints, it's even more jarring. James's companions suffer somewhat from stock characterizations - a bookish type who, thrust into adversity, finds himself embracing the buccaneer lifestyle, and so forth.

The book is short - I read it in an evening - and enjoyable, but slight stuff compared to Baker's usual quality output. It's worthwhile for Baker completists, but there's better, more original, pirate fare elsewhere.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Just the Right Thing for a Summer Read, August 3, 2009

By 

Colorado Cupcake (Colorado) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Or Else My Lady Keeps the Key (Hardcover)

Or Else MY lady Keeps the Key is the first, but certainly not the last, Kage Baker novel that I will read. It's fun, interesting and ligt enough for a good evening's reading pleasure.