Customer Reviews

Silver: My Own Tale as Written by Me with a Goodly Amount of Murder

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Edward Chupack's Silver takes place long after the adventure on Treasure Island. Long John Silver has been captured, and is confined to his cabin, bound on his own Linda Maria to England and the hangman's noose. Ever the narcissistic rouge, he drafts his memoirs as an address to the Maria's new captain, a former hearty of Silver's. Chupack's novel (as it is written in the moment) takes place entirely in Silver's cabin - he never speaks directly with the captain, just the cabin boy Mollett as he brings Silver his daily meals and Silver sends him back with the pages of this memoir, subtitled "My Own Tale as Written by Me with a Goodly Amount of Murder." And Silver does tell of murder, as well as the sea, and the men he has met, and the treasure he has found, lost, and finally reclaimed and hidden.

Chupack's depiction of Long John Silver is clever and consistent. He has a strong voice that never wavers through the telling of his story. Chupack also succeeds in preserving the somewhat romantic qualities of pirate life - the freedom, the honor among thieves, the glory of the open seas. Even though the body count resides somewhere in the triple digits by the end of Silver's tale, it should be noted that the violence is not graphic and is often glossed over with something as simple as, "so I slit the tar's throat." The way Silver tells it, it's less like murder and more like an occupational hazard.

Despite the wit and charm of this book, I still feel there were a few weak spots. Early in his epistle to the Linda Maria's new captain, Silver condemns the fever that has started to grip him. What begins as a mere annoyance seems to become a real threat to his health, both physical and mental. He drifts frequently from his tale into self-absorbed rants and eventually hallucinations. At these points in the narrative, there is nothing much for the reader to do but soldier on, as there is little purpose or plot to follow. I was equally disengaged by the repetition of the clues leading to Silver's grand treasure. First the cipher means this, and then it means that, but it could perhaps mean something else altogether. Frankly, Chupack lost me in this wild goose chase, and I just floated through to the next spike in action.

I did find myself invested in the different vignettes Silver painted. I enjoyed reading how he came to be Long John Silver, and not just another boy living off the pity of others in Bristol. I enjoyed the many scenes aboard the Linda Maria as Silver moves from cook to captain, and the depiction of each of Silver's questionable mates. I also appreciated the subtle revelations near the end of the book, and how they tied so many pieces of Silver's history together.

I have read some complaints about Chupack's lack of loyalty to the Treasure Island story, but I was not affected by this in the least - probably because my only exposure to Treasure Island involves singing Muppets. If you are adamant about the two books being in harmony, then you might give pause before diving in to Silver. But if you can forgive some zigzags in plot and pace, and you enjoy a fun pirate tale, then this is certainly an enjoyable read.

Treasure Island is the pirate story to begin and end all pirate stories, and Long John Silver is the pirate to begin and end all pirates. But in Robert Louis Stevenson's fabulous tale, we learn very little about the black-hearted rogue at the center of the story, which focuses instead on the heroic adventures of young Jim Hawkins.

Edward Chupack sets out to tell Silver's tale, and Silver is a swashbuckling novel that suits a pirate through and through.

Silver is one of literature's great villains. But Stevenson and Chupack both could tell you he was no one-dimensional character; he has layers, and depth, and fathoms of fascinating history captured in the grime under his nails and on every bloody scar.

"My heart?" Silver tells his foe during a shipboard duel. "It ain't as big as a mustard seed."

He strides through this story larger than life, a pirate who could make a Blackbeard or Morgan eat his own heart for breakfast. And there is, of course, treasure, the grail to Silver's lifelong quest. Every ship he ransacks and burns is merely a step on the map to deciphering the clues and finding it.

There are weaknesses here, one of which is Chupack's decision to cull a few key figures from Treasure Island but discard the meat of the story. Most of Silver takes place long before Silver and Hawkins crossed paths, but once they do, the plot takes off in entirely different directions. And, while I understand Chupack's desire to create something new, I also question the wisdom of basing a novel on a book you then choose to ignore.

Silver also suffers from some repetitiveness and awkward randomness in narration that, while it suits the fevered state in which Silver recounts his past, can be a little prickly to get through.

The story, though, is a thrilling adventure, with enough swordplay and gunnery to sate even the bloodiest thirst.

by Tom Knapp, Rambles.(n e t) editor

I'm one of those people that has somehow made it through life without ever having read Treasure Island, so I have no idea whether having that literary experience would make one appreciate this book more or not. Chupack says in his author's note that he took Robert Louis Stevenson's characters, especially some of the minor ones, and changed their characters and situations, using Treasure Island as a starting point. Critical reviews have noted that is neither a sequel nor a retelling of that book. I can only approach this book as a stand-alone read, but on that basis this novel absolutely delivers and entertains.

The Silver of the title is, of course, Long John Silver, a murderous, treasure-hungry pirate who says of himself "I am the dog that bites the other dogs. What do I fear? I am John Silver, and I am more dog than man and more dog than dog." When we meet him he has been taken prisoner by an unknown person and locked in his quarters on his own ship, from where, battling a raging fever, he writes his memoirs and tells the boy who brings him food about his search for a very special treasure. Silver's memoirs cover his early life on the streets of Bristol, his being taken on board the pirate ship by Black John, and his life as a murdering pirate. But most of all, it covers Silver's search for the treasure of a lifetime and the treachery that goes along with it.

The story itself isn't a terribly deep one and gets repetitive at times, while the mystery is not one the reader will want to work too hard to solve on his or her own. It's the language that makes this book sing. I could open the book to any page and find something wonderful to quote. It's also the details about the pirating life and the world of the late 17th century, from London to Spain and all the way to the Carolinas that held my attention right down to the final word. The characters are fabulously drawn, from the ratlike Pew to the alcoholic Billy Bones to Edward the dandy to Solomon the Jew.

Chupack's Silver may be a murdering, thieving scoundrel, but he's a charming and intelligent one and I only hope that Chupack is not too busy being a 21st century pirate (i.e., a big corporate real estate lawyer) to write more books. And no... I don't know him. I'm a real Amazon reviewer and I read and loved this book.

After a relatively successful life as a pirate, Long John Silver has been caught and is being brought back to England under 24/7 watch to be hanged like the dirty dog he is. However, as he sails home a prisoner he may yet cheat the gallows as Long John is also extremely ill with a raging fever that could kill him before the noose does. Although sick, Long John has a tale to tell to pass time; at least that is what he says to his guard. However, long John has a hidden agenda with relating his saga; he hopes to con his young companion into freeing him in exchange for revealing where his treasure is buried as no one understands human greed better than this slick pirate.

As he behaved in TREASURE ISLAND, Silver retains that sly roguish genius while telling his life's tale to his guard yet plotting his escape. He is terrific seemingly several steps ahead of those who want him to hang. Jim Hawkins plays a role in Silver's "autobiography", but this is not a rehash of the Stevenson classic; instead it is a chutzpah expansion that Edward Chupack brilliantly makes his own fascinating pirate saga.

Harriet Klausner

This book takes on the rhythm of the high seas and carries the reader on for the ride. It is a lively, rollicking story and Chupack really captures the sound and feel of the times and the pirate way of life. I found it hard to put down - a wonderful reading adventure.

At times, this story of mayhem and plunder, treachery and murder moves along quickly. At other times, especially when it talks of treasure found though ciphers and symbols who meaning is obscure if not outright unknown, I found myself confused and lost. It was easy to put the book down and not want to pick it up again. However, once I realized there was a pattern after the order of "The Thousand and One Nights", I started ignoring the mystery of the treasure's location and focused on the stories that Long John used in an attempt to prolong his life. This was much as Scheherazade did.

Perhaps if I were more of a fan of Pirate stories my interest in finding the illusive treasure would be greater and more of the book of interest. As it is I can only give it three stars.

From the first page to the last, Silver held my interest by its lyrical character descriptions, humorous dialog, and insightful observations about human nature. The language and images of the book are at once funny and sharp-witted, as is Long John Silver himself.
Who would expect a tale of mayhem and murder to be first rate character study with a sense of humor? And a page turner! The treasure in this book is the narrative of Long John Silver as he matter-of-factly reveals his exploits as a pirate, and his relationships with his shipmates and others.
Is there adventure? Yes. Is there intrigue? Yes. Most of all there is an artfully written and appealing story. I would recommend Silver to any readers who enjoy literary descriptions, comic observations about human nature and a twist reminiscent of O'Henry.

This is the story of Long John Silver, the pirate captain, in Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island. The subtitle, "My Own Tale as Written by Me with a Goodly Amount of Murder," is an understatement. Silver knows nothing of his parents, and if they are lucky, they know nothing of him. He spends his early years living with an innkeeper in Bristol, England without a name, without a conscience, and without a soul, and that is before he meets pirate captain, Black John, and is taken aboard his ship.

Silver soon proves his worth. He cooks for Black John, he fights for Black Jack, and eventually he murders Black John. Once he becomes captain of the "Linda Maria," he sails the seven seas doing all the things that pirates do and doing it well. This is the pirate version of an adventure movie. Instead of bad guys driving fast cars, they are pirates sailing on fast ships who know how to get the job done, which includes capturing a ship, murdering all the crew, ransoming all those who can be ransomed, and killing all of those who can't.

Long John Silver, now a prisoner and suffering from a raging fever, is being transported back to England to be hanged. He has been given quill and ink to set down his exploits, and hopefully, in his delirium, to leave clues as to where his fabulous treasure lay hidden. Silver is written entirely in pirate language. It is one page after another of amusing dialog that keeps you from losing your lunch when you read about another bad guy being run through with a sword. The key to the story is the mystery of the ciphers and symbols, and although they are often dangled in front of you, they are never close enough to draw you in. The ciphers appear and then disappear for a couple of chapters, and, when they return, you are none the wiser, and back you go for more murder and mayhem.

This book is a good read because the writing itself is so clever. The ending has an interesting twist to it, one involving Stevenson's Jim Hawkins. As long as you do not place too much emphasis on decoding the ciphers and interpreting the symbols, you will enjoy this book, me hearties.

As a fan of pirate fiction, this book was dead on. Great characters, storytelling, dialogue and pace. It is certainly not an easy or fast read due to the "pirate speak" but definitely worth reading. I look forward to Chupak's next book.

I grew up reading pirate tales from Treasure Island to Coral Island. They inspired me and thrilled me. Long John Silver was the original pirate. I had forgotten much about that time of my youth in the '60s. Then along came Captain Jack Sparrow and his three outings that maybe was not highbrow enough for the critics, but guess what? I was thoroughly entertained. Then I read about this book. I was intrigued. This was a much more sophisticated life of the storied corsair. Chupak does a great job of recreating the life and times of a pirate, with authentic language, geoography, maritime backgound, and politics of piracy - remember, most were officially sanctioned. This book has inspired me to go back to the books of my youth. It's a rollicking tale - yes, it's pace is uneven but at the end of it you put it down and say "wow." I was thorougly immersed, and could almost smell the gunpowder - I was entertained!!