Customer Reviews

Sisters of the Sea: Anne Bonny & Mary Read, Pirates of the Caribbean

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

 

 

As a child, I had always heard of pirates as savage, brutal, crude and cruel, especially the women pirates Anne Bonny and Mary Read. Riley's story brings these two to life like I had never imagined. The book is filled with action and as well details character stories as well, to the point where I was gripped with sympathy for them both. Riley doesn't spare any of the gritty details of the sex or violence, instead she's written a realistic tale that seems both well researched and well crafted. Many points during the book I was overwhelmed with the intensity of the storytelling... the imagery lingers long after I finished.

The saga of 18th-century pirates Anne Bonny and Mary Read is worthy of a big-budget film boasting an A-list cast and top-of-the-line special effects. However, if Sandra Riley's novel were used as the basis of a screenplay, we'd be looking at a B-movie treatment for which the majority of the buzz would undoubtedly focus on which hopeful starlet would be baring all as Bonny.

This is a pirate story, and thus above all else we have a right to expect plenty of cutlass-and-cannon action at sea. But Riley somehow managed to pen a tale in which most of the action passes by unnoticed. Instead, we get lots of stilted period speech and a great deal of grubby sex, including a voyeuristic peek at each girl's sexual awakening.

Riley certainly does a lot of character development in the novel, and she created elaborate backstories for her main characters. That much is to her credit. However, it's a shame she sacrificed the meat of the story: the excitement of piracy itself. Riley doesn't seem sure if she wanted to craft a romance or a pirate adventure, something she probably should have sorted out before she completed the text.

by Tom Knapp, Rambles.(net) editor

This was my favorite fictionalized account of Anne Bonney and Mary Reade ever. The author manages to do Johnny-Depp-style pirate humor, while not ignoring the actual history or the gruesome realities of pirates at the time. There are graphic and brutal depictions of slavery, poignant descriptions of interracial love, and hilarious pirate anecdotes. I fell in love with her Anne Bonney. I wanted to be her Mary Reade. She does take one historical liberty, relocating the career of a notorious pirate captain by 10 years. However, I forgive her that for her inclusion of almost every bit of the Bonney/Read legend, right down to pleading their bellies for a stay of execution and the final bitter words of Bonney to Jack Rackham, after he left her and Read to defend the ship alone. ("If you had fought like a man, you would not now hang like a dog." Brrr.) So, though I must add the obligatory caution about "historical fiction != history", the book really is rather good, and I will be chasing down some of Riley's other books.

I dont know how much research the author did before writing this book, but even with the sparse facts that do exist, it would have been possible to write a book that is both an interesting read and factual in terms of what is known.

Instead the author chose otherwise and I was highly dissapointed because of that. If your looking for a well done and factual novel based on the legend of Calico Jack, Anne Bonney and Mary Read, try James Nelson's "The Only Life That Mattered".

Note: Letter grades are given at the end of my review ranging from A (highest) to F (lowest).

To be fair, I was warned by other critics that Sisters of the Sea (Sandra Riley, 385 pages) was more about relationships and the emotional toll of piracy than bang! bang! bang! cannon fire! sort of action. That seemed promising at the time. However, Sisters of the Sea is plagued by wooden period speech, thoughtless adultery and a lack of direction.

For those of you unfamiliar with Anne Bonny and Mary Read, the female protagonists of the book, the first thing you should know is that they are actual historical figures and they were, in some respects, the first feminists of the world. The Anne and Mary we get in Sisters of the Sea, however, couldn't be depicted in a more sexist nature.
Riley seemed to feel the need to add new characters to the lives of Anne and Mary, mostly to Anne's. Sadly, however, Anne's new companions are all a means for her to get some more of her favorite vice: sex. Yes, I know that a pirate's life was full of lust and adultery. But when that adultery gets in the way of things like, say, the plot, you know you have trouble on your hands.

The true life story of these exceptional women are left smashed and empty in the corner, like a bottle of killdevil. Actual influential characters like James Bonny and Jack Rackham are pushed aside, left to subside on a few measly chapters at the end of the book, while Anne and Mary go off to have, yes, more sex.

Sisters of the Sea presents an interesting question on what place adultery really has in a pirate novel. I think there is a place for it, it just can't be allowed to overshadow other elements of the pirate life. The Only Life That Mattered: The Short and Merry Lives of Anne Bonny, Mary Read, and Calico Jack Rackam by James L. Nelson proves that it's possible. Let's just hope other authors pick up his formula soon, because Riley's effort is as shallow as a Caribbean tide pool. C-

I did love this book. Very detailed on the characters and everything. Anyone who has a interest in Anne Bonny, Mary Read, and Jack Rackham, I recommend this book. It's a good fiction and some fact, but good all in all.

This book was amazing. The imagery makes you believe that you are actually there, almost being able to hear the sound of the sea. I also loved the way Riley wrote the dialogue in the way that they would have talked during this time period. It just brought the story more to life. I would recomend this book to anyone, pirate lover or not. It made me laugh and cry and cringe. This is definitely one book that I don't believe that I will be able to get enough of.

If you like swashbuckling historical love books this is a good one to choose to read on a road trip or swinging from a hammock on the beach. The author takes you on a personal journey into the seperate lives of Anne and Mary then brings you all together for a fantastic voyage in the Caribbean complete with sword fights, politics and the ultimate punishment for pirating. The story was written so well that I was hardpressed to keep remembering this is based on real people and these events actually happended to them.