Product Description

Set in the 18th century's Golden Age of Piracy, THE REQUIEM SHARK is the tale of a young recruit, William Williams and his forced apprenticeship to Bartholomew Roberts, slaver turned pirate Captain. Enlisted first as a musician, then as the Captain's biographer, Williams learns to negotiate the seas of the Caribbean and West Africa recording their conflicts with the merchantmen and whores, tribesmen and soldiers that populated the ends of the known world. Influenced by shipmates, from the learned Dr Scudamore to Innocent, ex-slave and sole member of his own religion, Williams struggles to justify his own position within the Royal Fortune, as the British Navy hunt them down and the fanatical Captain Roberts drives the ship onwards to the ultimate prize - the mysterious treasure ship...Rich in historical detail and based upon the last years of the most successful pirate known to history, THE REQUIEM SHARK is a gripping adventure set in a brutal environment dominated by gold, disease and blood.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #59525 in Books
• Published on: 2000-07-06
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 368 pages

Review
'A vivid & authentic picture of life at sea that is second to none' D. MAIL 'Griffin records in prose of studied ease that is utterly his own. The narrative is almost flawless, but Griffin's language sings & surges like the sea ... One reads in a lifetime only a few first novels of rare quality - this is one' Ross Leckie, author HANNIBAL 'Fascinating research... A wonderfully original blend of pastiche & the raciest action writing you'll find anywhere.' - Julian Rathbone, author LAST ENGLISH KING

Ross Leckie, author HANNIBAL
'Griffin records in prose of studied ease that is utterly his own. The narrative is almost flawless'

Julian Rathbone, author LAST ENGLISH KING
'Fascinating research... A wonderfully original blend of pastiche & the raciest action writing you'll find anywhere.'

Customer Reviews

Original
So much historical fiction is dry, or overly serious which just makes it seem so distant and unapproachable. Griffin, on the other hand, has written a real world into existence, filled with the ups and downs that created routines,even odd routines, like those on board ships in the Eighteenth Century. What I'm trying to say is that this isn't just a bloody depiction of the depths of piracy and slavery, but it can be howlingly funny as well - constant displays of nonchalance during the extremity of experience that rang very real and reminded me of War memoirs from across the ages. This book also has one of those rare satisfying endings that concludes without contriving a thing.

Brutal
This is, in many ways, a brutal and bloody book, an extraordinary depiction of life at sea in the eighteenth century that takes the world of Patrick O'Brian and shows what would have happened if the ideals of honour and duty were replaced by greed and anarchy. This fine evocation of pirate life on the seas between West Africa and the Caribbean is saved from being stomach churning by a fine and wry sense of humour that seems to keep even the most savage of characters humane. It evokes a wince or two, some scenes bordering on the shocking, but the story is always engrossing and any book that can twist and squirm at its conclusion and still thoroughly satisfy, deserves to be read and reread.

Thrilling Pirate Adventure
Bartholomew Roberts,in his time the most feared (and most successful) Pirate Captain, and his crew chase a dream : the "Juliette", a ship of untold and magical riches. In its pursuit, they encounter lesser prey, wild and uncharted coasts and islands,scurvey and other hardships,spending their ill- gotten gains on women and rum . One day their ship will come and they will live happily ever after...History Buffs know how Bart Roberts and his men end. Griffin succeeds in painting a realistic picture of life aboard a 18th Century pirate ship and is especially skillful in imagining how the everyday casual brutality of life affects the minds of those on board. If you liked Barry Unsworth's "Sacred Hunger", you will enjoy this book.