The Deathless Pirate King (Dragon Blood Pirates) by Dan Jerris
| The Deathless Pirate King (Dragon Blood Pirates) by Dan Jerris | |
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| Category: Confident Readers | |
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Reviewer: John Lloyd
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| Summary: A simple but breezy pirate adventure for the young Indiana Jones-spirited reader, with secret gems to discover and more. | |
| Buy? Yes | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 112 | Date: February 2011 |
| Publisher: Orchard books | |
| ISBN: 978-1408308233 | |
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Well, after a six-book series, Al and Jack the 21st-Century boys found an ancient, treasured sword and scabbard, but they and their magic are incomplete. Four special diamonds are who-knows-where, but the first just might be found when they try to reunite a lovely, kidnapped princess with her freedom and her family jewels. Standing in the way, a near-undead pirate with sharp blades at the toes of his shoes...
This will never win any major literature prizes but does make a good job of being pitched at the under-tens. The pace moves briskly on (almost, but not quite, too briskly for newcomers), and the plot establishes itself rapidly and clearly as to who's good and who's bad, with no greyness or doubt in the part Al and Jack must have in things.
More mature readers may scoff at the anaemic violence, where pirates running each other through with swords is couched in the least graphic way possible; and adult buyers will dislike this book only containing 84 large print, well-illustrated pages of this story - oh, and two whole chapters of the next in the series.
But I'm assuming the first six books have garnered a securely captive audience, and despite there being no 'free' stickers this time round, the action, with magical gems, hidden corridors and enchanted portals to lethal idols, will provide for an entertaining romp for those new to reading solo of brave buccaneering boys.
I must thank Orchard Books for my review copy.
More young pirates can be found with Custardly Wart: Pirate (Third Class) (History of Warts) by Alan MacDonald.
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You can read more book reviews or buy The Deathless Pirate King (Dragon Blood Pirates) by Dan Jerris at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
You can read more book reviews or buy The Deathless Pirate King (Dragon Blood Pirates) by Dan Jerris at Amazon.com.
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