On Stranger Tides by Tim Powers

So, while I am waiting for my copy of this book to arrive (move faster, Amazon) , I was wondering how many people have read this, the original inspiration of Monkey Island according to Ron Gilbert (and also mentioned as an inspiration for the upcoming Ghost Pirates of Vooju Island)...

Have you read it? Did you enjoy it?
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Comments

  • edited July 2009
    Read it and enjoyed it really a lot! Suggested reading for all MI fans :)

    (4/4 stars in my anobii library)
  • edited July 2009
    I read it last week. It really is great book, very engrossing, much more serious in tone than I was expecting. It reads much more as historical fiction than fantasy. The swamp sequence is just stunning
  • edited July 2009
    Darn it... why doesn't Romania import good books!?!?!
  • edited July 2009
    I'm on my second reading of it now. (The first time was about 2 years ago or so). It's a great book, and you can definitely see a lot of the influences of Monkey Island, but Treasure Island will always be my favorite in the pirate genre.


    Lorn
  • edited July 2009
    I have read it too.. Its a great book. There are definite themes similar to Monkey Island but I think people expecting a goofy story would be sort of disappointed. But people looking for a great Pirate story with a touch of magic this book is fantastic.

    Some other Pirate books I can recommend for the Monkey Island fan are

    The Pirates! in and adventure with scientists, and sequels
    by Gideon Defoe

    The Pyrates, by George Fraser

    Peter and the Star Catchers, and its sequels by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson, its a "childrens novel" but its pure fun.
  • edited July 2009
    I'm constantly reading this book. It's very good! Piratey and voodooy - very Monkey Island. You can really tell where the inspiration comes from.

    Although one problem, I always picture the scenes in the book in SMI style with Shandy as Guybrush. It's weird - anyone else do that?
  • edited July 2009
    you guys makes me want to order that book but i'm flat broke.
    I hate you all :mad:
  • edited July 2009
    No I picture Shandy as someone like Clive owen. Seems smart but gets pretty tough if pushed.
    you guys makes me want to order that book but i'm flat broke.
    I hate you all :mad:

    I literally bought my copy used from Amazon for $0.25 and shipping some time ago.... Now it seems that the book is priced really high on amazon and ebay... glad I bought it when I did.
  • edited July 2009
    Well, finally got my copy yesterday, so I will try to start reading it during the weekend...
  • edited July 2009
    Confession: I was semi-indifferent about Tim Powers despite all the wonderful things I'd heard about Declare. This novel may very well persuade me otherwise. The excerpt I read from Last Call a couple days ago wasn't exactly a deterrent, either.

    So thank you, thread, for making me aware of this book's existence! :D
  • edited July 2009
    I got it off www.bookfinder.com - awesome website- for like $3.00 and shipping. I haven't read it yet, bought a few weeks ago when I heard it inspired Monkey Island.
  • edited July 2009
    I ordered mine as soon as Ron wrote about it on his grumpygamer blog. Really good book and dark! Can definitely see some comparrisons between the Monkey island games and the book.
  • edited July 2009
    exciting! I will definitely try to find this!

    Any one got any more good piratey-book recommendations to pass the time until Chapter 2? Apart from Treasure Island, I haven't read much pirate-fiction.
  • edited December 2009
    I am currently reading Micheal Crichton's posthumous novel Pirate Latitudes... Reading it makes me sad that he has passed away and will not be giving us anymore fantastic books.. the guy was a brilliantly entertaining author.

    So far its great...
    the novel has a trailer LOL
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lJ5Fe_vHF8

    Oh and I read that Speilberg has bought the rights for a film adaptation... should be good.
  • BasBas
    edited December 2009
    What's Pirate Latitudes about? Apart from pirates. And latitudes.

    Also: the next Pirates of the Caribbean movie will be called On Stranger Tides and follow the basic plot of the book, which was expected after the way At World's End ended. I'm interested in seeing a movie adaptation of my favorite book, but I'm not quite so excited about seeing the characters replaced with characters from the PotC franchise.
  • edited December 2009
    Its about a Privateer Captain planning and executing raid on a Spanish stronghold rumored to have in its bay a Spanish treasure galleon holding a treasure of unimaginable wealth...

    I am still reading the beginning so he is just now trying to get a crew together...
  • edited December 2009
    I always forget to get my hands on a copy and now I REALLY NEED to

    because Disney bought the rights to the book.
    D:

    I don't read a lot of pirate fiction. I do own like over ten historical books on the subject though.
  • edited December 2009
    I've been wanting to read it. I can't find it in bookstores, but I'm still checking second hand bookshops whenever I can...
  • edited December 2009
    I was very, very disappointed in Pirate Latitutdes.

    I'm relatively certain it was still in the first or possibly second draft. Threads are set up that never go anywhere, and characters are introduced who seem to be important but aren't.

    The whole thing just reads unfinished and flat.

    After reading Pirate Latitudes, I wanted to wash the taste out of my mouth, so I finally broke down and ordered Flint and Silver off of Amazon. (By John Drake).

    Treasure Island is a particular favorite of mine - I make it a point to reread it every year.

    I've read just about every prequel and sequel to Treasure Island written...(with the exception of Porto Bello Good, which I've yet to get to).

    I held off on picking up Flint and Silver for a year or so...every review that I'd read mentioned that it was a very adult novel (for both violence and adult themes), and I wasn't confident that it would mesh with the original novel.

    After Pirate Latitudes, I knew I needed something better...so I ordered it.

    I never should have waited.

    For the first time, I feel that a worthy addition to Treasure Island has been written. I've enjoyed most of the other prequels and sequels, and filed them away as "alternate universe" stories, but never really part of the official canon.

    Flint and Silver *feels* like Robert Louis Stevenson to me, even if the novel is MUCH more adult than Treasure Island was.

    Some adaptations or additions try so hard to imitate the characters, that it's obvious that they're aping. The words coming out of Long Johns mouth in this novel FEEL like Long John.

    (It also has the benefit of being the first in a trilogy of prequels!)

    Even so, I've been reading this novel slowly...I want to savor every page.

    So...sorry for the threadjack...but for those looking for additional GOOD pirate literature, you can't go wrong with either On Stranger Tides or Flint and Silver. If it were me, I'd leave Pirate Latitudes on the shelf.


    Lorn
  • edited December 2009
    i need to get a copy of that book, maybe i can hint to my family to buy me it for my 25th birthday next month (i know im an old git lol)
  • edited December 2009
    After Pirates 4 comes out im sure it will be easy to find.... I own an old copy of OST and I love it dearly and have read it about three times.

    As for Pirate Latitudes I have not finished it but I enjoy it so far... but I do agree it probably was not a final draft... seeing as how it was found on his computer after his death.
  • BasBas
    edited December 2009
    So...sorry for the threadjack...but for those looking for additional GOOD pirate literature, you can't go wrong with either On Stranger Tides or Flint and Silver. If it were me, I'd leave Pirate Latitudes on the shelf.

    Interesting stuff. I also read Treasure Island at least once a year, but I never really bothered with all the sequels and prequels. I'll give Flint and Silver a shot, thanks for the suggestion!
  • edited December 2009
    You bet! If you find you like Flint and Silver, I'd also recommend "Silver: A Tale as Written by Me with a Goodly amount of Murder", by Ed Chupack.

    It's an "alternate universe" story, and not a retelling of Treasure Island - but if you want to hear Long John raging and yarning his way through a fairly good tale (though perhaps one that goes on a bit too long), it's another favorite.


    Lorn
  • edited December 2009
    I read On Stranger Tides back when I read about it on Ron Gilbert's blog. Great book!

    The next PotC movie On Stranger Tides isn't directly based off the book, but they did option it for the title and similar plot elements. Good for Powers, I'm sure he got a nice chunk of change, but it sucks because it pretty much means we'll never get an actual OST movie.
  • edited December 2009
    i cant believe the new Pirates of the Carribean movie is subtitled "on Stranger tides" but it does mention on IMDB that its based off the novel of Tim Powers http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1298650/

    i wonder how it will turn out
  • edited December 2009
    Wolfstar27 wrote: »
    i cant believe the new Pirates of the Carribean movie is subtitled "on Stranger tides" but it does mention on IMDB that its based off the novel of Tim Powers http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1298650/

    i wonder how it will turn out

    Aye, Powers sold the film rights to Disney back in September. I can't see it being a faithful adaptation, the characters of Pirates of the Caribbean don't fit into the characters in the book very well. Jack Sparrow =/= Jack Shandy, Barbossa =/= Blackbeard. I have no doubt it will still be an amusing romp in any event.
  • edited December 2009
    Now that I think about it I bet after Pirates 4 comes out the original novel will be even harder to find... considering every search you do for it will come up as Pirates 4....

    I'm glad I got my copy for $0.25 a couple of years ago.
  • edited December 2009
    S@bre wrote: »
    Aye, Powers sold the film rights to Disney back in September. I can't see it being a faithful adaptation, the characters of Pirates of the Caribbean don't fit into the characters in the book very well. Jack Sparrow =/= Jack Shandy, Barbossa =/= Blackbeard.

    I disagree, but only so long as the film makers have a good long think about the book. My suggestion in an earlier thread was that
    Blackbeard will become Barbosa and Jack Sparrow's role will be carved out of Phil Davies and Skank. If, as I think people have assumed, Jack Shandy were to be replaced with Jack Sparrow you'd end up with a such a different story (since Sparrow's motiviations are hardly going to be the same as Shandy's) that it wouldnt have been worth laying out cash for the rights

    (Incidentally, "Pirate Latitudes" was clearly not a final draft. I'm not even sure that it was *intended* as a novel, as I read it I got the strong impression that Crichton was planning the story for use in a movie not as a book, but that he was prose-ing it out prior to working out his script)
  • edited January 2010
    I want this book... Hmmm.... To the bookstore! Err... Tomorrow.
  • edited January 2010
    I actually liked Pirate Latitudes a bunch definitely not his best work but certainly not a bad book at all. It had booze, Pirates, gore, explosions, nudity, murder and mayhem what more could you want in a pirate book?

    I am currently re-reading On Stranger Tides for about the 5th time.
  • edited January 2010
    Irishmile wrote: »
    I am currently re-reading On Stranger Tides for about the 5th time.

    Oooh me too!!
  • edited January 2010
    I've just finished OST, and I really like it. Although I rarely had the "problem" to picture the characters as the MI-cast, mostly because the book is quite serious. And I really loved the parts in the jungle, those gave me the chills!

    Regarding POTC4, I assume the major similarity to the book will be the search for the
    fountain of youth
    , which was hinted at at the end of POTC3.
  • edited January 2010
    I try to get that book now for.. I don't know how long but it is darn tricky to get the English version here in Germany... but I keep looking for it ^^
  • edited January 2010
    Funny story actually, after I read the forums and the Grumpy Gamer regarding MI being inspired by On Stranger Tides, I decided to head to the bookstore to snag myself a copy, when I went to the clerk and asked in which section I'd find it...this was basically the conversation:

    Me: Where can I find "On Stranger Tides"?
    Clerk: Hold on second and I'll check, are you looking for it because of that new PoTC movie?
    Me: Not really no.
    Clerk: (looks in computer) it's out of stock and they won't ship it to the store anytime soon....
    Me:With the new PoTC movie that's coming out soon, they'd probably ship it back to the store....
    Clerk: I hope so, I was really looking forward to getting the book.
    Me: Awesome! Are you into Pirates?
    Clerk: What do you think? (shows me the medallion from PoTC and a bunch of pirate tattoos) I also work part time as a pirate down by the pier (I live near the beach)
    Me: Wow. So have you played MI?
    Clerk: Heard of it, never played it.
    Me: Then I recommend playing MI, it's an awesome game about pirates.
    Clerk: Alright! I recommend (and here he began to list off all the pirate books titles for me in an almost pirate voice).

    And after that we parted our ways. Easily one of the coolest Clerks I've ever met.
    ...but yeah no luck so far finding it. :\
  • edited January 2010
    Easiest way to find the book is Marketplace sellers on Amazon.

    As far as the PotC movie goes, they've said it isn't directly based off the book, but since the movie will deal with Blackbeard and the fountain of youth, they figured they would option the book due to the similarities. Best way to look at it is that it's really only similar in title only, especially since the main storyline with Shandy and Whatsherface probably won't be in the movie (it's essentially the already-covered Will/Elizabeth story anyway, just better lol).

    The thing that really sucks is that it kills chances of an actual OST movie.
  • edited January 2010
    I don't know why people are having trouble finding OST. Amazon has it in stock.
    http://www.amazon.com/Stranger-Tides-Tim-Powers/dp/1930235321/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1264804790&sr=8-1
  • edited January 2010
    also
    http://search.barnesandnoble.com/On-Stranger-Tides/Tim-Powers/p/9780441626861

    also also here is what Tim Powers said about Disney using his book for POTC 4
    "I've watched all the movies several times, of course, and I think the clear thing they would use is the trip to the Fountain of Youth," Powers said. "My main character doesn't overlap with Jack Sparrow at all [in personality or circumstance]; they're totally different characters. I suppose they might overlap the Geoffrey Rush character Barbossa and Blackbeard. The only thing I feel certain they will hold on to is the Fountain of Youth since they telegraphed that at the end of the last movie."

    more can be found here
    http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/herocomplex/2009/10/surprised-author-tim-powers-finds-himself-setting-sail-with-pirates-of-the-caribbean-.html
  • edited February 2010
    Okay , I ordered and read the book now :-)

    And I love it :-)

    This is definitely one of the best books I have ever read.. and I read a lot of books :-)


    I have read on some German side about PotC 4 : On Stranger Tides...

    Apparently Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley won't appear in the new movie.
    This is fitting to OST since they need to introduce a complete new character for Shandy and Beth. Some with no pirate experience at alll.

    I can imagine that they will have Jack Sparrow take over the role of Phil Davies. The only Problem is that at the time Jack enters the story that Davies just gets his new ship..but I think they will handle it some way that he can keep the Pearl..

    In my opinion they simply have to introduce a new character as Blackbeard. There is no point in letting Barbossa do that.
    The question is just what to do with him..
    The only question is what they will do with him.. either they add a new role for Babossa or he will play some minor part.. e.g. Venners the rebelling (almost)quartermaster..

    Well. .. any ways I am curious how it will turn out..
    After the bad 3rd movie the need a good one.. and the script they got is a good one ^^
  • edited February 2010
    I had mine autographed! :) Still can't figure out how they're going to make a POTC movie out of it.
  • edited February 2010

    For the first time, I feel that a worthy addition to Treasure Island has been written. I've enjoyed most of the other prequels and sequels, and filed them away as "alternate universe" stories, but never really part of the official canon.


    Well, a really amazing book is "Long John Silver - The True and Eventful History of My Life of Liberty and Adventure As a Gentleman of Fortune", by Bjorn Larsson.

    It doesn't feel like Stevenson at all in fact... it feels like Silver himself, from whose pov is written ;)

    Highly recommended! :)
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