 Editor in Chief Bill   | 06 Apr 2015 6:47 p.m. PST |
What are the top five books you were recommend to someone getting interested in pirate gaming? |
| Chris Palmer | 06 Apr 2015 6:57 p.m. PST |
Number one has to be "Pyrates" by George MacDonald Fraser. :)
Number two would be "Treasure Island" by RLS |
 miniMo  | 06 Apr 2015 7:15 p.m. PST |
Lots of folks here get cranky about pirated gaming stuff….
=^,^=
On Stranger Tides, Tim Powers |
 PaulCollins | 06 Apr 2015 7:15 p.m. PST |
Fiction wise…Black Vulmea's Vengance by Robert E Howard as well as the two that Chris recommended. History of pirates wise…Under the Black Flag: The Romance and Reality of Life Among the Pirates by David Cordingly. |
| Pictors Studio | 06 Apr 2015 7:19 p.m. PST |
I'm a little biased, but I would go with USS Lincoln. |
| 53Punisher | 06 Apr 2015 7:26 p.m. PST |
I agree with Under The Black Flag. Great book. |
| PaulCollins | 06 Apr 2015 7:34 p.m. PST |
Oh yeah, I liked On Stranger Tides too. Much better than the movie that it leant its name to. |
| Coelacanth | 06 Apr 2015 8:01 p.m. PST |
If any good has come from Disney's latest pirate film, it is that Tim Powers' On Stranger Tides is now widely available in print. I thought it was tip-top, don't be fooled by the movie. Rafael Sabatini's books may still be in print. I know that I found a paperback edition of Captain Blood a few years ago, at the height of the pirate craze. Sabatini was a contemporary of Edgar Rice Burroughs (almost precisely; both were born in 1875, and both died in 1950!) but to me he is a much superior prose stylist. I second Cordingly's Under the Black Flag. it is the best general history of the pirates since… I don't know, it will come to me. Ron |
| War In 15MM | 06 Apr 2015 8:07 p.m. PST |
I'm a big fan of Treasure Island… great read. When I put my pirate collection together my main text reference was Pirates, Terror on the High Seas by Angus Konstam (Osprey Publishing). I would also suggest that if someone wants a real feel for what a pirate game can be they should look at Wingnut's website Fist Full of Seamen… a wonderful collection. |
 Parzival | 06 Apr 2015 8:48 p.m. PST |
Treasure Island
Captain Blood
The Sea Hawk
The Dark Frigate
Under the Black Flag |
| William Warner | 06 Apr 2015 10:37 p.m. PST |
The Buccaneers of America by A. O. Exquemelin is my favorite contemporary account. |
| Londonplod | 07 Apr 2015 2:24 a.m. PST |
The Time Life pirate book is worth a look and is full of illustrations. |
| FusilierDan | 07 Apr 2015 4:00 a.m. PST |
Empire of Blue Water by Talty. |
| nevals | 07 Apr 2015 5:56 a.m. PST |
The Republic of Pirates: Being the True and Surprising Story of the Caribbean Pirates and the Man Who Brought Them Down by Colin Woodard.Nonfiction. |
| boy wundyr x | 07 Apr 2015 6:51 a.m. PST |
Old school, but I also like the mysterious Captain Johnson's "A General History of the Robberies and Murders of the most notorious Pyrates". |
| Jakar Nilson | 07 Apr 2015 7:45 a.m. PST |
Second for Captain Johnson's "A General History of the Robberies and Murders of the most notorious Pyrates" |
| AonghusONia | 07 Apr 2015 7:57 a.m. PST |
I really enjoyed The Republic of Pirates but Under The Black Flag wasn't bad too just not as good a read. |
| Gone Fishing | 07 Apr 2015 9:20 a.m. PST |
The best, hands down, is Treasure Island by RLS; he absolutely defined the genre, and every novel that comes after is written under its shadow. From settings to atmosphere to how pirates talk, he nailed it. Has anyone ever created a pirate remotely as memorable as Long John Silver? Pyrates by Fraser seems to sharply divide people, but I loved it! Unlike most, I had mixed feelings about On Stanger Tides--it was certainly better than the films, though! Parzival beat me to the punch, but The Dark Frigate tends to run a little under the radar, and it is one of the best written and gripping of all the pirate novels I've read. For history, Republic of Pirates and Under the Black Flag are both great places to start. If a Pirate I must Be is also a good read (on Bartholomew Roberts). |
| Pictors Studio | 07 Apr 2015 2:48 p.m. PST |
Speaking of pirate books you can listen to this: link |
| Frantic | 07 Apr 2015 4:35 p.m. PST |
The Sea Rover's Practice by Bennerson Little. Excellent resource that looks at piracy from a tactical point of view. |
| Henry Martini | 13 Apr 2015 6:43 p.m. PST |
I recommend 'The Memoirs of a Buccaneer: The Adventures and Amours of Louis Le Golif (Being a Wondrous and Unrepentant Account of the Prodigious Adventures and Amours of King Louis XIV's Loyal Servant LOUIS ADHEMAR TIMOTHEE LE GOLIF known for his singular wound as BORGNEFESSE, Captain of the Buccaneers, TOLD BY HIMSELF). The narrative starts in about 1660, when Le Golif would have been about 20, and spans about 25 years of outrageous and unlikely swashbuckling, fighting and wenching; but then, they say that truth is stranger than fiction. I acquired my copy many years ago from a second-hand bookshop for $4. USD |
