Buried for over 300 years and now brought triumphantly
to light by Dr Livesay, this is, at last, the true story of what happened on
the fateful Treasure Island…
The truth about Captain Flint and his fabled death.
The truth about Long John Silver and his coveted wife.
And the truth about Jim Hawkins, that double-dealing
turncoat of the first order: The traitor of Treasure Island.
John Drake
AUTHOR BIO
John Drake trained as a biochemist to
post-doctorate research level before realizing he was no good at science. His
working career was in the television department of ICI until 1999 when he
became a full-time writer. John’s hobby is muzzle-loading shooting, and his
interests are British history and British politics (as a spectator), plus
newspapers, TV news, and current affairs. He is married with a son and two
grandchildren.
If you are looking for an adventure story involving pirates and treasure, The Traitor of Treasure Island by John Drake, is that and more. A grand retelling of Stevenson’s Treasure Island that includes a fair portion of the original cast of characters. I found it to be a swash buckling good read!
At the opening of the story the reader is told of a seaman’s
chest, that was purchased by the author. It contained the journals of Dr.
Livesey, the ship’s physician aboard Hispaniola, the ship from the Treasure
Island expedition. The journals reveal the “true” story of what happened. Therefore,
it is no surprise that much of the story is told from the POV of Dr. Livesey.
Dr. Livesey gets involved with the expedition by being at
the wrong place at the right time. He has been frequenting the Admiral Benbow
inn because he is smitten by the wife of the owner. One evening a blind man
comes to the inn to find Billy Bones, a regular patron of the inn, and bring
him a dire warning. If seems that the infamous Captain Flint is not dead, as
what was previously thought, and is coming for Billy and the treasure map he is
hiding.
Dr. Livesey takes charge and sends for Squire Trelawney who
arrives at the inn, with a group of armed men, just as a fire fight with
Flint’s men is ending. Though Flint manages to slip away unharmed, the cat is
now out of the bag about the treasure and the Squire sets about purchasing a
ship and finding a crew to man her in order to recover the treasure. The Doctor
tries to discourage the expedition. However, the Squire insists on it saying he
is doing “for the thrill of it”. So ensues the adventure!
This is truly an action and adventure novel. It is totally
plot driven, and for those that read my reviews regularly know that I prefer
books that are character driven. Not surprising, the plot moves very quickly
and the character development is somewhat lacking. I am actually a little
surprised how much I enjoyed this book even without the character development I
crave. Just goes to show a well written story can overcome other short comings.
As I mentioned above, the character development is lacking.
The only character that got the attention deserved was Dr. Livesey. I
understood him and his motives well. I saw his devotion to Charlotte and his
distaste for her son Jim. I can’t say that for the rest of the characters. It
is important to me to understand why a character does something in a story. I
hate to be left scratching my head wondering why the heck did he/she do that?
While this was not my favorite style of writing, the story
is really good. Don’t let my comments on character development deter you from reading
this one. If you love action and adventure stories this is a must read for you.
In addition, the quality of the story and the obvious research that went into
getting the historical and nautical history correct will also appeal to readers
of historical novels.
I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange
for my honest review.
