Gins Posted February 2, 2023 Author Share Posted February 2, 2023 So far I've had time for the prologue, and yeah, it was a ride! Quite a dark flavor of pirate adventure, compared to the works it inspired. I couldn't help but imagine Hurwood being played by Thomas Ian Griffith from Cobra Kai 😅 It's a thing I do, to see book characters as actors/designs I'm familiar with. Now I hope to find time for Chandagnac soon 😁 By the way I love how we have a collection of so many different versions of the book! Thanks for sharing, everyone! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gins Posted February 2, 2023 Author Share Posted February 2, 2023 (edited) *double post* Edited February 2, 2023 by Gins Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JuanCPin Posted February 3, 2023 Share Posted February 3, 2023 16 hours ago, Gins said: So far I've had time for the prologue, and yeah, it was a ride! Quite a dark flavor of pirate adventure, compared to the works it inspired. I couldn't help but imagine Hurwood being played by Thomas Ian Griffith from Cobra Kai 😅 It's a thing I do, to see book characters as actors/designs I'm familiar with. Now I hope to find time for Chandagnac soon 😁 By the way I love how we have a collection of so many different versions of the book! Thanks for sharing, everyone! I always imagined Hurwood with the face of Benjamin Franklin ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuigiHann Posted February 6, 2023 Share Posted February 6, 2023 So I did finish the first chapter. I was impressed by the efficiency of the setup, seemingly beginning in medias res with the characters on the ship already mildly familiar with each other. The narration filling in the details of the journey so far via Chandagnac's disinterested memories, just as they happen to cross his mind and intersect with his present thoughts and motivations, felt very organic. The detail of Captain Chaworth's insurance gambit was teased early enough to be intriguing, revealed just in time to feel tragic in itself, before it was then made largely moot by the captain's untimely death. Chandagnac's backstory as a puppeteer is introduced in a similarly gradual manner, and the imagery of both his actually improvised puppetry with the napkins, as well as his imagined self-puppetry during the swordfight, is quite charming. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Remi Posted February 6, 2023 Share Posted February 6, 2023 One issue I had with the book (which, from what I recall, loomed large in the prologue) was the plentiful use of nautical terms. Though I may just be showing my ignorance, I would've been lost without the built-in Kindle dictionary to look them up. Gripe aside, love how it gets straight into the meat, without an unnecessary amuse-bouche. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gins Posted February 6, 2023 Author Share Posted February 6, 2023 41 minutes ago, Remi said: One issue I had with the book (which, from what I recall, loomed large in the prologue) was the plentiful use of nautical terms. Though I may just be showing my ignorance, I would've been lost without the built-in Kindle dictionary to look them up. Gripe aside, love how it gets straight into the meat, without an unnecessary amuse-bouche. The Chums would love the flavor this gives to the story 😁 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Romão Posted February 6, 2023 Share Posted February 6, 2023 7 hours ago, Remi said: One issue I had with the book (which, from what I recall, loomed large in the prologue) was the plentiful use of nautical terms. Though I may just be showing my ignorance, I would've been lost without the built-in Kindle dictionary to look them up. Gripe aside, love how it gets straight into the meat, without an unnecessary amuse-bouche. The Portuguese edition includes a glossary for both the nautical terms and and the concepts and words related to vodun. Very helpful. This is the Portuguese edition, although the title translation is awful, it's simply titled Voodoo in the Caribbean: 1 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Romão Posted February 7, 2023 Share Posted February 7, 2023 I can try and translate the Vodun glossary and post it here, if that's something interesting to everyone. The nautical glossary would be much harder to translate, I'm afraid, as I would have to figure out the English translation of all the nautical terms 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JuanCPin Posted February 8, 2023 Share Posted February 8, 2023 On 2/7/2023 at 12:37 PM, Romão said: I can try and translate the Vodun glossary and post it here, if that's something interesting to everyone. The nautical glossary would be much harder to translate, I'm afraid, as I would have to figure out the English translation of all the nautical terms Papa Legba wants it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gins Posted February 9, 2023 Author Share Posted February 9, 2023 Chapter 2 is unlocked! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimeGentleman Posted February 9, 2023 Share Posted February 9, 2023 I just got around to starting the book today, so will hopefully get through the prologue and first two chapters quickly so I'm caught up! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gins Posted February 9, 2023 Author Share Posted February 9, 2023 4 hours ago, TimeGentleman said: I just got around to starting the book today, so will hopefully get through the prologue and first two chapters quickly so I'm caught up! Don't worry, I also got held up and have yet to finish ch 1 😁 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimeGentleman Posted February 10, 2023 Share Posted February 10, 2023 Gins, that is disgraceful. I myself have now read up to the end of chapter 2! And yeah, really enjoying it. The narrative is really unpredictable, there's great use of sounds and smells to conjure up an atmosphere, and it's fun spotting all the Monkey Island-ish touches like voodoo powders and cheerful almost childish bloodthirsty pirates. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gins Posted February 11, 2023 Author Share Posted February 11, 2023 On 2/10/2023 at 11:26 AM, TimeGentleman said: Gins, that is disgraceful. I myself have now read up to the end of chapter 2! And yeah, really enjoying it. The narrative is really unpredictable, there's great use of sounds and smells to conjure up an atmosphere, and it's fun spotting all the Monkey Island-ish touches like voodoo powders and cheerful almost childish bloodthirsty pirates. Caught up to chapter 1, chapter 2 is fortunately short. The writing really captivates, so the only reason I'm not reading faster is lack of time to do so I like how the pirates and their code are portrayed, and how the action is written, which is always quite hard to do with just words. Chandagnac starts out an action hero already, in spite of his background as a puppeteer, albeit reckless, instead of timid. But times were rough, and I like the concept of an entertainer putting that much effort into imitating reality, that he can basically DO the real thing. I wonder if a similar thing would be true, e.g. for animators of realistic combat in a video game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Romão Posted February 12, 2023 Share Posted February 12, 2023 Apologies for the delay, here is the translated Vodun glossary from the Portuguese edition. I tried to translate it as faithfully to original Portuguese as I could. The document, while not overly long, might work better if posted as a PDF attachment. On Stranger Tides - Vodun Glossary.pdf 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JuanCPin Posted February 13, 2023 Share Posted February 13, 2023 11 hours ago, Romão said: Apologies for the delay, here is the translated Vodun glossary from the Portuguese edition. I tried to translate it as faithfully to original Portuguese as I could. The document, while not overly long, might work better if posted as a PDF attachment. On Stranger Tides - Vodun Glossary.pdf 85.04 kB · 4 downloads Amazing! Obrigado Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gins Posted February 16, 2023 Author Share Posted February 16, 2023 Caught up with Chapter 2. Now I want a pot of sea water with chicken too. Nice introduction to the crew and getting Shandy familiar with them. The governor may have a few things in common with a certain H. T. Marley, who is also a governor. Or is he...? Welcome to Chapter 3! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimeGentleman Posted February 21, 2023 Share Posted February 21, 2023 Chapter 3 is fun - rather lusty! I like how the protagonist is slowly getting sucked into the pirate way of life while still not understanding the voodoo stuff yet. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gins Posted February 21, 2023 Author Share Posted February 21, 2023 8 hours ago, TimeGentleman said: Chapter 3 is fun - rather lusty! I like how the protagonist is slowly getting sucked into the pirate way of life while still not understanding the voodoo stuff yet. I too noticed in chapter 2 how he's adapting without much fuzz, almost as if it was his first day in a new job, albeit one he's sceptical about at first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gins Posted February 23, 2023 Author Share Posted February 23, 2023 Chapter 4 is unlocked! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gins Posted February 25, 2023 Author Share Posted February 25, 2023 Caught up with chapter 3, 4 is next. I liked this one, it really makes me feel the work, the way it's written, and like @TimeGentleman said, Jack's already between the worlds. I like the casual appearance of voodoo in a fight, teasing more to come. Makes me think that it does feature much more prominently than in Monkey Island, where Guybrush can perform some magic with instructions, but it ends there. He could have matured into a full "wizard" eventually, if the series had progressed in a different way after 2. Like, he seems to be a capable end user of voodoo but he never really shows interest in the deeper ends of it, despite its repeatedly proven usefulness to his ends. Back to Stranger Tides; The second famous historic pirate I recognize appears in chapter 3: Ann Bonny! I think I didn't catch it on my first read, and was focused mostly on Blackbeard. Now I'll pay much closer attention to who else might pop up. And with that, on to chapter 4 :] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gins Posted March 2, 2023 Author Share Posted March 2, 2023 Unfortunately no activity for Chapter 4? But here is #5 unlocked anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimeGentleman Posted March 2, 2023 Share Posted March 2, 2023 I got a bit behind as I'm currently addicted to the Wild Cards series so it's hard to tear myself away! But I'll be reading chapters 4 & 5 soon! I guess it's just us two still reading it..? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BaronGrackle Posted March 9, 2023 Share Posted March 9, 2023 I love that you started this! I read it years ago via library, but recently I got my own copy. Someday when I make my pilgrimage to Disneyland, I'm getting a picture of this book and my SMI case next to Lafitte's Anchor. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gins Posted March 9, 2023 Author Share Posted March 9, 2023 Today would be a new unlock but there isn't a lot of activity, as @TimeGentleman observed. Is anyone still reading, but just not commenting? We can also take a break if some busy folks want to catch up Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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