Call number
Genres
Publication
New York : Tor, 2007.
Pages
320
Description
It starts with a confession from a priest. His past has reached further back than what many would consider possible. Before he was a priest, he was the pirate Captain Cristofo, and before he was a pirate, he was just Chris, a boy living in a monastery in Cuba the day after tomorrow. One day Chris realizes that he is not meant for the monastery he has grown up in, and leaves. On the streets of Havana everything looks strange and out-of-date, but Chris is too busy trying to find his next meal and a safe place to sleep to contemplate the city's odd lack of modern conveniences. He finds that this world is a much harder one than the one he remembers; it's a place where people steal, lie, and cheat. Where slaves are sold at auction, and the Spanish, French, and English are all battling for supremacy. When Chris is offered the opportunity to work on a ship in exchange for food and a small bit of money, he takes it, and thus begins his life as a pirate. People die, treasures are found, women are taken captive, and crews rebel. Gene Wolfe is a masterful storyteller, and inPirate Freedom, he uses his customary vision to invite us into the captivating world of pirates, their lives, and their adventures.… (more)
Awards
Locus Award (Finalist — Fantasy Novel — 2008)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2007-11
Physical description
320 p.; 9.4 inches
ISBN
9780765318787
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User reviews
LibraryThing member gimble
Rambling story of Chris who was sent to a parish school in post communist Cuba, only to end up a pirate in the Caribbean far from the time he started out in. This story is very hard to get into but after trudging through more than half the book it gets interesting. The book is written as if it was
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a journal of a man making a confession so it tends to follow a stream of thought rambling nature, this can be very perturbing when good parts of the book are interrupted by moral commentary. If you are looking for sea action as in Patrick O'Brian books, you won’t find it; this book ends up being more of a love story than anything else. Show Less
LibraryThing member Jim53
Gene Wolfe's latest single-volume novel reflects his ongoing interests in time travel, subjectivity, morality, Catholicism,
and other themes that he has explored before. In Pirate Freedom, a boy named Chris leaves a monastery school in twenty-first century Cuba and finds himself thrown back in time
When Chris first leaves the monastery, he does not realize that he is in a different time. As he experiences the new world, he realizes that something is different, and eventually he figures out that "the years no longer start with twenty as they should." He signs onto a merchant ship as a way of making a living, and experiences the cruelties of that life. When his ship is captured by pirates, he initially refuses to become a pirate, but eventually he does, and soon becomes a captain.
As a pirate, Chris makes use of his mental quickness and polyglot capabilities. At times, when he hints at things he is about to tell us, he reminds us sharply of Silk, Horn, or Severian, protagonists of Wolfe's classic Sun novels. He struggles with the way pirates live and treat others; he points out to us that pirates treat one another on their ships much less violently than the captains of merchant ships treat
their crews. Wolfe explains about different types of ships and boats that were used duting that period, showing his usual interest in historical accuracy and his engineer's delight in how things work.
During his pirate career, Chris falls in love with Novia, whom he keeps with him throughout the story. He joins forces with Captain Bram Burt, becoming one of several pirate ship captains in Burt's fleet and advising him on military and sailing matters. He experiences and relates moments of bliss while sailing, watching the moon set, visiting primitive islands. He hears the voice of God. He interrupts his story with accounts of his doings as a twentieth-century priest and his longing to return to his prior life. These interruptions occur more frequently as the novel progresses. Finally, out in a boat alone during a storm, he is capsized and rescued by a boat with a radio, signifying that he has returned to the time of his origin.
As with any Wolfe novel, careful reading is called for, and things are not always made clear. Questions abound, such as, What is the significance of the title? How does Chris really square his "career" with his desire to love God, and his recognition of his own sinfulness? How and why do the transfers in time happen? and many more. I'm looking forward to a re-read.
and other themes that he has explored before. In Pirate Freedom, a boy named Chris leaves a monastery school in twenty-first century Cuba and finds himself thrown back in time
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several centuries, to an age when pirates fought the Spanish navy for primacy in the Caribbean. We know little of Chris; he has a long, difficult-to-pronounce Italian last name, and we suspect his father is a Mafioso. Chris has somehow returned to our own time after his adventure, and has become a priest. He tells his story (another Wolfean first-person narrator, which raises the question of whether we can trust what he tells us) as a sort of confession, which he is delivering before he tries to return to the earlier age and the woman he loved there.When Chris first leaves the monastery, he does not realize that he is in a different time. As he experiences the new world, he realizes that something is different, and eventually he figures out that "the years no longer start with twenty as they should." He signs onto a merchant ship as a way of making a living, and experiences the cruelties of that life. When his ship is captured by pirates, he initially refuses to become a pirate, but eventually he does, and soon becomes a captain.
As a pirate, Chris makes use of his mental quickness and polyglot capabilities. At times, when he hints at things he is about to tell us, he reminds us sharply of Silk, Horn, or Severian, protagonists of Wolfe's classic Sun novels. He struggles with the way pirates live and treat others; he points out to us that pirates treat one another on their ships much less violently than the captains of merchant ships treat
their crews. Wolfe explains about different types of ships and boats that were used duting that period, showing his usual interest in historical accuracy and his engineer's delight in how things work.
During his pirate career, Chris falls in love with Novia, whom he keeps with him throughout the story. He joins forces with Captain Bram Burt, becoming one of several pirate ship captains in Burt's fleet and advising him on military and sailing matters. He experiences and relates moments of bliss while sailing, watching the moon set, visiting primitive islands. He hears the voice of God. He interrupts his story with accounts of his doings as a twentieth-century priest and his longing to return to his prior life. These interruptions occur more frequently as the novel progresses. Finally, out in a boat alone during a storm, he is capsized and rescued by a boat with a radio, signifying that he has returned to the time of his origin.
As with any Wolfe novel, careful reading is called for, and things are not always made clear. Questions abound, such as, What is the significance of the title? How does Chris really square his "career" with his desire to love God, and his recognition of his own sinfulness? How and why do the transfers in time happen? and many more. I'm looking forward to a re-read.
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LibraryThing member popejephei
"Pirate Freedom" was remarkably good; much like virtually everything Wolfe writes. Based on his past work Wolfe has set a staggeringly high bar for himself; I now expect anything written by him to be insightful, ingenious, surprising, delightfully cryptic, staggeringly well researched, and poetic
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to boot. "Pirate Freedom" didn't knock my socks off by these standards, but it still shines like a jewel in the muck. It leaves you with the same feeling you get when you put down the Arthur Miller you've been reading and pick up one by Shakespeare; the first is brilliant, but the second is unsurpassed. An only mildly surprising ending and a overly used conceit (time travel) only slightly detract here from a brilliant book about character, deductive reasoning, faith, God, moral choices and the astonishing moments all of our lives contain. "Pirate Freedom" made me think about divine judgement, human violence, and relations between the sexes in completely new and welcome ways. That's not something I would expect most books to do, but Wolfe is so consistently amazing that from him I now suspect nothing less. Show Less
LibraryThing member Homechicken
I started reading Pirate Freedom the other day, and it’s very different from most books I’ve read. Despite this (or perhaps due to it), I find it both interesting and engaging. I’m not even half way through the book yet, but can’t wait to pick it back up.
It’s about Chris, a priest, who
I highly recommend it, even though I’m not even finished with it yet. I find myself wanting to read other books by Gene Wolfe, although this is the first I’ve read of his works.
Since I wrote this, I've finished the book. Although the time travel is never explained, the book does have a happy ending. I'm intrigued by Wolfe now and will pursue other books by him. I would certainly recommend this book to anyone interested in pirates, time travel, or nautical-themed books.
It’s about Chris, a priest, who
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somehow finds himself transported back in time from his monastery in Cuba to the heyday of pirates in the Caribbean ocean. Chris finds himself becoming a pirate, and tries to reconcile it with his faith he grew up with. It’s written backwards, as a memoir after he returns, although (so far) the method of transport through time is not explained. The book seems to have plenty of action and is excellently researched and written.I highly recommend it, even though I’m not even finished with it yet. I find myself wanting to read other books by Gene Wolfe, although this is the first I’ve read of his works.
Since I wrote this, I've finished the book. Although the time travel is never explained, the book does have a happy ending. I'm intrigued by Wolfe now and will pursue other books by him. I would certainly recommend this book to anyone interested in pirates, time travel, or nautical-themed books.
Show Less
LibraryThing member SaintBrevity
Gene Wolf says to himself, "Self, I can write about pirates, properly researched and everything; why write anything else?"
Coming from an author legendary for the subtlety of his works, this book is a suspiciously straightforward story about a man mysteriously transported to the past, in which he
Coming from an author legendary for the subtlety of his works, this book is a suspiciously straightforward story about a man mysteriously transported to the past, in which he
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becomes a pirate and adventures ensue. Lots of fun, but a little awkward in the blocking occasionally. Show Less
LibraryThing member DCBlack
An interesting take on the pirate novel from Gene Wolfe. As other reviewers have mentioned, he recycles the narrative device from the Wizard-Knight in which the narrator recounts, in a conversational letter, events that occured after he was mysteriously transported to another time/place. In this
After signing on as a seaman aboard a Spanish merchant ship returning to Spain from Cuba, he learns the basics of navigation and seamanship. Later, while re-crossing the Atlantic aboard the same ship, he and the rest of the crew are captured by pirates. Eventually, the narrator becomes a pirate captain himself.
On the positive side, the novel is fast-paced, held my attention, and I was easily able to finish it in a few days. The main problem with the book is that Wolfe tries to cram too much action into the 300 pages, and thus much of it seems rather cursory. In particular, the climactic voyage around Cape Horn from the Atlantic to the Pacific is covered in just a few pages. Similarly the final battle with the double-crossing band of pirates is covered in little over a page. It almost seemed like the author was struggling to meet a deadline.
The other problem with having so much action packed into so few pages is that there is no room for descriptive passages to make the reader feel they are actually there. When I read nautical fiction, I want to hear the thunder of the sails flapping in a 40 knot gale, and feel the sting of the salt spray as waves crash across the bow. There was none of that here. In fact, the Carribean seemed remarkably placid, in terms of weather, during the narrator's time as a pirate.
Similarly there was almost no description of how the pirates looked, how they dressed, what they did in their spare time, etc. There was no room for character development, and so it was difficult to feel that these were real people.
I guess this review sounds more critical than I initially intended. This is Gene Wolfe after all, and even bad Wolfe is better than 80% of what is out there.
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case, the narrator is transported into the early 18th century Carribean, an era when Spain was the dominant sea power, and her ships plied the Atlantic bringing gold and other treasure from the New World. After signing on as a seaman aboard a Spanish merchant ship returning to Spain from Cuba, he learns the basics of navigation and seamanship. Later, while re-crossing the Atlantic aboard the same ship, he and the rest of the crew are captured by pirates. Eventually, the narrator becomes a pirate captain himself.
On the positive side, the novel is fast-paced, held my attention, and I was easily able to finish it in a few days. The main problem with the book is that Wolfe tries to cram too much action into the 300 pages, and thus much of it seems rather cursory. In particular, the climactic voyage around Cape Horn from the Atlantic to the Pacific is covered in just a few pages. Similarly the final battle with the double-crossing band of pirates is covered in little over a page. It almost seemed like the author was struggling to meet a deadline.
The other problem with having so much action packed into so few pages is that there is no room for descriptive passages to make the reader feel they are actually there. When I read nautical fiction, I want to hear the thunder of the sails flapping in a 40 knot gale, and feel the sting of the salt spray as waves crash across the bow. There was none of that here. In fact, the Carribean seemed remarkably placid, in terms of weather, during the narrator's time as a pirate.
Similarly there was almost no description of how the pirates looked, how they dressed, what they did in their spare time, etc. There was no room for character development, and so it was difficult to feel that these were real people.
I guess this review sounds more critical than I initially intended. This is Gene Wolfe after all, and even bad Wolfe is better than 80% of what is out there.
Show Less
LibraryThing member bookczuk
Fun to jump back into Gene Wolfe, even if part of his plot (published 2007) mimics my manuscript from 2004. I won't hold it against him.