More pirate flag-waving by Running Wild
590865
Running Wild have found a great formula and are milking it for all it's worth.  They introduced their pirate "vision" in Under Jolly Roger, and have not looked back since. What can you say about the band?  The music has a tendency of sounding samey, but it is highly enjoyable.  It  is anthemic and it sweeps one off one's feet.  I own three albums, this  one, Black Hand Inn and Death or Glory.  There is little to differentiate  the music between them, all three are good.  But Pile of Skulls is a bit  stronger in my opinion because a few songs are absolutely great. Personal  favorites: Sinister Eyes (best RW song), Whirlwind (sounds just like the  title), and Lead or Gold (great fistwaver). You may not need to own every  RW song out there, but if you are a metal fan, you should own at least one,  and Pile of Skulls would be my choice.
1479979
The hilarious adventures of Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III continue as Hiccup and Fishlegs accidentally board a Roman ship during Pirate Training exercises.
3752309
A book that will set your heart racing with its high stakes, seafaring adventure! Reading this pirate romp was so much fun, and I think fans of "Daughter of the Pirate King" will enjoy this book.

Caro has spent her entire life on the river with her wherryman father, transporting and smuggling things throughout the interconnecting waterways. When her father is captured for smuggling, Caro bargains for his freedom by agreeing to deliver mysterious cargo. When she discovers pirates are after this cargo and will stop at nothing to retrieve it, she embarks on a cat-and-mouse chase along the river and uncovers dangerous secrets about herself and others.

I love the nonstop action of this book. There is never a dull moment, and I love the pacing of the story. Tolcser's writing is fair, but her true strengthen lies in her main character. She does such a great job building a strong, female main character while also clearly baring her insecurities and fears to us in such a humane fashion. You can't help but love Caro, her stubbornness and bravery while also sympathizing for her and her self doubt. I loved the growth we saw in Caro throughout this book, and I love her attitude and demeanor and how it shifts to the end of the book.

I also really liked the world that Tolcser created. An empire past its former glory, chipped apart as cities and regions secede. Waterways cutting through the land mass like ribbons. Trade and smuggling, both booming industries. The introduction of gods that speak to chosen people. There is so much potential here, and Tolcser did a great job describing and introducing these concepts into her fictional world.

This book includes a classic hate-to-love relationship, and I am so here for it! The banter is hilarious, and I already like where this ship is going. I'm also a fan of the parental relationship with Caro in this book. It's different from most books that I've read, but I love Caro's parents devotion to her and how they constantly surprise her in this book.

I did have some problems with "Song of the Current" though. So much of this book is so easy to guess. I hated the predictability because it really spoiled my enjoyment over some of the revelation scenes. I can thinking of at least three significant moments off the top of my head that I correctly guessed ahead of time. It really diminished parts of the plot for me. I also got lost in the ship terminology, and I felt like maybe a tad too much time was spent wrapped up in the world of ship vernacular.

Overall I did like this book, and I will most likely read the second book in this two-book series.
792090
In his seventh Cotton Malone outing, Berry has brought his hero somewhere he's not really been before in the series - back to the United States. Instead of travelling around Europe, Asia and the Middle East, Malone is thrust into an attempted presidential assassination and the centuries long pursuit of a group of privateers to prove their legitimacy and immunity from criminal prosecution. As with most of Malone's adventures, the reader is thrust into action in the first chapter and the pace never lets up. By now Berry's formula is tried and true - thrust Malone, and often Cassiopeia Vitt, into a high stakes battle involving historical artifacts racing against time and others who wish to gain access to the object for usually nefarious plans. The formula works and makes for a series of enjoyable reads, and his latest does not disappoint.

This time a set of privateer families, whose members for over two hundred years have engaged in piracy, both on the seas and financially, under the sanction of the United States government. Or so they claim, for the official records sanctioning their actions were removed and hidden by President Andrew Jackson, their location encrypted by a cipher created by Thomas Jefferson that had yet to be broken. In the intervening centuries they have worked to repel any attempts to bring the Commonwealth to justice, going so far as to engineer assassinations of four U.S. Presidents: Lincoln, Garfield, McKinley and Kennedy. A fifth president finds himself in their crosshairs when he begins pushing to bring the Commonwealth's members to justice. Is it this assassination that Malone happens to foil. Or was he maneuvered in to prevent the deed?

The race is on and Malone finds himself paced by two others: one working for the Commonwealth; another working for a secret intelligence agency head who has her eyes on replacing Malone's old unit, the Magellan Billet.  To this Malone is racing in order to find the papers hidden by President Jackson and save his friend and ex-boss Stephanie Nelle. It is a three way race from Washington, D.C. to Jefferson's Monticello to windswept islands off Nova Scotia and finally to Bath, North Carolina - home to the Commonwealth for two hundred years.

The story bounces back and forth between Malone, Vitt, Quentin Hale of the Commonwealth, Clifford Knox, Quartermaster for the Commonwealth who is in pursuit of the code and documents for the Commonwealth and Jonathan Wyatt, an old enemy of Malone's from his Billet days who is now also racing to retrieve the documents for another agency rivaling the Billet. The book flows well and is an excellent smooth read, better than his last outing on the Emperor's Tomb. Once started, the book grabs you and keeps you going. The twists and turns of cross and double cross could get a bit tiresome in the story, adding additional layers onto an already good story, and the ending does leave an opening for a future return of one of the nefarious players. An excellent beach read, especially as we embark on summer in these United States.
4816972
Arrrrghhh! This tale brought out the nasty, mean, ugly side of pirateering. Some really great action sequences that helped you appreciate just how difficult and bloody this lifestyle could be.

As with much pirate lore, it is a bit shocking how sudden the deaths are. The author did a great job of painting a picture of life at sea with many of its pitfalls (or literally falls into the briny depths with shark fins).

The read moves right along at a satisfying clip. A few of the situations seemed a bit contrived, but many of them didn't, which was good. Terrific tension and action!

This would make a really good Indiana Jones style movie!

(possible spoiler)

The main pirate, Bloodbeard, was definitely an awesome picture of an evil pirate Captain. John is a basically good kid who has to get thrown into a pirate's life right up close to this evil man.

Rollicking adventure, much death, treasure maps, sea battles, and he even gets to meet a girl named Isabella along the way.

The father-son relationship in the midst of a fallen world is explored here. The addition of the Parson, and his wisdom in situations added much depth to the tale.
534227
Great pirate story with shipwrecks, romance and fighting.  Female pirate badass against the rest!  Very smooth flow of words in this story.
2445737
Bawdy, rude, violent and funny; it is the essence of pirates. I can't help but smile listening to some songs.
3380760
A pirate captain with a crew of pirates looking to give up their wayward life and settle down; a ship of female convicts bound for Australia and shepherded by a crusading English lady; a not-so-bright idea by said pirate captain of capturing the female convicts and providing brides for his crew - all together a recipe for disaster. Or so some would think.

I enjoyed this story for its escapism mostly. I didn't find it overly romantic in spite of the fact that said Captain Horn spent a lot of his time shirtless. It seemed strange to me that any pirate, even one trying to woo a female convict, would put aside his gruff ways and court said female convict(s). The heroine, Miss Sara Willis, was a bit too demanding for my tastes. She seemed to keep wanting more and more concessions before she would acquiese to the Captain.

A nice change of pace, though, from the usual swashbuckler or Regency period romance.
1775317
Just as the previous two installations, this one continues with the exciting naval and marine action as Ensign Stone thinks outside the box and leads humans, drascos, and piglets against their Hyrocanian foes. I am beginning to suspect that there is another enemy lurking in the background, so I'm confident that there will be more to the story. OO-rah!
1736503
Im pretty sure pirates played this game. Its a bluffing game, couldn't be simpler to learn, but involves poker-like strategy. So fun!
2258874
The flag is holding up great so far, and we have a lot of wind. Color is staying bright also.
390347
I play Blackflag just to sail around and listen to the Shanties. This is probably my second favorite part of the game
336304
Well I'm impressed.  Great action with Tommy Carmillini and Jake Grafton.  The Somali pirates are shown for what they are, combined with White House micromanagement missteps (Is anyone surprised?)
430100
I like playing games with my grandchildren; we all had fun with this game.

The object of the 'Sail the Seas' game is to collect the most coins by keeping the pirates from falling off the ship.
 Each player draws a Tips card & an Ahoy card, then flips the cards over, & connects them (like two puzzle pieces). Together the cards are called a treasure map.
The player places the pirate pictured on the treasure map anywhere on the ship (choices are the deck, sails, or crow's nest).
Then the player slides the sea board that appears on the treasure map through the slot under the ship & out the other side trying to keep the pirate/s from falling off the ship. (Sea board choices are Fair Winds, Storm's a-Brewin, Rough Seas, and Calm Seas).
The sea board  rocks the boat back and forth as the board is being pushed  under the ship. Of course the rougher the sea, the more the boat rocks.
After the sea board is completely removed, the player takes one coin for each pirate  still on the ship.
The pirates are left on the ship for the next player.
The pirates that fell off and the used treasure map tiles are set aside.
Play ends when the coins are all gone or all the treasure map tiles have been played.
The player with the most coins wins.
The game  averages 10-15 minutes long.

'Pirate Power' is another game which can be played.
The object of Pirate Power is to keep as many pirates on the ship as possible on each turn.
Game play begins by balancing all the pirates on the ship. Two tiles are drawn, & connected.
Then the player removes the pirate shown on his treasure map trying to keep all the other pirates from falling off the ship.
Then the correct sea board is slid under the ship.
The player takes one coin for each pirate still on the ship.
The next player begins with all the pirates on the ship.
Play continues until all the coins are gone or all the tiles have been played.
The player with the most coins wins.
The game averages 5-10 minutes long.

Instructions for additional activities - 'Extension Activities' - involve counting, observation skills, sorting, and balancing. Even a solo play challenge is included.

We enjoy playing games with our grandkids & try to have a weekly game night. Our grandchildren, ages 4 & 5,  have good problem solving skills and are very observant. I can only assume that game night has played a part in sharpening their skills.

This game is made of quality materials. I expect it to last a very long time.
1057936
This collection would be worth the price for the movie Against All Flags.  The others are icing on the cake.  Buccaneer's Girl features Yvonne DeCarlo as a singer in New Orleans who has to free her pirate friend from prison.  See why she was called queen of the B-movies.  Yankee Buccaneer has a really good cast featuring Jeff Chandler, David Janssen and Scott Brady.  The real jewel here though is Against All Flags.  Imagine the pairing of Errol Flynn and Maureen O'Hara, as a pirate herself, in a film that has action, humor and romance.  Anthony Quinn plays a villanous pirate himself in this fun and entertaining film that has been hidden far too long.
2869473
This CD was recorded live aboard the 1897 schooner "Wawona". The songs on this CD are done with such energy and feeling that you can almost smell the salt air. There are fighting songs ,"Follow Me Up to  Carlow", that makes you want to enlist. Sea shanties, "Roll  Down", "One More Pull", that make you want to sign on.  Drinking songs, "Whiskey in the Jar", and a couple of touching  numbers such as "Fields of Athenry", and "Leave Her,  Johnny", and a traditional song like "House Carpenter".  Included in the selections on this CD is "Barrett's Privateers" a  good sea song from the late and great Stan Rogers. This group's blending of  voice and instrument makes for over an hour of enjoyable entertainment.  Just set the sails crab the tiller and sail away.
1558057
Lots of facts about how the pirates were really like.