citrin@ucbvax.ARPA (Wayne Citrin) (12/10/84)
"The Pyrates" is not George MacDonald Fraser's worst book. That distinction goes to the deservedly little-known "Mr. American," his first and only attempt at a Gothic romance. On the other hand, it's certainly not up there with his "Flashman" series or the two hilarious volumes of McAuslan short stories. "Pyrates" is a parody of pirate novels and adventure films. It comes complete with all the necessary ingredients for the genre: a superhuman Errol Flynn-type hero, a roguish Clark Gable-like anti-hero, a number of pirates of various qualities, evil Spanish Dons, several love interests, buried treasure, dangerous natives; you name it, it's got it. It's written in the style of 19th century pirate novels and plotted in the style of Hollywood films of the thirties, and Fraser pulls out all of the stops with his elaborate prose. It starts promisingly enough, but Fraser unfortunately decided that topical 1980s anachronism would pass for humor. I mean the type of anachronism that has the heroine using Helena Rubenstein cosmetics and has the villainess walking around in leopard-skin track suits. This stuff is funny the first time it appears, but quickly loses its interest as Fraser keeps using it throughout the book. I would think that this genre would be rich enough for parody on its own. Anyway, besides this, the story moves along quickly enough, except for a few scenes that are repeated so many times that they become boring. I would recommend this book for fans of Fraser, but not for readers who are unfamiliar with his work. For them I would recommend "Flashman" and its six sequels. One of them is even a pirate novel of sorts: "Flashman's Lady." Wayne Citrin (ucbvax!citrin) P.S.: Are there any other Flashman fans out there? I'd be interested in finding out which volumes are their favorites. Mine are "Flashman at the Charge" and "Flashman in the Great Game."