Tuesday 28 May 2013

The Ghost Pirates by William Hope Hodgson

Official Blurb

The Ghost Pirates is a powerful account of a doomed and haunted ship on its last voyage, and of the terrible sea-devils (of quasi-human aspect, and perhaps the spirits of bygone buccaneers) that besiege it and finally drag it down to an unknown fate. With its command of maritime knowledge, and its clever selection of hints and incidents suggestive of latent horrors in nature, this book at times reaches enviable peaks of power.

My Review

This is a great story, read by a great narrator. The story is creepy and the authentic ship board terminology really helps to give the story a feeling of reality. It's set in the age of sail, on board  a ship that has a history of ghosts. But when a strange mist starts appearing and then ships appear and disappear a feeling of mistrust and fear is bread in the ship. When one of the able seamen seems to go mad the peril of the situation starts to come to light!

This story is told from the point of view of a single character trying to survive in a desperate situation. It feels very Lovecraftian, but without Lovecraft's mythos, and instead relying on the creepiness being achieved by a simple ghost story.

The audiobook is read by the marvelous Mark Nelson, who never disapoints.


Reading 3/3
Production 3/3
Story 3/3

Total Score 9/9

Download it from Librivox.


Listen to the first chapter.

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