It is with a sense of sadness that I am reviewing Michael Crichton's Pirate Latitudes, because this is his last finished novel. After his passing in 2008 from throat cancer, the completed manuscript for this novel was found among his files. I don't think anyone knew he'd been writing this. While I did like the book, I have a feeling that it isn't the full version that Crichton intended for print.

The story is set around Jamaica shortly after the discovery of the New World during a time where various European countries were still fighting naval battles and establishing colonies. At the center of it all is a man named Charles Hunter who puts together a small crew of ruffians to go raid a Spanish settlement. Along the way, they get into a big naval battle and their assault turns into a rescue mission when they recover the kidnapped wife of a dignitary.

About the first fifty pages of this novel set up the location and all the politics involved, and it hints at a bigger problem growing in the city of Port Royal. The men that Hunter gathers aren't exactly the most reputable bunch, especially when they are informed of the true reason for their sailing out. Piracy was a crime punishable by death, even if their reason for taking on the Spanish was somewhat justified. This all makes for some interpersonal conflicts that help give some personality to the characters. None of them are fully developed beyond a few personal quirks, so it's like a pirate version of the Dirty Dozen.

When one thinks of pirates, especially now that the recent Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy of movies came out, you will mentally form a list of things typical of most pirate stories. I won't go so far as to say this book borrowed from those movies, because those movies borrowed plenty from pirate lore. From naval battles to busty women and cutthroat politicians to sea monsters, this book has it all. Perhaps a little too much for one novel, but it's still quite entertaining.

Crichton didn't hold back on the blood and guts with this one. There are probably a dozen people who get their heads blown off with pistols. Others are maimed or killed in various ways that are described in their full glory, including one guy who gets cut in half and rolls around the deck screaming while his legs flop around in front of him. This action-packed novel is definitely not for the squeamish.

I thought this book was a lot of fun, but it's pretty light reading. The hardcover is just over 300 pages long and includes lots of chapter breaks and white space, so it's a very quick read. The brevity of the story, plus the way some things happen in quick succession toward the end, make me think that Crichton intended for this to be something bigger. Perhaps he wrote a complete story with the intention of elaborating more on some parts, but his illness prevented him from finishing it. In short, it's still a good book, but not quite as detailed as I expected from a Michael Crichton novel.

Steven Spielberg is currently in the process of making a movie out of this book, and I think it'll make for a good one. The literary world has truly lost something special in Michael Crichton, and while Pirate Latitudes is certainly not his best work, it still remains a fun-filled adventure that proves Crichton wrote with his usual vigor all the way to the end.

Recommended: Yes