Pirate Latitudes By Michael Crichton . Publisher Harper Collins (2009)
Book review by Manny N. de los Reyes

I was stunned when I first laid eyes on Pirate Latitudes as it stood proudly on the "New Releases" section of a bookstore-not so much for the book itself, but for the fact that the author was one "Michael Crichton."

Fans of the popular author who penned bestselling novels like Jurassic Park, The Great Train Robbery, Congo, Sphere, Timeline, and Disclosure (all of which were made into films), as well as the hit TV series ER, were saddened when he passed away in 2008 after a courageous yet largely private battle against cancer.v

According to the description on the book's back cover, Pirate Latitudes was discovered as a complete manuscript in Crichton's files soon after his death. We should all be thankful to whoever found those manuscripts-and of course to Crichton himself-as Latitudes is simply the best pure narrative he has ever written.

I refer to his last novel as a "pure narrative" because I tend to classify his later more technology-oriented works such as Jurassic Park, Prey, and Next as more like pop/quasi-sci-fi blockbusters.

Pirate Latitudes was written along the lines of The Great Train Robbery and Eaters of the Dead-Crichton narratives that rely purely on plot rather than sheer technological gee-wizardry.

And it is this plot-centered focus that brings out Crichton's story-telling best. There are no dinosaurs, aliens, or man-eating nanobots here. Not even undiscovered-and murderous- species of gorillas. Heck, there's not even a trace of a witty and lovable Captain Jack Sparrow-even if Latitudes is also about pirates of the Caribbean. What Latitudes does have is one Captain Charles Hunter. And for the British Captain Hunter, gold in Spanish hands is gold for the taking. Things start to get interesting when word gets out that a Spanish galleon loaded with treasure greater than any pirate (or "privateer," if you don't want to walk the plank for calling a pirate a pirate) has seen in recent memory is awaiting repairs in a distant harbor.

The catch? The harbor is protected by a Spanish stronghold, a fortress so heavily fortified and defended that only the craziest-and most daring-pirate will even think of attacking it. But crazy and daring Captain Hunter certainly is.

And therein starts a most intriguing story of how Hunter selected his crew, how he meticulously planned the attack and, without spoiling the ending, how he put those plans into swashbuckling action. Of course, things never go according to plan, and mixed with a classic tale of betrayal, a few odd twists and turns-and even a giant squid for that quintessential pirate lore-Latitudes becomes a Crichton page-turner of the highest order.

The action starts early and is fast-paced; the intrigue downright compelling. Like Jack Sparrow, Charles Hunter is the pirate in the story; yet he turns out to be the character you're rooting for as his Spanish protagonist turns out to be equally, if not even more, devious and cunning. Not to mention loads more cruel.

Latitudes is not as long or as detail-packed as Crichton's more recent works. But for anyone looking for an exhilarating weekend read (or if you're simply a Crichton fan), it delivers-and then some.