A Tour of Tim Powers: On Stranger Tides

After the disappointment of Dinner at Deviant’s Palace I waited with muted anticipation for Tim Power’s next book; perhaps The Anubis Gates had been a fluke.  And then, two long years later, came On Stranger Tides, a book about pirates in the Caribbean that inspired the Monkey Island series of point-and-click adventure games as well as (much later) the fourth of Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean movies.

Like The Anubis Gates, On Stranger Tides riffs on actual historical figures and concerns what they were doing behind the scenes of history.  The action centers on a young man named John Chandagnac, who is traveling to Jamaica in search of his Uncle Sebastian, who did him out of his inheritance on John’s father’s death.  On the ship with him is a distinguished Oxford don named Hurwood and his beautiful daughter Beth.  John and Beth are just getting to know one another (rather to Hurwood’s discomfort) when the ship is attacked and carried away by pirates.  Hurwood and his daughter are taken captive, and John, re-christened “Jack Shandy”, is forced to join the pirates to save his life.

But all is not as it seems.   It develops that Hurwood is in cahoots with the pirates.  He’s been undertaking unusual studies since the death of his beloved wife, and has been acting strangely.  He’s seeking an ancient power in the wilds of Florida, and, given the low diet and other restrictions he’s placed on Beth, things Do Not Bode Well for our heroine.

Throw in some voodoo, buccaneer parties on the beach, and the disturbing figure of Edward Teach, Blackbeard, who twines burning strands of punk into his beard to drive off the ghosts that swarm about him since his visit to Florida, and you’ve got quite a ride ahead.

In short, we’re back in Anubis Gates territory; and I quite enjoyed renewing my acquaintance with the book, which I last read about fifteen years ago.  My verdict now is much the same as my verdict then: if you’ve read and enjoyed The Anubis Gates (or, if you’re really into pirates), then by all means read this one.  If not, well, it’s a lesser work.