Tag: Pirates

Posted in Book Reviews, Graphic Novels, Non-Fiction

UPDATED REVIEW: Pirate Queen: The Legend of Grace O’Malley By Tony Lee and Sam Hart

Posted on by elishasbookreview
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*Historical Spoilers*

A true daughter of the fearsome O’Malley clan, Grace spent her life wishing to join the fight to keep Henry VIII’s armies from invading her homeland of Ireland — only to be told again and again that the battlefield is no place for a woman. But after English conspirators brutally murder her husband, Grace can no longer stand idly by. Leading men into battle on the high seas, Grace O’Malley quickly gains a formidable reputation as the Pirate Queen of Ireland with her prowess as a sailor and skill with a sword. But her newfound notoriety puts the lives of Grace and her entire family in danger and eventually leads to a confrontation with the most powerful woman in England: Queen Elizabeth I. With a gripping narrative and vivid, action-packed illustrations, the fourth entry in Tony Lee and Sam Hart’s Heroes and Heroines series captures the intensity and passion of one of history’s fiercest female warriors.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

I have been waiting for a long time to find a good pirate story. Sure it’s nonfiction, however, Pirate Queen takes the high-stakes adventures of pirating up to 11. I love how this is not just a story about pirates and how they were degenerates and on the lowest caste of society. This is a story about how a woman saw that her country needed her, and not only stepped up to the plate, but made a name for herself as the Queen of the Pirates.

I am not familiar with the time period or Grace O’Malley and I think this graphic novel does an excellent job at telling a complicated story. A story that I imagine has been lost to time to a certain extent due to the “colonization” of Ireland. I never felt lost or confused as the story progressed and seeing how not only Grace’s worldview changed over time, but the world as a whole was changing.

My favorite part was how the O’Malley clan was deep in a battle and Grace was below decks giving birth to a baby boy. As soon as the birth was complete, she wrapped her baby up and went to confront the British soldiers. So awesome to see how progressive she was for her time.

Overall, I enjoyed Pirate Queen. There was plenty of swashbuckling action as well as plenty of heart and emotion. I think if you liked the movie Brave or are itching for a good pirate story then I would highly recommend checking this graphic novel out.

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Posted in Movie/TV Reviews

REVIEW: Scooby-Doo Pirates Ahoy!

Posted on by elishasbookreview

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The Mystery, Inc. gang are caught in the mystery of the Bermuda Triangle, while vacationing on a creepy eerie cruise, with ghost, pirates, and monsters.

This direct to DVD movie was based on the What’s New Scooby Doo era. I grew up on all of the variations of Scooby Doo. I recently revisited this movie, and I thought I’d share my thoughts on Scooby-Doo Pirates Ahoy! 

Overall, I enjoy this movie. It’s not my favorite, but it’s not terrible. I think the fascination with pirates is something that we will always enjoy.

I thought the motives for the bad guys were weak. I won’t spoil what their motives were, but let’s just say that I felt the writers cared more about wreaking havoc to other ships rather than developing motives for the villains.

I love the music they made for this movie, that is something that will always keep me watching this movie in particular. The chase scenes with the pirates were comical and funny. The music made me feel like I was ready to join a pirate crew and have some fun.

Overall, I enjoy this movie even though it’s not my favorite, this doesn’t mean it’s my least favorite. I think it’s a fun watch for people of all ages, especially for those who love pirates, adventure, and Scooby-Doo!

Posted in Book Reviews, Graphic Novels, Manga

REVIEW: Bodacious Space Pirates: Abyss of Hyperspace Vol. 1 by Saito Tatsuo

Posted on by elishasbookreview

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*No major spoilers*

Marika Kato is your average third-year student at Hakuoh Academy, busy with homework, leading the school’s yacht club, and working part-time at the Lamp House café. But that’s not all to Marika’s life—she’s also a space pirate! As the captain of Bentenmaru, a privateer pirate space-ship bearing a letter of marque, Marika takes on a job involving a staged attack on a luxury cruiser, where she finds a mysterious young boy on the run and a new task for the crew of the Bentenmaru.

Along with the trend of manga with funny titles. I thought I’d read this just for giggles. I was sadly disappointed, this was a very loose story and lacked much of a real plot. One of the reasons being is you don’t see Marika at school very often, and you only see her with the Yacht Club one time throughout the story.

Even though I have some more negatives, I want to touch on something positive with this story. I did like the idea that the characters’ jobs were to stage attacks on luxury cruiser class spaceships, while the concept was good and there were at least a couple of attacks staged I found the story to be lackluster overall.

To conclude this one, I might read the second one in the series to see if the pace does pick up and actually manage to hold my interest more than this book did. Although I would recommend this book to manga readers that are a fan of the sci-fi genre and consumers of the manga art style. Overall it’s not a terrible book, but it’s not the best manga I’ve come across.