Welcome to today’s stop on the blog tour for The Traitor of Treasure Island by John Drake. Thanks to Hannah at Endeavour for inviting me to take part in the tour and for my review copy.
The Traitor of Treasure Island (ebook) is available to pre-order for the discounted Kindle price of £1.99/$2.99 until 19th August 2019.
About the Book
Buried for nearly three hundred years and now brought triumphantly to light by Dr Livesey, this is, at last, the true story of what happened on the fateful Treasure Island…
The truth about Captain Flint and his fabled death.
The truth about Long John Silver and his coveted wife.
And the truth about Jim Hawkins, that double-dealing turncoat of the first order: the traitor of Treasure Island.
Format: Paperback, ebook (341 pp.) Publisher: Endeavour Quill
Published: 19th August 2019 Genre: Historical Fiction
Pre-order/Purchase Links*
Amazon.co.uk ǀ Amazon.com
*links provided for convenience, not as part of any affiliate programme
Find The Traitor of Treasure Island on Goodreads
My Review
Although John Drake’s reimagining of Robert Louis Stevenson’s much-loved classic can be enjoyed by those who’ve never read Treasure Island, readers who have will be best placed to recognise the author’s changes and flights of imagination. The latter include romantic attachments, illegitimate parentage and the resurrection of a notable figure.
Having said that, many of the best known characters from the original book remain such as Jim Hawkins, Long John Silver, Squire Trelawny, Dr. Livesey, Blind Pew and Ben Gunn. In some cases, however, they think and act rather differently than in Treasure Island. The author also introduces a ‘heroine in peril’ and a side story of cunning and ruthless revenge.
In his Q&A on YouTube (Part 1 and Part 2), John Drake explains he never really liked the character Jim Hawkins in Treasure Island and decided to make him ‘seriously bad’ in his reimagining of Stevenson’s original. Jim Hawkins certainly goes from ‘hero to zero’ being depicted as a coward, liar, womaniser and traitor. The author even gets his final revenge by setting Jim on the path to a future career in a now rather discredited profession. In the author’s hands, Dr. Livesey becomes the hero of the piece and the narrator (via his journal) of much of the action.
The author’s in-depth historical knowledge and extensive research is evident in the details of navigation, weaponry and procedures aboard a sailing ship of the time, and also in the action scenes. As such The Traitor of Treasure Island will appeal to fans of naval adventure fiction by the likes of Alexander Kent, Patrick O’Brien or C.S. Forester as well as to those familiar with Stevenson’s original.
The Traitor of Treasure Island is a swashbuckling, action-packed story complete with maps of buried treasure, mutinous crew and adventure on the high seas. In the words of Squire Trelawny: “For the thrill of it! For setting out into the wide seas and the world of wonders”.
I received a review copy courtesy of publishers, Endeavour Media.
In three words: Entertaining, action, adventure
Try something similar…Flint and Silver by John Drake (the first of his three prequels to Treasure Island)
About the Author
John Drake trained as a biochemist to post-doctorate research level before realizing he was no good at science. His working career was in the television department of ICI until 1999 when he became a full-time writer.
John’s hobby is muzzle-loading shooting, and his interests are British history and British politics (as a spectator), plus newspapers, TV news, and current affairs. He is married with a son and two grandchildren.
Connect with John
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