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Hello all,

Please recommend to me some fun Pirate books for me to read to my son. He is especially interested in fantasy pirates and ancient pirates (Phoenicians, Egyptians, SE Asian and Pacific). I would appreciate recommendations for books that don’t have overt depictions of sexual violence or chattel slavery. To give you an idea of what he can handle, we read Dreadfleet and he was mostly fine with it, although the downer ending bothered him.

I’d also be grateful for recommendations for historical reference books (Osprey or something similar).

I’m not much into Pirates, so I’m not sure where to go next for a similar feel of book. We’ve read some of the Frostgrave Archipelago books, and I have Mantic’s Pious on the shelf, with Treasure Island as an absolute last-ditch backup. Is there any content in those I should be aware of before going further?

Treasure Island is a great kids books, it is aimed at 8-10 years old, and I don’t remember it having anything not age appropriate. Peter Pan is another great kids story featuring pirates, and fits the fantasy genre.

How about Fell Cargo - Warhammer Pirates by Dan Abnett

https://whfb.lexicanum.com/wiki/Fell_Cargo

Aash wrote:
Treasure Island is a great kids books, it is aimed at 8-10 years old, and I don’t remember it having anything not age appropriate. Peter Pan is another great kids story featuring pirates, and fits the fantasy genre.

Treasure Island may be one I start with, then. It doesn’t look too thick...

Is the original Peter Pan good? I wasn’t a fan of the cartoon or any live action remake, and can’t help but wonder how well certain elements have aged. Would a modern take on Peter Pan capture the spirit? I think there was one called Peter and the Starcatchers that was big a decade ago. Is Neil Gaiman’s Stardust similar?


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Mr Morden wrote:
How about Fell Cargo - Warhammer Pirates by Dan Abnett

https://whfb.lexicanum.com/wiki/Fell_Cargo

Was that in one of the omnibuses? If not, I’m out of luck as I didn’t buy the book with my two least favorite fantasy things, zombies and pirates.

I definitely second Treasure Island. It's a classic. There's a reason there have been multiple film adaptations of it, including my favorite one with The Muppets.

Kidnapped is another decent one, but I remember not liking it as much as Treasure Island.

 BobtheInquisitor wrote:
Is the original Peter Pan good? I wasn’t a fan of the cartoon or any live action remake, and can’t help but wonder how well certain elements have aged. Would a modern take on Peter Pan capture the spirit? I think there was one called Peter and the Starcatchers that was big a decade ago. Is Neil Gaiman’s Stardust similar?

IIRC, the original Peter Pan is dubious. It was one of the few times I approved of a Disney bowderization: it needed it. You can download a public domain copy of it at Project Gutenberg, and check it out yourself. https://www.gutenberg.org/

Captain Blood by Rafael Sabatini is also public domain, and is very swashbuckler, but its been thirty years since I read it so I don't remember content. IIRC, Sabatini tends more to the romantic view, so there should not be explicit sex.
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1965

EDIT: Under the Black Sail RPG announced by Firelock Games. No release date mentioned, so not close to release.