Last July, I read Frank Herbert's Children of Dune. Utterly bizarre, I later termed this book the biggest what the f**k read of the year. Having finished Tim Power's On Stranger Tides, I know I've found a new book to award that title to. A book full of crazy magic and pirate exploits, On Stranger Tides gave me the most Pirates of the Caribbean feeling I've had outside of those movies. While I assumed this book was written after the success of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, On Stranger Tides was actually written in 1987 and (loosely) inspired the fourth movie in that series.

Part pirate adventure part love story, On Stranger Tides is the story of the origin and life of a pirate legend, Jack Shandy. Beginning with his turn to piracy, this book winds through Jack's life as he encounters storied pirates, learns of ancient magic, and, through the interactions between these two things, hears hints of modern medicine and science, which I found quite charming. As another man aims to resurrect his long dead wife at any cost, Jack must balance his pirate leanings with his desire to protect those he cares about. 

While I expected On Stranger Tides to tell tales of an established pirate captain, it instead chronicles how an iconic pirate began. I shouldn't have been surprised to read a pirate-ified hero's journey (or pirate's journey if you will), but in the wake of The Pirates of the Caribbean movies, I was surprised to read a book centering on a young pirate. Like how A Wizard of Earthsea was inspired by LeGuin's interest in what Gandalf and Merlin might have been like as teenagers, On Stranger Tides really feels like a tale of how a nicer Jack Sparrow might have got their start. Although Jack Shandy is somewhat of a self-insert protagonist, the characterization we do get of him is quite interesting. In particular, his background as a puppeteer is both fascinating and relevant to the plot.

  For example, the scene where he makes a dead Harwood animate through strings his terrifyingly intense.

Alongside Shandy are a range of other characters who fill out the world by making the pirate world seem established. Mixed in with figures like Blackbeard are just everyday people who make Powers's world seem lived in. A central feature of this book is a well constructed soft magic system that feels creepy and insane in equal measure. By positioning this book at the end of the pirate age, Powers shows the decline both of the trade and of magic itself.

Although I found this book fascinating, there are a few points within it that bugged me. Perhaps the largest focus of this book revolves around a woman who is taken hostage. While she is often beside the main characters in key events, she rarely gets any perspective time, which I found disappointing. While abuse is a central theme of this book, it is worth noting that this character is particularly harmed and used as a plot device more than a person. While the magic of this world is interesting, it is worth noting that the native traditions it's based on are used mostly for and by (presumably) white pirates in the book. Again, I just wonder how the story might have looked with more perspective time dedicated to the people who taught the pirates magic. Besides these two personal choices, I do think On Stranger Tides is a bit ponderous in its middle section.

If you have any interest in pirate fantasy, On Stranger Tides is a must read. While the book is about pirates, it does not completely glorify the profession. Paired with an intense look at the past history of the Americas, this book tells an absolutely crazy narrative that was a joy to dive into.