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Tim Powers
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On Stranger Tides Mass Market Paperback – April 26, 2011

by Tim Powers (Author)
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 1,616 ratings
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“Powers writes action and adventure that Indiana Jones could only dream of.”
—Washington Post

“Tim Powers is a brilliant writer.”
—William Gibson

The remarkable Tim Powers—who ingeniously married the John Le Carrè spy novel to the otherworldly in his critically acclaimed Declare—brings us pirate adventure with a dazzling difference. On Stranger Tides features Blackbeard, ghosts, voodoo, zombies, the fable Fountain of Youth…and more swashbuckling action than you could shake a cutlass at, as reluctant buccaneer John Shandy braves all manner of peril, natural and supernatural, to rescue his ensorcelled love. Nominated for the Locus and World Fantasy Awards, On Stranger Tides is the book that inspired the motion picture Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides—non-stop, breathtaking fiction from the genius imagination that conceived Last Call, Expiration Date, and Three Days to Never.

Previous page
  1. Print length
    336 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Harper
  4. Publication date
    April 26, 2011
  5. Dimensions
    4.19 x 0.84 x 6.75 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    006209453X
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0062094537
  8. See all details
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Popular Highlights in this book
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  1. But maybe it’s better to be an outlaw with purpose than a citizen without.
    Highlighted by 87 Kindle readers
  2. “Yeah, there’s some unlikely beasts in the world, and it’s best to stay near the ones that you’ve bought drinks for.”
    Highlighted by 85 Kindle readers
  3. It comes and goes, the movement seemed to indicate; good and bad, life and death, joy and horror, and nothing should come as a surprise.
    Highlighted by 64 Kindle readers
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“One of the most original and innovative writers of fantasy currently working….The quality of Powers’s prose never falters….His writing defies characterization and he never repeats himself.” — Washington Post

“[On Stranger Tides] promises marvels and horrors, and delivers them all. You’ll love the characters, you’ll stay awake all night reading it, and when you finally do sleep, you’ll find this story playing through your dreams.” — Orson Scott Card

“Tim Powers is an uncommon literary talent….Exceedingly readable….If heavenly muses were to put Dean Koontz, John Le Carré and Robert Parker into a creative blender, then molded the mix into a brand new writer, the result would be something akin to Tim Powers.” — Denver Post

“Powers [has] considerable gifts.” — San Francisco Chronicle

“Powers has forged a style of narrative uniquely his own, one filled with sharply drawn characters, fully imagined settings, elaborate underpinnings that pull all rugs out from under us and let us glimpse terrible, ragged floors beneath.” — Los Angeles Times

“Tim Powers has long been one of my absolutely favorite writers, those whose new books I snatch up as soon as they appear….The qualities I most admire in him [are] intelligence, narrative sparkle, great dialogue, speculative imagination, and emotional power.” — Peter Straub

From the Back Cover

Aboard the Vociferous Carmichael puppeteer John Chandagnac is sailing toward Jamaica to claim his stolen birthright from an unscrupulous uncle when the vessel is captured…by pirates! Offered a choice by Captain Phil Davies to join their seafaring band or die, Chandagnac assumes the name John Shandy and a new life as a brigand. But more than swashbuckling sea battles and fabulous plunder await the novice buccaneer on the roiling Caribbean waters—for treachery and powerful vodun sorcery are coins of the realm in this dark new world. And for the love of beautiful, magically imperiled Beth Hurwood, Shandy will set sail on even stranger tides, following the savage, ghost-infested pirate king Blackbeard and a motley crew of the living and the dead to the cursed nightmare banks of the fabled Fountain of Youth.

The novel that inspired the motion picture Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Harper; Reprint edition (April 26, 2011)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Mass Market Paperback ‏ : ‎ 336 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 006209453X
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0062094537
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 6 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 4.19 x 0.84 x 6.75 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 1,616 ratings

About the author

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Tim Powers

Tim Powers

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Tim Powers is the author of numerous novels including Hide Me Among the Graves, Three Days to Never, Declare, Last Call, and On Stranger Tides, which inspired the feature film Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. He has won the Philip K. Dick Memorial Award twice, and the World Fantasy Award three times. He lives in San Bernardino, California.

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
4.3 out of 5
1,616 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Leslie
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Book, adventure, twists and turns, very well written
Reviewed in the United States on April 16, 2024
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Well written, good plot development, interesting characters with depth and dimension. Lots of action
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Letterer
4.0 out of 5 stars While I liked the story
Reviewed in the United States on February 21, 2015
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I gave this book four stars, but really it's more three-and-a-half. I had read this novel when it first came out in the late 1980s and recently bought the Kindle version to reread. While I liked the story, I felt that Tim Powers did not develop his characters as fully as in The Drawing of the Dark, or The Anubis Gates. The plot was involved and suffered from too many side stories, none of which were terribly compelling. Also, this book lacked a significant female character: the main woman in the story is largely absent from most of the book, and when present is quite literally a zombie (almost).

There is plenty of action, magic/voodun, and resurrected corpses, sword-play, pirates, and historical characters. What is lacking is general sense of purpose, and some of the disbelieving humor that lightened earlier works. The writing seemed more formulaic and the action designed to meet the "more is better, and excess is best" philosophy. Perhaps a clearer focus, as in both of the earlier works mentioned, would have given the story more tension, and also allowed the reader to care more about the characters.

That said, the book still delivers an entertaining story which retains the off-kilter nature of Tim Powers' better works. Jack Shandy is an engaging character and the pirate setting should appeal to adventure story readers and history buffs alike. One feels that Shandy deserved a better supporting cast and deeper water than what he has in this story.
3 people found this helpful
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Elisabeth Carey
5.0 out of 5 stars An exciting, compelling pirate adventure story
Reviewed in the United States on September 15, 2017
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This book was the basis of the fourth of Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean. On the one hand, it's surprising they took so long to notice it--this was originally published in 1987. On the other hand, Powers doesn't write the same thing over and over, and this is his only "pirates of the Caribbean" novel.

Also, the movie is based very loosely on the book.

John Chandagnac is the son of a French puppeteer, who eventually left his father's business to become an accountant with an English merchant company. He's on his way to the Caribbean to track down his uncle, Sebastian, who cheated his father of his rightful inheritance when the ship, Vociferous Carmichael, is attacked by pirates. It's not long before he's pressed into pirate service, and renamed Jack Shandy.

And not long after that, working with the most famous pirate of all: Blackbeard.

Vodun, or voodoo, magic is a big part of this story, with dire consequences for quite a few people Jack comes to care about. On his trip out, he'd met Elizabeth Hurwood and her father, Benjamin, who turns out to have really dire plans for her. Hurwood's partner in magic, Leo Friend, has his own terrible plans for Elizabeth.

So does Blackbeard.

Jack at least wants to have better plans for her.

If he can outwit three powerful magicians.

The plot takes many interesting twists and turns, and Jack finds some very unexpected use for his puppetry skills.

This is, as always with Powers, smart, well-written, creative, clever, and thoughtful. The characters keep surprising the reader in ways that are utterly plausible and convincing. Powers also never fails to do his research, giving the novel an overall depth and reality that just can't be counted on in freewheeling historical fantasy.

I loved it.

Highly recommended.

I bought this audiobook.
2 people found this helpful
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Olivia Martin
3.0 out of 5 stars Decent read but some aspects handled oddly
Reviewed in the United States on March 9, 2022
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The book is very imaginative and Tim Powers has created some likeable characters and interesting situations here no doubt.
Things feel a little bit disorganized and relaxed, too many small confrontations instead of fewer, more impactful ones.
As some reviewers noted, Shandy can do everything better than everyone else, even after a short time. How could he become a captain within months and give orders to experienced pirates? This removes some of the believably and tension as 'Shandy will definitely get out of this one' in any situation he's in.

First half of the book seemed better to me. The character of Blackbeard wasn't very interesting and wasn't in it too much. He should've been the main villain of the book rather than the male Hurwood and Leo Friend.

Overall this book just didn't make too much of an impression either way after finishing it. But I can say that I'm glad I did just to satisfy that curiosity and I did get some enjoyment from it.
4 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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salil srivastava
1.0 out of 5 stars Not value for money
Reviewed in India on September 14, 2023
Verified Purchase
Book is pocket sized and paper used is of very low quality. Not worth for money.
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Spenzo
4.0 out of 5 stars Love the story, size too big
Reviewed in Sweden on April 10, 2021
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I haven't read that much yet but at the moment I really enjoy it, except the size. It would've been much better if the text was a smaller size so they could've made a smaller book so it's easier to hold and carry around.
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Spenzo
4.0 out of 5 stars Love the story, size too big
Reviewed in Sweden on April 10, 2021
I haven't read that much yet but at the moment I really enjoy it, except the size. It would've been much better if the text was a smaller size so they could've made a smaller book so it's easier to hold and carry around.
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Adrian
5.0 out of 5 stars Fast delivery
Reviewed in Spain on June 26, 2017
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It arrived fairly soon. Perfect purchase. Pocket size book and the letters are quite small by the way. Good state in general
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Florian Klimscha
5.0 out of 5 stars Pirates & Fantasy...
Reviewed in Germany on April 16, 2018
Verified Purchase
...blend exceptionally well in this action-packed tale of swashbuckling, voodoo, piracy and adventure.

I was astonished to have missed this story, written already in the late 1980s, that inspired The Secret of Monkey Island (one of the best computer games ever to have been written) and the Pirates of the Caribbean movies (which include the very decent first part of the franchise). It is written very well in the style you get used to and love with Tim Powers. The plot is pretty complicated and I do not want to spoil anything here, so let’s just keep it simple: It’s the dawn of the age of piracy. Britain is sending a governor, soldiers and warships into the Caribbean and there will be a final amnesty for all pirates who repent. Yet, this is still months in the future when the novel starts, and bloodthirsty (yet strangely amicable) pirates still roam the sea. The mightiest of these have allied themselves with bocors, priest of vodun (voodoo) that help them survive lethal wounds, trick their enemies and perform other dees of legend.

Tim Powers cleverly weaves historical facts on the iconic persons of the age of piracy with the supernatural without ever getting to the ridiculous lengths of the later Pirates of the Caribbean movies. (Blackbeard‘s seeminlgy erratic actions are brilliantly explained in the nocel to give just one example).
The story includes many of the cliches we love with pirate tales, yet adds enough novelty to go far beyond Captain Blood and Treasure Island. I loved every single page and was totally hooked, even though there are quite a lot of characters and a complex story that includes a lot of twists and attention to details.

I wholeheartedly recommend this book not only to fans of piracy novels (from which there are far too few good ones) as well as those who like original and clverly written fantasy. An inspiring tale of what fantastic literature can be!
4 people found this helpful
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Favourite book
Reviewed in Australia on May 3, 2021
Verified Purchase
First read it in the early nineties and read it again many times.
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