Reviews for The Offshore Pirate

The average rating for The Offshore Pirate based on 2 reviews is 5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2012-10-05 00:00:00 Stephanie Reichel Swithering between 4 and 5 stars for this. Objectively, it's probably a 4; but subjectively, I found a new author I really love and I'm going to start collecting in earnest, so this gets a 5. This isn't a translation of Arabian Nights, but a new (in the 1870s) collection of linked short stories, taking thematic inspiration very loosely from the original. There's no Scheherazade framing story'a sad loss'but Stevenson replaces that formal trick with another: a sequence of self-contained short stories with different viewpoint characters that fit together into a larger plot. This is such a great device that it's surprising that it isn't used more today. Stevenson not only invented it for this collection, he practically invented the English short story itself. It's wonderful to see a new medium spring full-formed into life. The first set of stories ("The Suicide Club") borrows another trick from Arabian Nights'the caliph and his vizier who explore their city in disguise are here translated into the Prince of Bohemia and his trusted horse-master, and their secret adventures in Victorian London and Paris. This also strikes me as an early appearance of the "Magical London" that has become such a common trope in modern fantasy; there's no literal magic here, but the delicate atmosphere of mystery and romance hints at unlimited possibilities just out of sight. I'm not hugely well-read in Victorian literature, but I've suddenly hit a point where I can see connections between different works, and the whole cultural texture of the time is starting to become tangible. Which is exciting! Wilkie Collins' The Moonstone, one of my very favourite books, clearly made a big impression on Stevenson too, as the second set of stories ("The Rajah's Diamond") similarly revolves around a diamond that passes from hand to hand, corrupting all who come in contact with it. Under the thin veneer of a story of crime and detection, Stevenson (like Collins) is more interested in drawing a series of colourful character portraits. Later in the book, "A Lodging for the Night" is practically historical fanfic about rogue-poet François Villon'also a favourite subject of Don Marquis in archy and mehitabel. Above all else, it's Stevenson's way with language that draws me in'the dry ironic tone, the pleasure he clearly takes in picking tasty words and gluing them into a phrase that quietly sings. Some sentences remind me amazingly of Jack Vance, one of my favourite SF authors, such as the first description of the Prince's disguise: "the Prince had, as usual, travestied his appearance by the addition of false whiskers and a pair of large adhesive eyebrows. These lent him a shaggy and weather-beaten air, which, for one of his urbanity, formed the most impenetrable disguise. Thus equipped, the commander and his satellite sipped their brandy and soda in security." Isn't that wonderful? If the placing of "travestied", "adhesive", "urbanity", the mock-formality of "thus equipped"'if none of that tickles you in the slightest, well, you might as well ignore this review. More favourites: a character introduced as "an elderly young man"; or the priest consulting his books on what to do with the Rajah's Diamond:"These old gentlemen," thought he, "are no doubt very valuable writers, but they seem to me conspicuously ignorant of life. Here am I, with learning enough to be a Bishop, and I positively do not know how to dispose of a stolen diamond. I glean a hint from a common policeman, and, with all my folios, I cannot so much as put it into execution. This inspires me with very low ideas of University training."Or a debate in the final story on the value of art:"The art of Monsieur, however," said Elvira, breaking the silence, "is not wanting in distinction." "It has this distinction," said the wife, "that nobody will buy it."Okay, okay, enough quoting. This is either up your street or it isn't. Worth a try, I'd say, if you think of Victorian writing as stuffy and heavy, and haven't learned that it can be not only funny but light, airy, witty, fantastical.

Review # 2 was written on 2020-08-15 00:00:00 Wayne Modelfino Thrilling set of short stories, of which the crown jewels are the two featuring Prince Florizel, "The Suicide Club" and "The Rajah's Diamond." If not necessarily outright mysteries, certainly mystery-adjacent, and the adventure component is strongly reminiscent of a Sherlock Holmes story. Coincidentally, a different story in this collection, "The Pavilion on the Links," was described by Conan Doyle as "the high-water mark of Stevenson's genius"