Silver
by Edward Chupack

Release Date: 10th Mar 2008
Publisher: St Martins Press
ISBN: 978 0 3123 7365 8
RRP: £16.99

Average Customer Rating:

(0.0 based on 0 ratings)

An interesting idea that doesn't quite follow through

Silver is a pirate book. It is the story of Long John Silver, according to debut American author, Edward Chupack. Doubtless much research was done in the course of its creation as this was an ambitious endeavour - attempting to bring to fulfilment the life of the infamous pirate from Treasure Island.

We first join Silver as prisoner onboard his own ship, Linda Maria. Whilst deliberating upon his immediate incarceration and his impending hanging on return to England, Silver, in his inimitable treachery, decides to lead his captor on a merry dance through his life's story and that notorious of quests for hidden treasure. We learn that Silver came from mean background, impoverished and orphaned at a young age, he is raised by Blind Tom, a blind beggar, in Bristol. On Blind Tom's demise he is taken in by a tavern keeper called Peel, where he perfects thievery and all things decidedly pirate-like, until he is sold to a pirate named Black John and sets his ambitious sights on the captaincy of his vessel, the Linda Maria.

All this is by the by, whilst not being overtly original. The introduction of a new character, Edward, and his bible adds a new dimension to Silver's obsession with a buried treasure. The bible holds various clues, ciphers and double entendres that are to lead to a great treasure; but still, there is nothing to make this version of events stand out.

Chupack deliberately styles the narrative as characteristically pirate-like, which is to his credit. But the main failing of this novel is its repetition. It repeats itself no end. It states and restates the same information over and over, thereby giving us a sense of filling pages for pages sake. As I have said, it is repetitious - in the extreme. Perhaps this too is a deliberate ploy by the author, but it is one that only served to frustrate and distract the reader. If you are fanatical about pirates, then you may find some measure of enjoyment within its pages, but I felt that it was severely lacking in substance and originality. In short, this book will disappear from my memory as though grains of sand being poured from a bucket.

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