Book Review: Flint & Silver Trilogy.

Flint & Silver Trilogy by John Drake

I read Treasure Island when I was 8 and since then have seen various screen adaptations all of which I have enjoyed. Not as much as John Drake though, who was so taken with Robert Louis Stevenson's pirate tale for children and so intrigued and curious about the questions left unanswered that he decided to write a trilogy of prequels. Stevenson is a literary legend and Treasure Island is a classic. Drake is a Brave man for taking on this task. He does a pretty good job. Good but not great. They aren't predictable with some interesting twists but they were not classic page turners.

The books are enjoyable and do a good job of explaining the back story while at the same time staying true to the characters. Not only does John Drake have a name that sounds piratey, his interests include muzzle-loaded shooting (the type of rifles that would have been used back in "pirate times"), history and politics. I reckon this gives him half decent credentials to take this journey on-board (lol).

The first book is not in chronological order to begin with so you have to pay attention to dates but after that it's smooth sailing (har har). Once you get to know the characters they are very funny as well. There's some big historical names and events mixed in quite cleverly and the books don't just take place in the Caribbean the whole time either so there is plenty of variety to the setting. If you are a fan of the original then I say aye aye.

3.2/5