Treasure Island has proved so enduring that there is an entire sub-genre of sequels and spin-offs. Silver: My Own Tale as Written by Me with a Goodly Amount of Murder is the jolly good story of Captain Long John Silver, that roughish devil who comes this close to getting his hands on buried treasure only to be thwarted by a clever kid. Imprisoned on his own ship as it sails back to England, Silver pens his own version of events in a rollicking slangy voice that is entirely his own. He recounts his childhood as a street urchin, his “education” under the tutelage of the homeless blind man who takes him under his wing, and his boyhood meeting with pirate Black John who introduces young John to the joys and savages of pirate life. And then he plunges dagger and hilt into his story among the ruthless buccaneers, complete with bloody murders, treasure galore, peg-legs, and parrots--and a lively, noisy, unapologetic rabble of a story it is too. Fans of the original will relish this villainous point of view from author (and attorney-at-law, of all things!) Edward Chupack. Readers and writers simply cannot get enough of Treasure Island, but Silver comes as close as any to satisfying that pirate lust.

posted Feb 26, 2010 at 2:57PM

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