Books: The Pirates! in an Adventure with Napoleon by Gideon DeFoe

The Pirate Captain returns in the fourth installment of Gideon Defoe's loony pirate yarns (The Pirates! In and Adventure with Scientists, The Pirates! in an Adventure with Ahab, The Pirates! in an Adventure with Communists). Convinced he’s a shoe-in for the Pirate of the Year awards, if only because his beard is “fantastically glossy and luxuriant”, he’s shocked when he loses. Dejected, the Pirate Captain decides to give up pirating. His archenemy, Black Bellamy gives his deeds to an island called St. Helena. Unfortunately, the Pirate Captain should have known never believe an arch enemy. Still, he captains on, taking up bee husbandry - much to the chagrin of his crew, including the pirate with hook for a hand, and the pirate who liked kittens and sunsets. That is until a certain exiled military leader named Napoleon Bonaparte shows up and threatens the Pirate Captains new way of life.

Once again, Defoe delivers a hugely funny book in a small package, and taking on a very silly, very Monty Python-like style. There’s a lot to like about this series, as time and place mean nothing, along with many anachronistic phrases and objects existing in where they should not. Lite and quick read, these series of books are cool for some cleansing of ones readers pallet after a long weeks of studying for finals or reading anything written by James Joyce.