Let me say first, that I enjoyed this book from beginning to
end! The story is built on the premise of how things might go down if
Blackbeard made a pact with the Devil to be allowed to come back to life in the
modern world to recover his treasure and seek revenge against the descendants
of Lt. Maynard, who is credited with having killed him back in November of
1718.
Blackbeard’s time travel is achieved through the mechanism
of a storm, similar to that which sent the USS
Nimitz back in time in the 1980 movie The
Final Countdown. In the book, Commander Maynard, the last descendant of Lt.
Maynard is serving aboard the USS
Spruance when Blackbeard and the Queen
Anne’s Revenge first appears in modern times. But instead of being
obliterated by modern weapons, the QAR
survives unscathed.
The story revolves around Blackbeard’s quest to recover his
treasure and achieve revenge against Maynard. Maynard (and the US Navy) must
figure out how to destroy him when none of their modern weapons have any effect
on him. There are interesting sub-stories of Jeremy Ratliff, a sailor on the
QAR who didn’t die with the others in 1718 but has come forward in time with
them, and also around Angela Killian, a passenger on a yacht they capture who
develops a love interest in Blackbeard.
It also involves bringing the USS Constitution back
into service, which for me was a fun part of the story, as I got to tour that
ship when I was in Boston in 2012.
Mr. Hayden served in the Navy in the Spruance, so the naval procedures and tactics are authentic and
believable. His experience also makes the tactics utilized on the QAR believable.
All in all, this is an enjoyable tale that despite getting a
little technical at times should appeal to a wide range of readers.
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