Synopses & Reviews
A new writing team—actor Gene Hackman and one of America's leading authorities on shipwrecks and diving, Daniel Lenihan—have combined their remarkable talent and experience to create a rousing adventure saga of men and the sea, full of authentic historical and nautical detail, including fascinating descriptions of underwater diving and salvage operations of the early nineteenth century.
In 1805 seventeen-year-old Jack O'Reilly sets sail with his parents from Salem, Massachusetts, aboard the Perdido Star. Jack is full of high hopes at the prospect of a new life in his mother's homeland of Cuba, but shortly after the family arrives, tragedy strikes, and in a desperate escape, Jack rejoins the departing Star as a member of the crew.
For the next three years Jack encounters storms, shipwreck, hostile and friendly natives, and enemy vessels as he travels around Cape Horn to the South Sea islands, the Philippines, around the Cape of Good Hope, and finally back to Cuba. He becomes the leader of a renegade group who call themselves the Right Honourable Brotherhood of the Shipwrecked Men of the Star. But throughout his adventures, his obsession to return to Cuba for revenge dominates his life, and his daring actions become the talk of the men of other vessels, who come to know him as "Black Jack" O'Reilly. Not until Jack fears the loss of his two closest mates and attempts a desperate rescue does he finally free himself from the chains of his fury and vindictiveness.
Jack O'Reilly is a striking portrait in a long line of memorable protagonists who come of age at sea; and he is surrounded by equally memorable supporting characters: Paul Le Maire, the aristocratic intellectual whose own misadventures bring him onto the Perdido Star and into Jack's friendship; Quince, the first mate, Jack's mentor and defender; Quen-Li, the mysterious Chinese cook whose skills extend beyond the galley; Hansumbob, the ship's poet, whose simplicity belies a wisdom born of the heart; Yatoo, the leader of the native Belaurans, without whose help the shipwrecked men of the Star could not have survived; and the greedy and slippery Count de Silva, whose surface charm masks a murderous soul.
The exploits of the Brotherhood of the Star must rank among those in the long tradition of classic sea adventure novels, and Jack O'Reilly provides a moving portrait of an adolescent struggling toward adulthood as he learns the meaning of justice, friendship, and survival.
Review
"A fascinating read you cant help but enjoy…a swashbuckling sea story written like a sea story should be written." —Clive Cussler
"Intriguing coming-of-age adventure full of information about early 19th century diving, salvage, and piracy." —Publishers Weekly
"A robust seafaring yarn that is equal parts Jack London and Robert Louis Stevenson—with a touch of Steven Spielberg thrown in…complete with a slam-bang finale." —Winston-Salem Journal
"An American swashbuckler with rousing derring-do" —Kirkus Reviews
"If youre a devoted reader of the seafaring tales of Patrick OBrian, or count Treasure Island as one of your favorites, Wake of the Perdido Star is well worth the effort. Chock full of pirates, sea battles, shipwrecks and adventure…Brutally realistic." —Providence Sunday Journal
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“A fun, rousing tale. ... Chock full of pirates, sea battles, shipwrecks, and adventure.” Providence Journal
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“A swashbuckling sea yarn.” San Francisco Chronicle
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“An adventure story that earns its place in the esteemed company of such seafaring sagas as Moby Dick and Mutiny on the Bounty.” San Diego Union-Tribune
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“The strong plot carries such momentum that it is sure to satisfy readers looking for a good yarn. Booklist
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“An American swashbuckler with satisfying action and rousing derring-do.” Kirkus Reviews
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A swashbuckling sea story written like a sea story should be written, with all the legendary action. A fascinating read.” Clive Cussler
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“A swashbuckling sea story of nautical derring-do. ... Salted with plenty of action.” Stephen Coonts, < i=""> U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings <>
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“A page-turner, a corker, a cracking good yarn.” Associated Press
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“Fast-paced and exciting.” Cleveland Plain Dealer
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“A robust sea-faring yarn. ... A fun-filled adventure...complete with a slam-bang finale.” Winston-Salem Journal
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“Thrilling. ... A swashbuckling tale, full of action.” Chattanooga Times
Synopsis
The acclaimed novel now in trade paperback and ebook to coincide with the publication of Gene Hackman's new book Payback at Morning Peak (Pocket Books, July)."A swashbuckling sea yarn." —San Francisco Chronicle
"A fascinating read you can't help but enjoy." —Clive Cussler
"Intriguing coming-of-age adventure full of information about early 19th century diving, salvage, and piracy." —Publishers Weekly
A classic tale of survival and revenge, this rousing novel of men, sailing ships, shipwrecks, pirates, and the sea, set in the early 1800s, is full of authentic nautical and historical detail, especially about diving and salvage operations of the period. It follows the exploits of Jack O'Reilly, a 17-year-old New England boy struggling toward manhood, whose sea adventures over three years take him to Cuba, around Cape Horn, to the South Sea islands, the Philippines, around the Cape of Good Hope, and finally back to Cuba and the Americas.
Wake of the Perdido Star is at once a morality tale, an action-packed saga of heroism, camaraderie, and survival, and a historical treatment of men at sea two hundred years ago.
Synopsis
Academy Award-winning actor Gene Hackman spins a cinematic tale of pirates, shipwrecks, and sea adventure. Co-written with Daniel Lenihan, one of America's leading authorities on shipwrecks and diving, Wake of the Perdido Star is a moving story of a young boy's coming of age on the high seas, full of authentic nautical and historical detail. A 19th-century sea adventure in the spirit of Patrick O'Brian, Wake of the Perdido Star is a captivating tale about friendship, justice, and survival.
About the Author
Gene Hackman, the Academy Award®winning actor, always had a yearning to write, hanging around his grandfathers small newspaper office in Danville, Illinois, when he was young. He published this first novel at age 70, co-written with his neighbor, leading underwater archaeologist, Daniel Lenihan, who also wrote the nonfiction adventure, Submerged, about his 25 years with the National Park Services, from Newmarket Press. The two went on to write two more novels, published by St. Martins, Justice for None and Escape from Andersonville: A Novel of the Civil War. Hackmans solo novel, a western, will be published by Pocket Books in 2011.