Pirates and Privateers

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Corsair and the Sky Pirates
by Mark Piggott
Curious Corvid Publishing, 2023, ISBN 978-1-959860-06-8, US $2.99
Available in other formats

Inspired by the writings of Jules Verne and having discovered a new source of power, Nikola Tesla collaborates with the author to create new machines that combine imagination and science. Within two decades the course of human history has changed and it pits Tesla against Thomas Edison. Tesla wishes to make life easier for the common man. Edison craves wealth and power. Theirs is a struggle that leads to many confrontations, one of which takes place over the English Channel in 1907.

Corsair, one of several infamous pirates who work for Tesla, and John Kreusi, Edison’s number two man, both seek the same thing. A pure and large fragment of Uriel, remnants of a comet that provide constant heat that never dies and have allowed the two inventors to create innovations that allow people to travel by air, land, and sea. Kreusi also knows a terrible secret about Uriel, and he’s determined to acquire this larger power source no matter the cost. If he succeeds, his boss and the powerful people who work with him can finally achieve the maniacal scheme that will lead to world domination.

The odds may be against Corsair and his sky pirates, but they always have several unexpected tricks up their sleeves. These come in handy when they drop in on the Zeppelin Valiant, where their nemesis has set a trap. They manage to evade the trap and gain the plunder they come for, as well as a few items (including a Hollerith Thinking Machine) that turn out to have unexpected dividends once they return to Tesla’s secret base in an Icelandic volcano. Both the pirates and the enemy know this encounter aboard the pride of the White Star fleet is but the first engagement in an ever-escalating game of high stakes and deadly consequences.

This steampunk adventure has an intriguing cast of characters. The enemy includes such historical personages as Edison, Wilhelm Röntgen, Mata Hari, the Pinkertons, and Marjorie Meriweather Post. The sky pirates are unique individuals with singular talents, including a blind navigator, a female spy who blends into any background, a garage mechanic turned engineer with a penchant for taking Verne’s ideas and making them a reality, and an Apache warrior. They also have an assortment of colleagues who have made their mark on history, like Sam Cody, Pancho Villa, and Geronimo. Filled with unexpected twists, betrayal, and nail-biting danger, Corsair and the Sky Pirates visits Egyptian pyramids, French caves, and the desert of the American southwest in a race to acquire what may be the only surviving pure remnant of a comet that has the potential to enrich or destroy the world. The questions are who will triumph and what will happen next?

Meet the author

Review Copyright ©2025 Cindy Vallar

Frozen Passage
by William S. Smith
PublishAmerica, 2006, ISBN 1-4241-1006-8, $17.95

When William Casey signs aboard The Angel of Death as ship’s carpenter in 1590, he expects to return home to England. It isn’t until they are at sea that he learns he’s on a pirate ship. After they capture a Spanish galleon laden with gold, they sail to an island to party. The captain and his handpicked men ferry the treasure ashore to hide. William, who abstains from drink, follows the captain and witnesses the pirates secreting the gold inside a cave and the captain murdering his men. William returns to the ship without anyone being the wiser and records the location of the treasure in his journal. At dawn, the pirates set sail, but a fierce storm blows the ship far off course. Before they can escape, they freeze to death.

In 1994, geologists explore the Arctic Circle to locate the best place to drill for oil. When their initial finds unearth a wooden sailing ship, archaeologists are called in. They discover that not only is the ship intact, but so are her sailors. The billionaire the scientists work for decides to unfreeze them, using technology based on cryogenics. He enlists the help of experts in various fields, including Dr. Cherlye Landan, a professor of Forensic Science and Ancient Civilizations. She finds herself drawn to one particular sailor – William Casey. His return to life centuries later makes for humorous incidents as his world collides with hers. As the other pirates thaw, their piratical tendencies surface and, with the help of a traitor, they kidnap Cherlye and again pillage the sea.

Science fiction isn’t my forte, but the science in Frozen Passage certainly seems plausible, if not now, sometime in the future. Although the writing style and formatting need some editing, this is a suspenseful tale that explores a fascinating what-if scenario. For sci-fi fans who crave pirate stories, this is one adventure to consider. The love story between William and Cherlye will appeal to romance readers, as well.

Review Copyright ©2006 Cindy Vallar

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