Review by shaove24 -- Brandy, Ballad of a Pirate Princess

[shaove24]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Brandy, Ballad of a Pirate Princess" by Dan E. Hendrickson.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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Rating: 3 out of 4


The book I have chosen to review is Brandy, Ballad of a Pirate Princess by Dan Hendrickson. This is a story of a woman named Brandy Erasmus. She is born into piracy. The timeframe of the book is during the 1800’s. England working to get power back over the United States by siding with the south if a civil war were to break out over the abolishing of slavery. At the time of the book, slavery has been outlawed by England. However, pirate ships, such as The Red Witch, under the protection of Governor Bennetts keep their operation of obtaining and selling slaves going. As a child, Brandy is made to experience and see a lot of unjust and cruel actions lead by her parents, Eric and Katrina Erasmus. She is also trained to one day take over the ship, the crew and continue the work of her parents should they die. After the murder of her father and the execution of her mother by naval officers due to the betrayal of the first mate Lomoche. After the death of her parents, Brandy is given the opportunity to live a more civil and normal life. Brandy, Ballad of a Pirate Princess is set in in Kingston, Jamaica. It is in Kingston where new beginnings, friendships, life lessons, family reunions, and romance for Brandy and others occurs.

There is some profanity used throughout chapter one. One of the underlined themes is Christianity so there are a lot of references to Christian values, principles, and practices through the entirety of the book. There is also a lot of violent scenes throughout. There is also suggestive language, in reference to passionate kissing, showing of cleavage, etc. on page 60, page 90, and page 112.

One positive aspect is the character development for each of the main and supporting characters. Of them are Brandy, Skynyrd, Davonte, John Edwards, Ralphie Austin, Admiral Joshua, and Zhang Yong. The level of community that was developed amongst these characters is so inspiring especially with their backgrounds being so different. Despite those differences there is common ground amongst them. Zhang Young, a Chinese Shaolin or priest, was the main character behind the growth and personal development of many of the characters, especially Brandy. Through his teachings and training, Brandy was able to slowly unlearn all of the unhealthy habits her parents had taught her. She was also able to learn how to tap into her more feminine self due to the self-control and understanding of self she gained through her training as well. Another positive aspect is even though the book was set during a very politically divided period, Dan kept it in background. What I mean by that is even though there were scenes and descriptions of those times it didn’t outweigh or overpower the stories of the characters; you become so engulfed in the stories of the characters, and their relationship with each other that you have to be reminded in the coming pages as to what the social issues are.

The negative aspects were the scenes with the gore. At certain times there was an influx of detail that dragged out certain parts, even though it isn't often. Also there seemed to be a forced relevancy for the characters. All of the main characters didn’t necessary stand on their own; there was a web of events that connected everyone to each other. For instance, we find out that Brandy, Skynyrd, Davonte and Davonte’s mother were all on the same boat when they were escaping The Red Witch. Davonte and her mother were captives of The Red Witch. Davonte and her mother are the family of Admiral Joshua who had been looking for them for eight years. Without realizing it Brandy’s family was a part of why Admiral Joshua couldn’t find his family. Everyone was a part of the story, which is sweet, but it would have been nice to have at least one outsider.

The reason I gave Brandy, Ballad of a Pirate Princess a rating of 3 out of 4 because the structure, character development, and storylines of each relationship and character is entertaining, and causes you to want to keep reading. Another reason is because of the message that no matter where you start in life, you can change the ending. There were a lot of characters who had a difficult beginning, but as the story progressed and by the end, they were able to use those negatives and adapt them to positive outcomes. I also enjoyed the willingness to grow and take on a new perspective that was shown. Being a person of faith myself, having characters who follow what is right based on how you should treat people and using the teachings of Christianity to help uplift instead of to judge and condemn was refreshing. I would recommend this book to others. Lastly, I was extremely impressed by the how Dan shows to demonstrate the duality of this timeframe. Those who supported slavery for profit, those who changed their perspective on slavery, and those who were once neutral but chose to serve to save and assist those who were trying to escape slavery.

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Brandy, Ballad of a Pirate Princess
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[Manang Muyang]

I read the sample of the book when it was BOTD. I liked the action at the beginning; I especially enjoyed Brandy's fighting skills. I wonder if Brandy will go back to being a pirate.

[shaove24]

I read the sample of the book when it was BOTD. I liked the action at the beginning; I especially enjoyed Brandy's fighting skills. I wonder if Brandy will go back to being a pirate.

I wondered the same thing. I doubt it Brandy would became a pirate though since she is repulsed by the lifestyle and her love interest, John, is one of the good guys.

[Amber MAYER]

The prologue makes it fairly clear that Brandy does indeed spend much of her life back out on the sea, but she does it on The Morning Star, not on The Red Witch. She becomes a champion for the abolitionist movement instead of being a pirate. Personally, I would love a sequel.