How is this book different from the other pirate stories?

Use this forum to discuss the April 2022 Book of the month, "Brandy, Ballad of a Pirate Princess" by Dan E. Hendrickson.
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Cocobutta
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Re: How is this book different from the other pirate stories?

Post by Cocobutta »

This is the first pirate story I’m reading but I don’t think it is generally common to have female leads in pirate books. It was nice to see.
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Alexandur Gicov
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Post by Alexandur Gicov »

One of the aspects the writer emphasizes in history is the slave trade. This is part of the truth about pirates, not just science fiction. Part of the harsh reality is that pirates are not fantasy/adventure heroes, but rather dangerous people. Of course, this answer can be considered as a slight side of the story, as it is part of my opinion on this aspect of the history of the book.
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Post by Tosin Le »

The difference between this pirate book and others is that this one specifically addressed slave trading. It addressed the subject well for a layman to understand.
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Post by Ndagire Hassifah1 »

marba wrote: 02 Apr 2022, 05:19 I think the best original feature was the way the author addressed the issue of slave trafficking. It was the first time I heard about pirates associated with it, so it was a surprise.
I wss also surprised about this. Slave traffiking on a pirates ship was the best unique feature in this book.
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Post by SunVixen »

Everydayadventure15 wrote: 07 Apr 2022, 13:04 I thought the addition of Zhang Yong was pretty unique. I've never read a pirate story that included a Shaolin Priest. I loved how Zhang trained Brandy throughout the novel and showed her how to find balance in her life. The use of his unique weapons and training style made Brandy fearsome and powerful by the end of the story.
Many people here have already written about the strangeness of the themes of slavery and female leadership in a book about pirates.
However, I have already read a book about a pirate family. There were even two pirate families and two pirate princesses. This is Tanith Lee’s Piratica book series. The main female character's mother's lover was a former slave. Therefore, the theme of the slave trade is also present in this book.
But Piratica takes place in takes place in a world somewhat parallel to our Earth. This is a fantasy book about pirates. Perhaps Brandy, Ballad of a Pirate Princess can be considered the first historical fiction about pirates and the slave trade.
Therefore, the most unusual element in this book is really Zhang Yong. You don't expect to meet a Shaolin priest in a pirate book.
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Post by Ibunyi »

I didn't know pirates were involved in slave trade. I , however, haven't read any other pirate book, just films
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Post by Luv Emmanuel »

The difference is clear to me. That is the gender of the lead character. I have never seen a pirate book that does not have a male as either the main character or co-star. This however, is different.

I like the change
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Post by Mahmoud Nassar 2 »

I am not a big fan of pirates stories ,but what caught my attention here is the slave trading .It is sad to see how the slaves community suffered in the past .
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Post by Judyread »

The storyline was great but I don't see it any different from other stories about pirates.
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Post by Delioness »

For me, the major difference is the author's deft portrayal of a woman's strong and leadership abilities. Who ever heard of a woman leading a pirate ship?
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Post by Kayla Archer »

I agree with many above. Usually pirates are greedy and about money, but this story focused on the slave trade. I also enjoyed the insights about England and their views about America and the possibility of a Civil War. I thought that was interesting, as I'd never considered that before. I'm not sure how true it is, but it opened my eyes to possibilities.
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Post by SnowStorm244 »

Most pirate stories I've read they are these big tough guys who trade guns and kill each other off for fun. I liked about this book that they character were much more real with sorrow, happiness, and shows how hard the life of a pirate really is.
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Post by Favour Ojonugwa »

The things that made this book unique for me is the involvement of slavery, and female has lead on like other pirate story have come across.
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Post by Piper Lehr »

Probably the biggest thing for me was that it wasn't overly-focused on romance. In my experience pirate books tend to be, which is why I don't typically read this genre. However, this book did a great job balancing out the romance with action-packed scenes and interesting historical tidbits in my opinion.
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Post by Peace10 »

I haven't read a lot of pirate books, but the ones I've read usually talk about waging wars, and trafficking drugs and arms. This one talks about slavery, and also exhibits the female characters to be strong and resilient, which makes it unique in its way.
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