Review of Sea Serpent

[Bertha Jackson]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Sea Serpent" by Roger Glasgow.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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Sea Serpent by Roger Glasgow is a historical fiction that will take you back to mid-1800 Scotland, England, and Ireland. Innis is banished from his home by his cousin Andy, and he becomes a fishmonger in Leith. He tries to overcome the loss of his family and recover from Andy cutting off part of his nose. In the meantime, Andy and his wife, Helen, have to battle the Fergusson and Maxwell clans to claim the sheriff position in Wigtownshire for Blair and protect their home in Blackcraigshire from attack by the two clans and the English. This story takes you to Ireland to meet Grace O'Malley, the Queen of the pirates, and into the borders of Scotland where the English Protestant Movement is in full force to ban Catholics. You will experience romance, battles, and ocean storms in this novel. Will Innis be reunited with Andy and his family? How do pirates play a role in Innis and Andy's lives?

Roger Glasgow has done a fantastic job with the character development in this novel. I could easily visualize the Scottish highlanders and the pirates. I could imagine the majestic mountains and ocean waves. The use of the Scottish dialect made the story more authentic. The beginning of the book made it feel like there were two separate plots—one involving Innis and the other concerning Helen and Andy. As the book progressed, Mr. Glasgow successfully tied the two plots together and made it one.

There are only a couple of negative aspects to this book. A couple of sentences written in Spanish are not defined, and I could not determine what was being said. The biggest disappointment I had in reading this book was the editing. Although I enjoyed reading the book, it would have been better if the author had it edited by a professional editor.

Due to the lack of professional editing, I have no choice but to give this book 3 out of 4 stars. Once a professional editor has edited the book, it will deserve the maximum rating because the plot flows smoothly and is well written.

I recommend this novel to readers over the age of 18 who enjoy romance or historical fiction involving Scotland, Ireland, and England. Readers who enjoy reading the history of England's religious fight between Catholics and Protestants will enjoy this book. The borderline profanity, gory details, and descriptive sexual content used in torture techniques make this book inappropriate for younger or sensitive readers.

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Sea Serpent
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[Mbenma Esther 080]

I love reading historical fiction. Thanks for the review.

[QualityAndQuantity]

Innis' story has a lot of twists and turns and I know I'll enjoy them. A historical fiction which includes pirates and adventures is always a good read. Wonderful review.

[photosynthesis19]

You had me at "queen of pirates" - who doesn't love a strong female character in novels? I'm a big fan of historical fiction but have yet to try reading a pirate story. This seems like a promising book, though the poor editing could be an issue for some readers. Thank you for this insightful review!

[Aisha Yakub]

Looks like the plot and character development was masterfully executed. Interesting storyline. Hopefully, this gets another round of editing. Great review.

[Amy Luman]

I usually don’t like historical fiction, but I was going to try this one because the plot sounded so interesting. However, at the very end you mentioned gore and explicit sexual techniques and both make me very uncomfortable. I think I’ll have to skip it.

[Walter R]

Have never really been a big fan of historical fictions. Great review though.

[Walter R]

This seems like quite an intriguing storyline. Would definitely love to have this one on my shelf. Great review.

[jimmy02]

After having gone through the Pirates of Caribbean movies recently, historical fictional or even non-fiction books with pirates in them pique my interest! Thanks for the excellent review, Bertha.