What is it about pirates? The boats, the swords, the brandy, the wink of the eye they give the poor as they steal from corrupt governors…reading about them is sure to leave an impression on anyone with an active imagination and empty pockets. Even online, the personae of the pirate hacker reigns supreme. One visit to thepiratebay.org will make you smile—or cringe, depending on which end of their stolen plunder you find yourself. You are told that such sites destroy intellectual property, but at the same time, they seem to be doing it almost as if it were a public service. And as our bank accounts dwindle, our money debased at consistent intervals to destroy its value intentionally—an action created by those corrupt governers who claim to protect us but serve to make the rich richer and the poor poorer--the appeal of pirates and their actions are only set to increase.

Just this week, for instance, on my way to work up the road from my house, I noticed both sides of the pavement was sectioned off by police officers who were diverting traffic as a morning news reporter stood in the road in front of a camera, discussing something which had taken place behind her that I couldn’t quite see. Something happened that was pretty big, but I couldn’t tell what. I ended up driving to work, figuring there had been some serious accident, only to find out a few hours later from my wife that a bank had been blown up, the ATM in the front ripped from the ground.

A bank had been blown up? I couldn’t believe it. Not just robbed…destroyed.

My civilized response was one of concern as I considered how close we were to such a major crime. My more emotional self, branded by numerous recent financial scars, laughed in enjoyment. Finally! I thought..someone has the right idea! Take back what is ours from true thieves who just pillaged a country and will pillage the world as we sink into another depression, another war! For it is the banks that generally rob the citizens without them being aware of it, and here I had just partially witnessed the reverse! The emotional pirate in me toasted the crime—the first time I believe I had ever done such a thing.

Arghhh, indeed.

Now, you may be asking yourself whether I am encouraging crime, to which I will obviously say no. But the pirate in me says yes! And it is that inner pirate in all of us that has so much appeal to the young who do not quite know their place in the world but can see their parents struggle, they see their own form of widespread “governmental corruption” as people say one thing and do another. Slowly, they seem to learn that this place is filled with liars and thieves, and they wonder for years and years on how it is that they, as human beings, should respond. Are the pirates the true evil ones…or the governments who pretend to protect people from pirates as they rob everyone through heavy taxes and impossible demands?

In Jeremiah Bloom and the Amulet of Osiron, the first in a series of young adult books written by Stephen Wren, we meet these pirates, these governers, as well as the boy Jeremiah who is deeply involved in making sense of this cruel world. Jeremiah loses his home, his horses, his mother, his father, and quite frequently almost his life as torturous incident after incident occurs to him while he seeks an identity in the face of such loss. The pirates fall in love with him in their own way as their kind-hearted nature comes shining through—he’s just a boy, the misery he has witnessed! They bring him in, teach him their tricks, and allow him to join their crew as they all run “errands” for a governer who cares for no other safety nor fortune but his own.

In addition to the often used tale of the boy finding his way in the world (always great for young adults!), Wren also writes in his own brand of pirate mystery as he draws from his real-life experience with the paranormal. There are misty visitors, ghost pirates, orbs of light, astral projection, secret societies, spiritualistic entities, mentions of the human soul, and I spent the majority of the book wondering what paranormal thematics he was going to draw from next, which made it a truly enjoyable read.

And it isn’t just me who enjoyed it. While reading from the book one night in bed, my 6 year old son came in and stared at the cover for a few seconds until I noticed what he was doing. I asked him if needed something, and he said, “Can you read to me about the pirates?” So I did. He listened for twenty minutes or so, drawing a world in his head with the words before I made him call it a night. And although I finished the book myself quite rapidly, based on my son’s attention, looks like it’s going to get another read!

Pick it up in January. Give it a go. Besides, it’s about pirates! You can’t go wrong.

http://www.stephenwren.com
http://www.blackbeardbooks.com
http://www.jeremiahbloom.com

  

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