Wednesday, August 16, 2006

The Pirates! in an Adventure with Scientists/The Pirates! in an Adventure with Ahab -- Gideon Defoe

This is a double book, a trade paperback in the style of the old Ace Doubles. Read one side and flip the book over for a second novel. The difference is that the Ace editions had cooler covers and were probably longer. Yes, I know that the Ace books were very short. So are these two novels, about 100 pages in fact.

They're also pretty funny if you're in the mood for the ridiculous. I can't really describe them, so let's just say they're the kind of books in with the pirates can sail to Las Vegas in search of the white whale, who's been spotted gambling there. Benny Hill collides with Monty Python, maybe. Anyway, if you like that sort of thing, this is very much the sort of thing you'll like.

I found both books very funny, but I enjoyed In an Adventure with Scientists more, probably because I read it first. A hundred pages is about the right length. You wouldn't want to O.D., and it would be easy to do. The next time you want to try something completely different, this is it.

1 comment:

Carl V. Anderson said...

These stories are very short even in the hardback editions...which are marvelously packaged little books in my opinion. They both are full of good, piratey fun!