Book Reviews and More: The Pirate King - Declan Finn

Sunday 4 December 2022

The Pirate King - Declan Finn - The Pius Trilogy Short Story

A Pius Man

The Pius Trilogy Book 1

Declan Finn

Silver Empire

ISBN 9781482553895

eISBN 9781370225095

ASIN B0738JHZ41

I loved this story. But I hated that it is so short! Yes I knew it was a short story when I picked it up, but it is listed as 15 pages, and in reality is closer to 8 or if you stretch it maybe 10 of text. What a great short story. I have read 20 books by Declan Finn in the last few months, and 1 prior to that. I have loved what I have read to date. And I have plans to read all that I can lay my hands on. Both the Saint Tommy and the White Ops series are greatly entertaining, and I cannot wait for the Pius trilogy of 5 books to be back in print. So when I saw this as an eBook I scooped it up. This is truly another great story from Finn’s masterful pen. The description of this story is:

“Somali pirate Abdi Barre considers himself the Emir of the sea. So when a superliner crosses his path, he wants it.

And this pirate is going to get everything that's coming to him.”

Having read the first two White Ops and A Pius Man I was expecting an entertaining story with some serious action. It did not disappoint on that front! The story begins with these words:

“The super liner Queen Mary 2, was 1,132 feet long, carried 2,620 passengers and 1,253 crew members. It was essentially the size of a skyscraper landed on its side. Possibly the biggest liner of its kind in the world. It was, simply, big.

However, off the Eastern Coast of Africa, it was merely a great big target.

Abdi Barre smiled at the super liner. He was, at first, impressed at the size of the liner, and awed by its majesty. His second impression, however, was to plan to board her, and maybe—just maybe—hijack her. The boat would be worth a fortune. Any who could afford to ride on her would be worth a fortune in ransom.”

We are informed that:

“Barre, like many of his comrades, had been fishermen at one point, but they soon discovered that piracy was an easier way to make money. Somali society's clan-based organization, the lack of a central government, and Somalia's strategic location at the Horn of Africa, all made the enterprise easy. Somalia was also dirt poor, so recruits were frequent, and as plentiful as their plunder. Not to mention that the lucrative success of hijacking and ransoming hostages drew even more to the organization. They had money, power, the most beautiful girls, big houses, new cars, new guns, everything the modern crook could ask for.”

And further:

“With forty ships worth of pirates, there were nearly a thousand men on the main deck of the Queen Mary 2. They all came on and immediately unslung their rifles, ready to kill any who got in their way—though that was a touch melodramatic, and not perfectly true. Shooting was almost always a last resort, mainly because hostages were money. If large groups of people resisted, then they could mow them down. Usually, the only ones stupid enough to resist were the odd lone passenger.”

It is an excellent story with a major twist! I was really impressed with this offering from the pen of Finn. Short stories are a very different art form than novels. And this is a very short story. If I had not read anything else by Finn before reading this I would have immediately purchased other of his works. I can’t wait for the Pius Man Trilogy to be back in print and this story just majorly upped the anticipation. A great little read.

Sunday 4 December 2022

The Pirate King - Declan Finn - The Pius Trilogy Short Story

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