Liberty Hardy is an unrepentant velocireader, writer, bitey mad lady, and tattoo canvas. Turn-ons include books, books and books. Her favorite exclamation is “Holy cats!” Liberty reads more than should be legal, sleeps very little, frequently writes on her belly with Sharpie markers, and when she dies, she’s leaving her body to library science. Until then, she lives with her three cats, Millay, Farrokh, and Zevon, in Maine. She is also right behind you. Just kidding! She’s too busy reading.
Twitter: @MissLiberty
Like many of the lists I make, this one was influenced by something else entirely. I was listening to the exceptional Tim Curry read his memoir, Vagabond, and he was talking about what a fantastic time he had playing the pirate Long John Silver in Muppet Treasure Island. And voilà, a post idea was born! (And then I watched Muppet Treasure Island, which admittedly is not a very good film, but Curry is great.) So below you’ll find four exciting fantasy books featuring pirates, both on the sea and in the skies, and all arrrrrrrre the villainous sort you root for.
The Black God’s Drums by P. Djèlí Clark
Oh, look, a P. Djèlí Clark book! It’s almost impossible not to include his books on every SFF list I write, because there’s always one that fits. This is historical fantasy, set in an alternate New Orleans around the time of the American Civil War. A street urchin named Creeper is hoping to earn a place on the crew of the airship Midnight Robber by sharing information she overheard about a weapon called The Black God’s Drums. And it will be up to them to keep it from being used.
Pirates of Aletharia by Britney Jackson
Sapphic pirate fantasy series, ahoy! Dragon sorcerer Emilia Drakon decides to change careers after a betrayal and joins Captain Maria Welles aboard the infamous pirate ship the Wicked Fate. Emilia wants revenge, Maria wants Emilia for her crew for her own reasons, and pretty soon they both want each other!
A Clash of Steel by C.B. Lee
This is the first of the Remixed Classics series, and it’s a YA retelling of Treasure Island. Peasant girl Xiang has heard stories of the Dragon Fleet, a legendary pirate armada that sailed the South China Sea. But it’s not until a girl named Anh steals her pendant, the only thing Xiang has that belonged to her late father, that Xiang learns he was a member of the Dragon Fleet. Inside the pendant is what appears to be a tiny treasure map, so the two girls partner up and head out into dangerous waters in search of what they hope will be a big reward.
Daughter of the Pirate King by Tricia Levenseller
In this YA romantasy, seventeen-year-old pirate captain Alosa hatches a plan to retrieve an ancient hidden map from her enemies. Allowing herself to be captured, she plans to escape her bonds, find the map, and flee. But the very handsome first mate is wise to her tricks, making her plan more difficult than she expected. But not to worry, there’s more to her than meets the eye. (This is where the magical elements come in, but people who post spoilers have to walk the plank!)
Swords and Spaceships
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Okay, star bits, now take the knowledge you have learned here today and use it for good, not evil. If you want to know more about books, I talk about books pretty much nonstop (when I’m not reading them), and you can hear me say lots of adjectives about them on the BR podcast All the Books! and on Instagram.
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