The Wake of the Lorelei Lee: Being an Account of the Further Adventures of Jacky Faber, On Her Way to Botany Bay [Hardcover]

The now 16-year old intrepid Jacky Faber, is back in her 8th action-packed adventure, having somehow survived everything from life on London's streets as an orphan, to pirates, life at a snooty New England girls' school, spying in Napoleon's army, serving as a naval lieutenant, and diving for Spanish gold (these are only a few of Jacky's many adventures that take place in prior novels in the series). Now rich after skimming just a little bit of gold from the treasure she dutifully turned over to the Crown , Jacky has purchased and outfitted the Lorelei Lee to carry immigrants across the Atlantic. Our Jacky is never one to miss a potentially lucrative business opportunity!

Jacky docks in London to finally marry her beloved Jaimy and hire her crew, but alas, things never go smoothly for our spirited heroine. She discovers Jaimy has been imprisoned and she herself is arrested and will surely hang for her supposed crimes against the Crown. But once again, Jacky escapes the hangman's noose and instead is sentenced to be transported along with more than 200 other female convicts to become "breeders" in the newly formed penal colony in Australia. Having confiscated Jacky's ship, the Crown uses the Lorelei Lee to carry Jacky and a motley passenger list of madams, whores, and petty thieves. Not knowing whether she'll ever see her Jaimy again, she decides to make the best of things on her long voyage While Jacky is travelling the world on her way to Australia, what has happened to Jaimy? Meyer doesn't shy away from coincidence (or is it fate, or karma?), and Jaimy, too, is on his way to Australia in a convict ship. Will they ever be reunited?

As usual, Meyer incorporates real historical events and personalities into Jacky's somewhat fantastic adventures. In this novel, Meyer was clearly inspired by the real voyage of the British ship Lady Juliana, which sailed in 1789 (some years before 1807, when this novel takes place, according to the author's timeline for the series). The Lady Juliana carried 226 female convicts sent to help increase the population of the fledgling colony. Meyer uses the names of the actual women on this ship, including Mary Wade, the youngest of the convicts (sentenced to hang at age 10 for stealing clothes), and Esther Abrahams, a Jewish prisoner who married one of the ship's officers and later became the first First Lady of Australia, as characters in his story; these women are often known as Australia's founding mothers. Jacky's pirate friend, Cheng Shih, was also a real person.

As a huge fan of this series, I enjoyed reading Jacky's newest adventures, although I must say this was definitely not my favorite volume in the series. Meyer alternates the narration from Jacky to Jaimy, and I didn't find the Jaimy sections as interesting. My 15-year old daughter, also a Jacky fan, said she skimmed over all the Jaimy parts to get back to Jacky, and I did a bit of the same. I found that this switching back and forth didn't work well, since it distracted from the main character. Still, fans of the series will definitely want to pick this one up. For readers new to the series, you'll want to read them in order, starting with the first volume, Bloody Jack.

One of the happiest things for an avid reader like myself is to discover a new series to enjoy. It means that you have not only one good book to read, but several! It allows you to space out the books, interspersing others as necessary, and still be able to come back to the books you're enjoying so much, and yet have each story break fresh and new and unexpected.

This is what I have been able to experience with the Bloody Jack series by L.A. Meyer. I am a huge fan of pirates, both fictional and historical (because ninjas suck); I find the lifestyle, the concepts, and the characters hugely enjoyable. My wife pointed out this series on the shelf of our local bookstore because of that attraction, and we decided to give it a try. Now, eight months later, I have the bittersweet experience of having caught up with the series, and so now I must wait for the next book to be published, rather than simply being able to go buy it when I feel a craving for the adventures of Jacky Faber.

And that craving will come. These books are, without a doubt, the best things I have read this year, and are certainly now one of my favorite series of books, not least because they are not like anything else I usually read. There are certain parallels to Naomi Novik's Temeraire series, largely because the two authors have set their work in the same general time and place, but where those are fantasy, L.A. Meyer's books are historical fiction at its best. Not only do you get a rollicking good story, but you get to learn things about the past, and relive some of the golden days of yore.

This latest installment (But not the last, since it ends, as these books often do, in a cliffhanger) is just as good as all the rest; a remarkable achievement, since it is the eighth book in this outstanding series, which has not had a single drop in quality, either of the writing or the storytelling. This book was as hard to put down as every other one.

The Wake of the Lorelei Lee does follow the general pattern of the other books, which is: our beloved hero, Mary "Jacky" Faber, former street urchin and wayward waif, Lieutenant in the Royal Navy, Belle of the Golden West, Fine Young Lady, head of Faber Shipping Worldwide, Mermaid, Performer, Adventuress, and Pirate, has her life looking up, being exactly where she wants to be: captain of her own ship, the Lorelei Lee, on her way to England to reunite with her long-suffering fiance, James Emerson Fletcher. And as happens in pretty much every book so far, things all fall apart in the worst way, at the worst moment, and Jacky is, once more, arrested by His Majesty's Government. I don't want to give too much away, so suffice to say that Jacky finds herself on the way to Australia, a captive in her own ship, the Lorelei Lee. I knew that much going in, so I hope I haven't spoiled anything for those who haven't yet had the pleasure of reading the book.

I could never have predicted what comes in this book, either the immediate circumstances and how Jacky makes them work for her -- though I was not surprised by the trouble Jacky gets herself into, as that seems to be her greatest skill, other than getting herself out of that same trouble -- or the remarkable whirlwind of events that come in the last several chapters, after things take a sharp turn for the worse. But I loved every minute of it. Jaimy plays a larger role in this book, acting as narrator for his own chapters as he did in the fifth book, "Mississippi Jack," and he did very well, both as main character and as adventurer on the high seas.

These books, each and every one of them, are now my strongest recommendations to those who haven't found them yet. They are treasures, they are wonderful stories. They are, I think, a little too adult to be considered children's books, as there is quite a lot of death and horror in them, and a few risque elements, but I would definitely put them as young adult books, and certainly something that anyone would enjoy who likes a good adventure yarn. Especially young girls, as for all of her faults, Jacky is an incredible character, strong and endearing and wonderful, and, in her context, I think an excellent role model.

But even if she's not that, she's a heck of a lot of fun to read about.

I have read all of the Bloody Jack novels, and have enjoyed them greatly, until this one. I have bought the audio books as well, and have marveled at the dramatization! I am a fan who has put a good deal of time into this series.

But... It seemed to me as I read - that a great part of this book rehashed old plot lines and situations. Jacky rallying a scared group of girls into a fighting unit, making a bow to kill rats (millers), fighting an clearly evil authority figure, etc., etc., Until the last 1/3 of the book, there seemed very little new action going on. A mash-up of previous adventures and situations.

But what really bothered me was what I felt a dramatic increase in focus on sex and sexuality. The first 2/3rd of the book was a confusing introduction of the themes of prostitution, easy sex and cohabitation with the goal of becoming pregnant, etc. Were theses good things? Or not good things? The moral message, to me, seemed unclear. And there is an increasing number of descriptions of Jacky taking her clothes off, being groomed in private areas, yet more descriptions of her tight bathing suit, having baths with those of the opposite sex, etc. The "tradition" of touching the figurehead's breasts - how much of that do we need? The captain naked as they pass the equator, etc., etc. Why? I have a twelve year old daughter, now reading the third novel, and I am disappointed with the direction the series seems to be taking in the area of sexuality. I know... many will think I am behind the times in this regard. Call me old fashioned.

But for parents who have had their children start this series - I am just saying it might not be a bad idea to read this book before passing it on to them. You might be surprised what you find in it.

Will I buy book nine? Yes, because I do like this series! And I hope this departure is only a temporary one and Jacky gets back to wit, adventure and fun in the next book.

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