The Very First Dis Book Club Discussion Thread - The Pirate Latitudes

I think it would depend on the quality of the work. If it was something I was happy with and would have submitted it for publishing then great. If it was something I felt was one step away from the trash can then I'd be upset someone published less then quality work. In this case I think the writing would have to speak for itself and hopefully the editors publish for quality not necessarily sensationalism, which I'm sure is sometimes the case.
 
I'm a few chapters into it and I'm enjoying it. But be wary - this is not our beloved Pirates of the Caribbean. This is what went on in the back alleys!
 
I'm a few chapters into it and I'm enjoying it. But be wary - this is not our beloved Pirates of the Caribbean. This is what went on in the back alleys!
Actually a more realistic view of what pirates were and not what we've romanticized ..they were criminals and thugs and not good guys, hardly someone to emulate.
 
I too am not always a fan of those books that are "lost" after an author passes. Since you don't know what state the manuscript was found in, it's tough to judge how much others had their hand in the story.

I think that this would be a good question to ask again after we all finish the book.
 


Thanks Nikki of taking care of the Dis book club! This is my first Book Club! I'll be reading the book in italian, but the content it's the same. I haven't read anything about this author yet, so even if I finish the book, I think I couldn't judge wether is still Michael Crichton's stile. But I'd love to hear the opinion of others that have read his books and are reading this one, I'll start reading today :)
 
I'm not a fan of the "lost" manuscript concept. This book is one I couldn't resist reading because of how much I've enjoyed Crichton's books in the past, but I can't help but think that if he'd finished it and was proud of it, it would have been published, or on the way to being published, prior to his death.

He's always good for a fun story though, even if it's not exactly high literature, so I'm hoping that he worked out enough of the plot here to keep me happy.

I haven't read enough of the book yet to know if it feels like a regular Crichton book -- but I admit when I first saw it in the store that I suspected it had a completely different author and that they were just using his name to sell books. Kind of like that whole scam of a series of Tom Clancy books where they have his name in 5 inch letters on the cover but when you pick it up it says in "created by" and it has a totally different author.
 
This was the first book I read on the Kindle I received for Christmas. I am looking forward to the discussion.
 


I'm actually almost done! That's the beauty of being able to listen while I'm working....my plan is to go right back to the beginning and listen again.

I'm a few chapters into it and I'm enjoying it. But be wary - this is not our beloved Pirates of the Caribbean. This is what went on in the back alleys!

Actually a more realistic view of what pirates were and not what we've romanticized ..they were criminals and thugs and not good guys, hardly someone to emulate.

Definitly NOT your Disney-pirate....quite frankly I think Captain Hunter could give Captain Jack a run for his money ;)....

I too am not always a fan of those books that are "lost" after an author passes. Since you don't know what state the manuscript was found in, it's tough to judge how much others had their hand in the story.

I think that this would be a good question to ask again after we all finish the book.

Thanks Nikki of taking care of the Dis book club! This is my first Book Club! I'll be reading the book in italian, but the content it's the same. I haven't read anything about this author yet, so even if I finish the book, I think I couldn't judge wether is still Michael Crichton's stile. But I'd love to hear the opinion of others that have read his books and are reading this one, I'll start reading today :)

I second the thanks to Nikki! :thumbsup2 And having never read (to the best of my knowledge) any other Crichton books I can't say whether this is his style or not or if anything has been filled in but the story line seems to be going well. There are a few spots that I think he must have meant to fill in something between events but it doesn't take away anything, only makes me wonder how better those parts would have been. So far I haven't noticed anything that seemed out of place and probably wouldn't have even wondered about it if I hadn't already known the story behind the book.
 
Hi All,

I just picked up the book at Barnes & Noble. It is currently 50% off thanks to their big sale going on.



UPDATE TO ADD:

Welcome to all of those who are going to participate! I'm so excited! :)

After looking at the book itself, I think the most logical way to tackle it is in its already pre-defined parts. Originally I was going to post each section with a flexible "deadline" to finish reading it, but I'd like to instead work with the first part and adjust timing from there. Everyone is a different type of reader so I don't want to go too quickly or too slowly.

For now, would it be alright for everyone to get the book and have Part I read by March 13th? This gives just a bit extra time for those who are having trouble getting the text right now.

Feel free to begin discussing Part I from here on. You do not have to be finished with it in order to post your thoughts and ideas. The best discussions come as you go along.


Happy reading!!! Arrghh!

This sounds like fun. My DS just gave me the book recently to read. We share books often and he just finished it. I look forward to discussing this too. Never participated in a book club. Thanks Nikki for taking charge!:cheer2:
 
I'm gonna jump in too! I've been re-reading The Mists of Avalon and I don't remember it sucking that bad. This gives me an excuse to put it down!
 
I just picked up my copy at the library; I cannot wait to dive into it.

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I'm finding the author, Michael Crichton, quite fascinating so far. I have never read any of his books and just realized that he wrote the original Jurassic Park. He also is known for the series ER and the film Disclosure.

According to one article in the LA Times, Pirate Latitudes is one of his "lost" works. It was discovered shortly after his death in 2008 by an assistant and later published. Some critics question whether or not this was ethically appropriate. What do you think? If an author passes away and does not leave any formal request regarding a book's publication, is it okay for a colleague or relative to have it published?

I love Michael Crichton's books. If you haven't read Juraissic Park, I highly recommend it...but be forewarned, it was much more graphic than the movie. As far as whether or not a book should be published if it was discovered after he passes...well, I'm still reeling over the fact that I didn't know he died!!!!!!!! It honestly depends on the book. I'll have a better feel for this after I read it to know if it was kept in his tradition or not.
 
I've never been in a book club either because they are always those touchy feely boring relationship stories. So I'm happy to read about pirates!

I read Time Line by him and I really liked that one. This book is sort of reminding me of that one in that both take place in another time period. I have State of Fear in hard back but haven't gotten to that one yet.

Since I'm reading this on Kindle, I don't know what page I'm on but I've read %18. :)
 
I'm gonna jump in too! I've been re-reading The Mists of Avalon and I don't remember it sucking that bad. This gives me an excuse to put it down!

I remember reading Mists of Avalon for a course I took in college. I LOVED that book.

Okay, bad Nikki... :offtopic: :rolleyes1 ;)


According to one article in the LA Times, Pirate Latitudes is one of his "lost" works. It was discovered shortly after his death in 2008 by an assistant and later published. Some critics question whether or not this was ethically appropriate. What do you think? If an author passes away and does not leave any formal request regarding a book's publication, is it okay for a colleague or relative to have it published?

As far as the question I posted last night, I've been having a hard time coming up with an opinion. There definitely seems to be some controversy surrounding this novel. Part of me thinks that if it was a very popular author, it would be wonderful to have a "lost" work. However, the other part of me questions as to whether or not there was a specific reason the text wasn't published. Could it be this type of scenario for Pirate Latitudes? Did Crichton want it published or not? I guess we'll never know, but it's fun to talk about in the meantime.
 
I remember reading Mists of Avalon for a course I took in college. I LOVED that book.

A.

I did too Nikki! And I LOVED it. Now that I'm older, it just seems a little melodramatic and very anti-Christian. Even though they say "All Gods are One...", they depict Druids and those of Avalon as the only SMART people in the book! Didn't really notice that the first time around.....Strange how age and life experience can color your perception!
 
I've never been in a book club either because they are always those touchy feely boring relationship stories. So I'm happy to read about pirates!

I read Time Line by him and I really liked that one. This book is sort of reminding me of that one in that both take place in another time period. I have State of Fear in hard back but haven't gotten to that one yet.

Since I'm reading this on Kindle, I don't know what page I'm on but I've read %18. :)

State of Fear is very good and timely in that it deals with 'global warming'.

I have trouble with not knowing the page I am on while reading on my Kindle too and I always give the % too and DBF then figures out what page I would be on. He's the math wiz...I'm the reader!
 
I did too Nikki! And I LOVED it. Now that I'm older, it just seems a little melodramatic and very anti-Christian. Even though they say "All Gods are One...", they depict Druids and those of Avalon as the only SMART people in the book! Didn't really notice that the first time around.....Strange how age and life experience can color your perception!


I LOVED this book as well, just added it to my wish list to maybe read again!
 
I just heard about this on the podcast, so I just downloaded the book to my Kindle & will start reading so I can join in the discussion. :)

Great idea! :thumbsup2
 
I read Time Line by him and I really liked that one. This book is sort of reminding me of that one in that both take place in another time period. I have State of Fear in hard back but haven't gotten to that one yet.

Since I'm reading this on Kindle, I don't know what page I'm on but I've read %18. :)

I really liked Time Line also, I think I've read most of his books, I tend to like his medical/ science type books the best. Now I just need to decide if I download the audible book or to my kindle. Looking forward to the discussion.
 
Did some online hunting, looking for the buzz about this book when it first came out. Seems that Spielberg has already landed the movie rights!

I loved Jurassic Park, both the book AND the movie. I'm sure it will be in good hands!
 

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