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Draft of Article Isle of Swords

Isle of Swords is a pirate novel for young adults. Written in 2007 by Wayne Thomas Batson, also author of The Door Within Trilogy, it tells of sailors, pirates, and a mysterious group of monks all working to get a great treasure, the treasure of Constantine. It is hidden on a dangerous, uncharted Isle known as the Ilha de Espadas, or Isle of Swords. The book is for sale on Amazon here. It is suggested that those not wanting the story spoiled do not read further than this paragraph.

The Setting

The story takes place mostly in the real-world Carribean and in the North Atlantic. No specific dates are given in the novel, but muskets have been invented, and slavery is still around, though only mentioned once with distaste in the book, so the estimated time period is the 1700s. The only fully fictional location in the book is the Isle of Swords, an island supposedly located to the west of Portugaland protected by strange currents forming a treacherous ring 100 miles around the Isle of Swords. The Isle is also protected by a sharp, deadly reef, a sea monster, and a volcano filled with carnivorous lizards. Some of the other islands have fictional details, but they all really exist.

The Characters

The main characters:

Captain Declan Ross- The Scottish Captain of the William Wallace and later the Robert Bruce who is a pirate only because his country abandoned him after he fought in the navy during times of war. He is known for being rather moral for a pirate.

Anne Ross- The daughter of Declan who has grown up among the pirates and desperately desires to be one, though her father doesn't wish to let her as he is afraid of losing her. She is rather hot tempered, and very passionate.

Bartholemew Thorne- A ruthless, merciless pirate who sails a ship known as the Raven, all too unmistakable with it's black sails. He is not only Captain of his ship, but controls a large fleet of ships which are the scourge of the Carribean.

Cat (a.k.a. Griffin Thorne)- Bartholemew Thorne's son, although when he is first introduced to the story, he can't remember anything of his life and has been whipped recently. Cat, as he is nicknamed, is picked up by Declan and his crew early on and becomes one of them, only later learning that his father is their worst enemy.

Padre Dominguez- A monk of the mysterioius order of Constantine himself. This order of monks is sworn to protect the holy treasure hidden on the Isle of Swords, and each in the order bears a map to the Isle tatooed on his back.

Jacques St. Pierre- An eccentric french merchant who deals with pirates often and eventually joins the crew of the William Wallace.

The minor characters:

On the Wallace:

Stede- Quartermaster

Jules- A brawny sailor

Red-eye- A powder monkey

Nubby- cook

Midge- carpenter

Under Thorne's command:

Thierry Chevillard- Lieutenant

Skellick- Quartermaster

Scully- Spy

In the Royal Navy:

Commodore Blake- A Captain determined to clear the seas of pirates

Sir Nigel- Blake's right-hand man

Others: Vesa Turinen- An old, rich sailor turned merchant

Ramiro De Ferro Goncalo- a ship builder who joins Ross's crew

The Order of St. Celestine- a group of monks very kindly towards pirates

The Plot

The book starts when Declan Ross lands on an island to repair his ship, the William Wallace, and finds Cat there in terrible condition. They are attacked by Chevillard and sink his ship, which puts Thorne's mark on Declan's head. Ross then heads to the monastery of St. Celestine for repairs, but learns that Thorne will come there in a matter of days. He escorts Padre Dominguez with him, and decides to depart for the Ilha de Espadas to take the treasure before Thorne can find it. First, he stops by Dominica for supplies and has a run-in with Commodore Blake in which Jacques St. Pierre joins the crew. In the process, Cat and Anne sneak off the ship, and Cat learns a bit more about his pirate identity. They then sail to one of Jacques's forts in the Caicos islands to finish stocking up on supplies, but are ambushed by Thorne in a largely one-sided battle that sinks the William Wallace. In the battle, Thorne captures Padre Dominguez and Anne Ross. The former crew of the Wallace are forced to pay a great sum to get Vesa to grant them passage to Portugal. Once in Portugal, they gain a new type of ship known as the Man-of-war from Declan's old friend, Ramiro, who joins the crew of the new ship, the Robert Bruce. Now they set off after Thorne to rescue Anne and Padre. Thorne puts Anne and Padre in cells below one of his forts. Ross expects this and sneaks into the fort, rescuing Anne. But Padre has been tortured and is dies before their eyes in his cell. Thorne disfigured the map on Padre's back after copying it down, but it turns out that Cat had had a copy of the map with him all along, so the Robert Bruce sets out for the Ilha de Espadas. The hunt for the Isle of Swords becomes a race between Thorne and Ross, and they meet up on the Isle, where Cat learns his full identity and a big battle between pirates occurs, which Ross's crew loses. The crew of the Robert Bruce is pressed into service on some of Thorne's ships carrying the treasure, but then the British arrive, the former crew of the Bruce hijacks some of the ships, and Thorne is captured and thrown in jail. At the very end of the book, however, Thorne escapes.

The Sequel

The sequel, Isle of Fire, is due out on Sept. 9th, 2008, and is available for preorder on Amazon here.