''On Stranger Tides'' is a 1987

historical fantasy Historical fantasy is a category of fantasy and genre of historical fiction that incorporates fantastic elements (such as magic (fantasy), magic) into a more "realistic" narrative. There is much crossover with other subgenres of fantasy; those c ...

supernatural Supernatural phenomena or entities are those beyond the Scientific law, laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin 'above, beyond, outside of' + 'nature'. Although the corollary term "nature" has had multiple meanin ...

novel A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...

by American writer

Tim Powers Timothy Thomas Powers (born February 29, 1952) is an American science fiction and fantasy fiction, fantasy author. His first major novel was ''The Drawing of the Dark'' (1979), but the novel that earned him wide praise was ''The Anubis Gates'' ...

. It was nominated for the

World Fantasy Award for Best Novel The world is the totality of entities, the whole of reality, or everything that exists. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the world as unique, while others talk of a "plu ...

, and placed second in the annual Locus poll for best fantasy novel. Set in the early 18th century, ''On Stranger Tides'' takes place during the

Golden Age of Piracy The Golden Age of Piracy was the period between the 1650s and the 1730s, when maritime piracy was a significant factor in the histories of the North Atlantic and Indian Oceans. Histories of piracy often subdivide the Golden Age of Piracy into th ...

, when

puppeteer A puppeteer is a person who manipulates an inanimate object called a puppet to create the illusion that the puppet is alive. The puppet is often shaped like a human, animal, or legendary creature. The puppeteer may be visible to or hidden from the ...

John Chandagnac sets out to reclaim an

inheritance Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, titles, debts, entitlements, privileges, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Offi ...

in Haiti and is waylaid by various

buccaneer Buccaneers were a kind of privateer or free sailors, and pirates particular to the Caribbean Sea during the 17th and 18th centuries. First established on northern Hispaniola as early as 1625, their heyday was from the Restoration in 1660 u ...

s and

pirate Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and valuable goods, or taking hostages. Those who conduct acts of piracy are call ...

s, only to become one himself. Now known as "Jack Shandy", Chandagnac encounters

voodoo Voodoo may refer to: Religions * West African Vodún, a religion practiced by Gbe-speaking ethnic groups * African diaspora religions, a list of related religions sometimes called Vodou/Voodoo ** Candomblé Jejé, also known as Brazilian Vodu ...

zombie A zombie (Haitian French: ; ; Kikongo: ''zumbi'') is a mythological undead corporeal revenant created through the reanimation of a corpse. In modern popular culture, zombies appear in horror genre works. The term comes from Haitian folkl ...

s and the

while on a

quest A quest is a journey toward a specific mission or a goal. It serves as a plot device in mythology and fiction: a difficult journey towards a goal, often symbolic or allegorical. Tales of quests figure prominently in the folklore of every nat ...

for the fabled

Fountain of Youth The Fountain of Youth is a mythical Spring (hydrology), spring which supposedly restores the youth of anyone who drinks or bathes in its waters. Tales of such a fountain have been recounted around the world for thousands of years, appearing in t ...

and rescues Englishwoman Beth Hurwood. Powers' novel features real historical figures like

Blackbeard Edward Teach (or Thatch; – 22 November 1718), better known as Blackbeard, was an English pirate who operated around the West Indies and the eastern coast of Britain's North American colonies. Little is known about his early life, but he ma ...

Stede Bonnet Stede Bonnet (c. 1688 – 10 December 1718) was an English pirate who was known as the Gentleman Pirate because he was a moderately wealthy landowner before turning to a life of crime. Bonnet was born into a wealthy English family on the is ...

Woodes Rogers Woodes Rogers ( – 15 July 1732) was an English sea captain, privateer and colonial administrator who served as the List of governors of the Bahamas, governor of the Bahamas from 1718 to 1721 and again from 1728 to 1732. He is remembered ...

, and

Juan Ponce de León Juan Ponce de León ( – July 1521) was a Spanish explorer and ''conquistador'' known for leading the first official European expedition to Puerto Rico in 1508 and Florida in 1513. He was born in Santervás de Campos, Valladolid, Spain, in ...

alongside fictional ones. The book was also the inspiration for the ''

Monkey Island ''Monkey Island'' is a series of adventure games. The first four games were produced and published by LucasArts, earlier known as Lucasfilm Games. The fifth was developed by Telltale Games with LucasArts, while the sixth was developed by Terribl ...

'' video game series by

LucasArts Lucasfilm Games (known as LucasArts between 1990 and 2021) is an American video game brand licensing, licensor, former video game developer and video game publisher, publisher, and a subsidiary of Lucasfilm. It was founded in May 1982 by George ...

and the story for the fourth installment in the ''

Pirates of the Caribbean ''Pirates of the Caribbean'' is a Disney media franchise encompassing numerous theme park rides, a series of films, and spin-off novels, as well as a number of related video games and other media publications. The franchise originated with Wa ...

'' film series, '' Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides''.

Plot

1718 Events January – March * January 7 – In India, Sufi rebel leader Shah Inayat Shaheed from Sindh who had led attacks against the Mughal Empire, is beheaded days after being tricked into meeting with the Mughals to discuss ...

, French puppeteer John Chandagnac sails to

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

on the British ship ''Vociferous Carmichael''. He aims to confront his uncle Sebastian, who has apparently stolen a fortune that rightfully belonged to John's father and could have prevented his poverty-induced death. On board, he meets an Englishwoman named Elizabeth Hurwood, who complains that her erudite father Benjamin has abandoned his

natural philosophy Natural philosophy or philosophy of nature (from Latin ''philosophia naturalis'') is the philosophical study of physics, that is, nature and the physical universe, while ignoring any supernatural influence. It was dominant before the develop ...

work and begun studying dark magic with her lecherous

physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...

Leo Friend. The pirate sloop ''Jenny'' menaces the ''Carmichael'', neutralizing its powerful cannons with vodun magic. Benjamin Hurwood and Friend begin shooting their fellow passengers, revealing them as allies of the pirates, as the assailants board and seize the ''Carmichael''. The pirates allow the passengers to leave on a rowboat, except for Beth, whom Hurwood requires for a vodun ritual, and Chandagnac, enrolled into the crew after wounding pirate captain Philip Davies. Not fond of long words, the pirates change John's name to Jack Shandy. The pirates head for

New Providence Island New Providence is the most populous island in The Bahamas, containing more than 70% of the total population. On the eastern side of the island is the national capital city of Nassau; it had a population of 246,329 at the 2010 Census, and a po ...

to refit the ''Carmichael'' for piracy. On the way, they are captured by the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

, but Shandy breaks them out, thus ingratiating himself with the pirates. On New Providence, Shandy develops a proficiency for cooking and learns about vodun: unlike in the Old World, magic is very strong in the Caribbean, and pirates hire ''bocors'' to channel ''loas'' for healing, attacking and protection. Male and female sorcerers control different kinds of magic. Shandy also meets a rambling old sorcerer named Sawney, and develops an affection for Beth. Hurwood has concluded an alliance with Blackbeard to lead him to the fabled

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, a powerful source of magic that will make Blackbeard immortal and allow Hurwood to resurrect his late wife—a process which involves evicting Beth's soul from her body. Davies and Shandy join him, fighting through a hostile,

sentient Sentience is the ability to experience feelings and sensations. It may not necessarily imply higher cognitive functions such as awareness, reasoning, or complex thought processes. Some writers define sentience exclusively as the capacity for ''v ...

jungle on the way. Davies defends himself from a curse by tossing enchanted soil into the air; Shandy takes note and saves some soil for himself. Shortly after he returns from the Fountain, Shandy finds that Friend has seized the ''Carmichael'' and abducted Beth. He gives pursuit in the ''Jenny'', and fights off Friend's magical

crew, with assistance from the

ghost ship A ghost ship, also known as a phantom ship, is a ship, vessel with no living crew aboard; it may be a fictional ghostly vessel, such as the ''Flying Dutchman'', or a physical Flotsam, jetsam, lagan and derelict, derelict found adrift with its cre ...

''Nuestra Señora de Lagrimas'', which Friend accidentally summoned along with the ghost crew. Davies is killed and Hurwood takes Beth for himself after defeating Friend in a wizards' duel. Not knowing where to find Beth, Shandy becomes a drunken wreck and accepts the King's pardon from Woodes Rogers, along with most of the pirates on New Providence, while Hurwood assumes a new identity as Ulysse Segundo and begins pirating. Meanwhile, Blackbeard is killed by the Navy, and Shandy receives an education in magic from old Sawney (actually a 200-year-old

) and a vision he gets after using the Fountain of Youth soil during a fight. A survivor of Segundo's raids relates the mannerisms of his undead crew, and Shandy recognizes them as the old ''Carmichael'' crew. Hearing that Segundo was last seen heading for Jamaica, Shandy sails on the ''Jenny'', facing a storm and a

mutiny Mutiny is a revolt among a group of people (typically of a military or a crew) to oppose, change, or remove superiors or their orders. The term is commonly used for insubordination by members of the military against an officer or superior, ...

on the way. Using Sawney's cryptic tips—involving blood and the magic-dampening power of magnetized

iron Iron is a chemical element; it has symbol Fe () and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, forming much of Earth's o ...

—he defeats Hurwood and destroys his wife's soul. In Jamaica, he barely escapes the Navy and fights his way to the house of Hurwood's accomplice, who turns out to be Sebastian. He frees Beth and makes his way to a harbor, where he is met by Blackbeard, now resurrected and assuming a new identity. Combining his male magic with Beth's female magic, he vanquishes Blackbeard and marries Beth. The book ends as he prepares for the voyage out of Jamaica.

Characters

Original characters

*John Chandagnac/Jack Shandy - a

-turned-

. *Philip Davies - a notorious pirate

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

of the sloop ''Jenny''. *Benjamin Hurwood/Ulysses Segundo - a former professor who wants to

resurrect Resurrection or anastasis is the concept of coming back to life after death. Reincarnation is a similar process hypothesized by other religions involving the same person or deity returning to another body. The disappearance of a body is anothe ...

his dead wife. *Leo Friend - Hurwood's assistant. *Elizabeth "Beth" Hurwood - Benjamin Hurwood's only daughter and Jack Shandy's love interest. *Sebastian Chandagnac/Joshua Hicks - John Chandagnac's treacherous uncle. *Skank - Jack Shandy's quartermaster.

Historical characters

*Johnny Con/Edward "Ed" Thatch/

/Edmund Morcilla - a pirate, known as the "hunsi kanzo", a boy deeply educated as an assistant to an old English magician before becoming a full-fledged

Voodoo Voodoo may refer to: Religions * West African Vodún, a religion practiced by Gbe-speaking ethnic groups * African diaspora religions, a list of related religions sometimes called Vodou/Voodoo ** Candomblé Jejé, also known as Brazilian Vodu ...

sorcerer, and captain of the ''

Queen Anne's Revenge ''Queen Anne's Revenge'' was an early-18th-century ship, most famously used as a flagship by Edward Teach, better known by his nickname Blackbeard. The date and place of the ship's construction are uncertain, and there is no record of its action ...

'' with a

servant who is a boatman. *

- Blackbeard's partner and captain of the sloop ''Revenge''. *"Governor" Sawney/

- the former governor of

, revealed to be the immortal discoverer of the

. *

Anne Bonny Anne Bonny (disappeared after 28 November 1720) was a pirate who served under John Rackham. Amongst the few recorded female pirates in the Golden Age of Piracy, she has become one of the most recognized pirates of the era, as well as in the ...

- a female pirate in

Nassau Nassau may refer to: Places Austria * Nassau (Groß Sankt Florian), incorporated village of Groß Sankt Florian Bahamas *Nassau, The Bahamas, capital city of the Bahamas Canada *Nassau District, renamed Home District, regional division in Upp ...

. *

Robert Maynard Robert Maynard (19 September 1684 – 4 January 1750) was a British Royal Navy officer. Little is known about Maynard's early life, other than that he was born in England in 1684 and then later joined the English Navy. He was made a lieutenant ...

- a

lieutenant who is responsible for Blackbeard's first death at

Ocracoke Inlet Ocracoke Inlet ()
, from the North Carolina Collection's website at the

Background

Growing up as an Orange County citizen,

and his wife visited

Disneyland Disneyland is a amusement park, theme park at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. It was the first theme park opened by the Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney, ...

a lot as kids, with Powers specifically remembering when the Pirates of the Caribbean ride was brand new. Powers believed he had the ride, among other inspirations, in mind when writing ''On Stranger Tides''. He wrote it after

Lester del Rey Lester del Rey (June 2, 1915 – May 10, 1993) was an American science fiction author and editor. He was the author of many books in the juvenile Winston Science Fiction series, and the fantasy editor at Del Rey Books, the fantasy an ...

had rejected a number of Powers' books, including '' The Anubis Gates''. Powers wrote ''On Stranger Tides'' thinking del Rey would like "pirate adventure, zombies, Fountain of Youth, sea battles, cutlass fights...and he didn't like it either." In his research for the book, Powers found that the supernatural and pirates were a comfortable fit. The book features the history and myth of

and the

, and depicts Blackbeard's death at Ocracoke Inlet and beheading by Lieutenant

. During his research, Powers was puzzled by Blackbeard's behavior, and found a context in which his peculiar behaviors were not lunacy, but instead were shrewd and clever. ''On Stranger Tides'' was published in 1987.Tim Powers ON STRANGER TIDES (original & followup interviews - JohnnyDeppReads
/ref> In the process of writing his book, Powers researched

magic Magic or magick most commonly refers to: * Magic (supernatural), beliefs and actions employed to influence supernatural beings and forces ** ''Magick'' (with ''-ck'') can specifically refer to ceremonial magic * Magic (illusion), also known as sta ...

, historical pirate profiles, and history. Asked of what inspired his writing of ''On Stranger Tides'', Powers stated: :I was already hooked into using real historical places for settings. And so I thought, you know you loved ''

Treasure Island ''Treasure Island'' (originally titled ''The Sea Cook: A Story for Boys''Hammond, J. R. 1984. "Treasure Island." In ''A Robert Louis Stevenson Companion'', Palgrave Macmillan Literary Companions. London: Palgrave Macmillan. .) is an adventure a ...

''...And I thought I bet you can set a nice fantasy story in among the pirates,

, that crowd. So I read a million books (that is probably fifteen books) about that particular crowd of pirates that were in the Caribbean in

, Blackbeard, and

. :What I always do when I'm writing a book is first I read all the history and biographies and things like that that I can find. And I look for stuff that's too cool not to use. "Ooh that's neat. Look at that. I like that." And I'll write it down. And then I'll find something else and say, "Oh wow this is great. You got to have a scene happening in this place. Oh you gotta use this guy." Eventually, I'll have twenty or thirty things that are too cool not to use. And it's kind of fun then because you say, "Well okay, here's twenty or thirty parts of your book. You just have to connect the dots." And so I thought, "Ok, what was Blackbeard really up to?"Tim Powers on His Book That Inspired 'Pirates of the Caribbean 4: On Stranger Tides'

Archived
/ref>

Reception

Orson Scott Card Orson Scott Card (born August 24, 1951) is an American writer known best for his science fiction works. , he is the only person to have won a Hugo Award for Best Novel, Hugo Award and a Nebula Award for Best Novel, Nebula Award in List of joint ...

states that the novel "is as good as storytelling ever gets," adding that "Powers writes in a clean, elegant style that illuminates without slowing down the tale. The story promises marvels and horrors, and delivers them all."

David Langford David Rowland Langford (born 10 April 1953) is a British author, editor, and Literary criticism, critic, largely active within the science fiction field. He publishes the science-fiction fanzine and newsletter ''Ansible'' and holds the all-time ...

wrote that ''On Stranger Tides'' "immediately hooks you and drags you along in sympathy with one central character's appalling misfortunes on the Spanish Main, ndescalates from there to closing mega-thrills so determinedly spiced that your palate is left almost jaded." Jack Adrian wrote that "Tim Powers has further refertilized the Sabatini swashbuckler," and describes the novel as a skillful blend of "high seas adventure with sorcery and black magic."

Influence on other works

Books

Kim Newman Kim James Newman (born 31 July 1959) is an English journalist, film critic, and fiction writer. He is interested in film history and horror fiction – both of which he attributes to seeing Tod Browning's ''Dracula'' at the age of eleven & ...

based the name of a

vampire A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the Vitalism, vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead, undead humanoid creatures that often visited loved ones and c ...

in his ''Anno Dracula'' series on the main character of ''On Stranger Tides''.

Video games

Ron Gilbert Ronald David Gilbert is an American video game designer, programmer, and producer. His games are generally focused on interactive story-telling, and he is arguably best known for his work on several LucasArts adventure games, including '' Man ...

has been widely quoted that the ''Monkey Island'' series of

adventure games An adventure game is a video game genre in which the player assumes the role of a protagonist in an interactive story, driven by exploration and/or puzzle-solving. The genre's focus on story allows it to draw heavily from other narrative-based m ...

was inspired by

's ''Pirates of the Caribbean'' ride. However, he stated in a blog that the ride was mainly his inspiration for the ambiance of the series, while his true inspiration was ''On Stranger Tides''.

Films

''Pirates of the Caribbean''

In 2007, after the successful opening weekend of the third ''

'' film, '' At World's End'', Walt Disney Studios Chairman

Dick Cook Richard W. Cook is an American film entertainment executive, and has served on the Board of Directors of Legendary Pictures since 2011. Prior to joining Legendary Pictures, he was the Chairman of the Walt Disney Studios from 2002 to 2009. At the ...

said he was interested in a fourth film. The ''Los Angeles Times'' also reported that Bruckheimer already had rights to a book that could end up as another installment, though had not confirmed what book it was. On September 11, 2009,

Walt Disney Pictures Walt Disney Pictures is an American film Film production company, production company and subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios (division), the Walt Disney Studios, a division of Disney Entertainment, which is owned by the Walt Disney Company. The st ...

announced that the fourth installment would be titled '' Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides''. The announcement had fueled speculation among those familiar with Tim Powers' novel ''On Stranger Tides'' that the fourth ''Pirates'' movie would follow the plot of the novel. It was later revealed that the idea to adapt ''On Stranger Tides'' came close to the end of filming the ''Pirates'' trilogy, in which screenwriters Ted Elliott and

Terry Rossio Terry Rossio (born July 2, 1960) is an American screenwriter and film producer. He co-wrote the films ''Aladdin'', '' The Mask of Zorro'', ''Shrek'', and all five of the ''Pirates of the Caribbean'' series. For ''Shrek'', he was nominated for ...

found the novel and brought it up to producer

Jerry Bruckheimer Jerome Leonard Bruckheimer (born September 21, 1943) is an American film and television producer. He has been active in the genres of action, drama, comedy, fantasy, horror and science fiction. After working in advertising out of college, Bruck ...

as an idea to option the book for the new chapter. In a 2011 interview, Tim Powers stated that Disney wanted the film rights as early as before the release of the second ''Pirates'' film, ''

Dead Man's Chest "Dead Man's Chest" (also known as "Fifteen Men on the Dead Man's Chest" or "Yo, Ho, Ho (And a Bottle of Rum)") is a fictional''Fictional sea-song'' - in this sense means a sea-song that first appeared in a work of fiction, and not an authentic sea ...

'', though he thought they already used elements beforehand. Disney would not buy the rights to Powers' novel until they started filming their fourth movie. Rossio mentioned how Disney was hit with at least six plagiarism lawsuits for the first ''Pirates of the Caribbean'' movie for supposedly stealing elements of the ''Monkey Island'' video game and stuff from the ''On Stranger Tides'' novel, despite there being a ride at Disneyland and also a first draft screenplay by other writers. In January 2010,

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

announced that the film would be released on May 20, 2011. Before the film began production, it was speculated that

Jack Sparrow Captain Jack Sparrow is a fictional character and the main protagonist of Disney's '' Pirates of the Caribbean'' franchise. An early iteration of the character was created by screenwriter Jay Wolpert, with later drafts by Stuart Beattie and w ...

would replace Jack Shandy as the story's protagonist. Tim Powers stated that the Fountain of Youth would definitely be in the film because it was teased in ''At World's End'', but also said that Sparrow and Shandy are "totally different characters", and that

Hector Barbossa Captain Hector Barbossa is a fictional character of the '' Pirates of the Caribbean'' franchise, depicted by Geoffrey Rush and appearing in all five films in the series. Barbossa debuted in '' The Curse of the Black Pearl'' (2003) as the capta ...

and

might overlap. On March 22, 2010, Jerry Bruckheimer confirmed that both Barbossa and Blackbeard (portrayed by

Ian McShane Ian David McShane (born 29 September 1942) is an English actor. His television performances include the title role in the BBC series ''Lovejoy'' (1986–1994), Al Swearengen in '' Deadwood'' (2004–2006) and its 2019 film continuation, and M ...

) would be in the film, with Blackbeard as the villain. Additionally,

Penélope Cruz Penélope Cruz Sánchez (born 28 April 1974) is a Spanish actress. Prolific in Spanish and English-language films, she has received various accolades, including an Academy Award, BAFTA Award, a David di Donatello and three Goya Awards. Cru ...

would play Angelica, Blackbeard's daughter. While making the fourth film, screenwriter Terry Rossio stated Tim Powers' novel was an inspiration for characters, theme, settings, and basic storyline. He also stated that he and co-writer Ted Elliot had considered using Blackbeard and the Fountain of Youth in the story before reading the book, "but whenever you say those words, Powers' novel comes to mind. There was no way we could work in that field without going into territory Tim had explored." However, they denied that it would be a straight version of the novel: "Blackbeard came from the book, and in the book there is a daughter character, too. But Jack Sparrow is not in the book, nor is Barbossa. So I wouldn't call this an adaptation." Powers himself stated that he never consulted with the writers and initially thought they weren't using much of his book at all aside from Blackbeard and the Fountain of Youth.- Rossio stated that Blackbeard, Angelica, and the Fountain are examples of how they integrated Powers' book into the film.

References

External links

*
''On Stranger Tides''
at Worlds Without End
''On Stranger Tides''
at th
''Pirates of the Caribbean'' wiki
{{Pirates 1987 American novels 1987 fantasy novels 1980s horror novels American fantasy novels American horror novels American historical novels American zombie novels Dark fantasy novels Historical fantasy novels Supernatural novels Novels set in the 1710s Fiction set in the Golden Age of Piracy Novels about pirates Cultural depictions of Blackbeard Cultural depictions of Stede Bonnet American fantasy novels adapted into films Horror novels adapted into films Novels by Tim Powers Pirates of the Caribbean (film series)