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When we last saw Sebastian Darke, the young elf/human was fighting to rescue the beautiful young queen Kerin. Sebastian is a typical seventeen-year-old boy struggling to become a man. In his efforts to fill his dead father’s shoes, Sebastian tries to become the court jester that his father was. Alas, that was his father’s dream and his father’s talent. Sebastian has neither the talent nor the vision for it. He wants to be a pirate!
When Sebastian’s advances to the queen Kerin are rebuffed because of her loyalty to her subjects, Sebastian is devastated. He takes his father’s buffalope, Max, and sets out on his own. He is accompanied by a fierce fighting dwarf named Cornelius who at first glance seems harmless, but in reality is willing to fight to the death to protect Sebastian.
Cornelius persuades Sebastian to go in search of the lost treasure of the pirate king Captain Callinestra. On this journey, Sebastian will learn many valuable lessons, including not to trust appearances and the dangers of a loose tongue. There will be many enemies to avoid and many friendships to cherish on this journey, moments of physical death and moments of real and imagined fear. Through it all, Sebastian will become the young man he is trying to find. This is a great story for older elementary to early middle school readers that encompasses pirates, treasure, romance and treachery.
Author Caveney does well to veer from his writing for adults to give middle school readers this character. We will all await Sebastian’s next adventure with bated breath. This review recommends this title for ages 12–15 and extends it to reluctant high school readers.
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Sebastian Darke: Prince of Pirates